The Tragic blast at Quetta Railway Station, which is being attributed to the Balochistan Liberation Army, reflects the failure of both the federal and the provincial governments, and of their various intelligence-gathering organizations. There is no use crying over spilt milk, or even bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted. There is no escaping the fatuity of the Railways Police beefing up security at other railway stations. That security should have been ramped up already. However, though the lead department, the Railways Police only has responsibility for the station. The approaches to the station are policed by the Balochistan Police and the Frontier Levies. That the bombers could carry the bomb from its place of manufacture to the railway station is not a failure of the Railways Police, but of the local police force.
More importantly, how was the Balochistan Police supposed to know that a bomb was to be placed at the Quetta Railway Station? True, the Balochistan Police Special Branch should have been aware of what was happening in its own backyard, but the federally controlled Special Branch and Inter-Services Intelligence should have been on it. Apart from the ISI, the services all have intelligence agencies of their own. Did none of them hear anything? It also cannot escape notice that the Quetta Railway Station is an important marshalling yard, and any damage to it, or its perceived vulnerability, can only be of comfort to enemies of Pakistan. Once again, the BLA has done its own work, and also that of those who presumably are provisioning it material aid.
There are two other dimensions which need exploring. The first is the callousness shown to Baloch lives. This was shown before when the legal community was decimated by blasts in 2016 at the high court and then at the hospital. The second is the possibility that the bomb might have been provided by some sectarian terrorist organization. The nexus has been seen before. It is made unlikely because of divergent ideologies, but the similarity of methods may have led to cooperation. The governments, whether federal or provincial, must engage in serious introspection, and apply pressure to the agencies under their control to produce results. This is in addition to removing the grievances of the Baloch people, which they should be doing anyhow.
