A decade has passed, but the APS Peshawar massacre is still etched into the national memory. It seems as if the Jaffar Express outrage might assume the same dimensions. It may evoke the same response, which is the convening of an All-Parties Conference. Back in 2014, the APC was seen as important for two reasons: first, the PTI was being included in the process, second, it was hoped that political forces would finally come together and come up with a solution. The result was the National Action Plan. A decade down the line, the Jaffar Express is hijacked. And it is not as if this is a sudden outburst, coming out of the blue. There has been a constant background of terror incidents, both bomb blasts spreading terror and attacks on security personnel.
Balochistan is a little more complicated than KP, that other locus of terror. In KP, there is religious militancy. That was shown in the suicide bombing at Jandola. There is the same in Balochistan, but there is also separatism. While there is an ideological tension between the two, there are increasing signs that the two are cooperating. Also, what is sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander. If religious extremism is to be contained by stopping hate speech, how is that to apply to separatists? Where does one transit from standing up for one’s province into separatism? The previous experience of an APC does not lead one to optimism, and there is the fear that this might become a more elevated form of committee. Referring a matter to a committee is so certainly shorthand for sweeping it under the carpet. Is the APC going to serve the same purpose? Then there is the question of the PTI, It is even more of a problem now than 2014/ At least its founder was not in jail.
Whatever the means, it is essential to break the spiral of violence in which the country seems to be trapped. The Prime Minister’s visit to Balochistan, in the company of the COAS, itself is an expression of concern that will run counter to the message of the terrorists. The rest of Pakistan does care about its largest province. However, if only such dramatic events as the Jaffar Express outrage catch national attention, there is a problem. Balochistan may need empathy, but it should not be left to disappear off the radar once a crisis is over. Balochistan has been the location of horrendous terror incidents before. But clearly not enough was done.
