Masroor Ahmad
A few weeks ago during the Holy month of Ramadhan I happened to visit some parts of Balochistan where during interaction with the local residents I was happy to learn about the security situation of the province getting normal. I was even surprised to see slogans in favor of security forces in Dhadar, Sibbi, Mastung and other cities of Balochistan.
The good sign is that people of Balochistan are now sending their children for higher education and unlike in the past now these students are going for studies in educational institutions of other provinces as well. Being a lecturer in some universities of Islamabad I have come across many students from Balochistan who wish to secure their good future by means of education and believe in peace and harmony than conflict.
People in Quetta told more stories as to how the Corps Commander Quetta was personally monitoring the situation closely and very often he was seen enjoying motorcycle rides on the streets of Quetta to keep a good watch on the peace of the city with own eyes.
Quetta cantonment area used to be a ‘No-go-area’ in the past as there were strict security measures for entrance into the military zone but now a days citizens have a very easy access to the cantonment area and even special passes are issued to citizens for their hassle free entrance.
Militancy in Balochistan has a throbbing history taking lives of thousands of innocents citizens and security personnel. Not only the nationalist but also lethal religious and sectarian terror groups like Lashkar-i-Jhangvi have been claiming hundreds of lives during its multiple campaigns of terror. LJ has been relatively quiet in Balochistan now due to the fierce crack down of our security forces the others terror organizations have also been brought to their kneel.
The recent success story of our brave security forces is cracking down the whereabouts of Baloch separatist commander, Gulzar Imam who led the Baloch National Army—which indeed is a major counter-terrorism accomplishment against separatist insurgency in the restive province.
“Gulzar Imam alias Shambay was apprehended after an innovatively conceived, carefully planned and meticulously executed operation, spanned over months over various geographical locations,” ISPR, the military’s media wing said in a statement.
The country being a front line in the war against terrorism has been rocked by episodes of militant violence over the past two decades and Balochistan experienced more violence where when security personnel as well as non-combatants were subjected to acts of terror on account of elements like Shambay.
The sources within BNA have also confirmed on media platforms about the arrest of the Imam. Though the arrest was made pretty earlier but perhaps it was not made public most probably due to crack down on other colleagues of the terrorist leader in the Makran region.
Imam was a resident of district Panjgur in Balochistan who was active in student politics from the platform of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO).
He has been serving BSO-Azad—the nursery of Baloch militants in various capacities. When an operation was launched against BSO-Azad due to its extreme tilt towards militancy Imam went underground and joined the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) — a proscribed separatist group led by Brahumdagh Bugti where he rose to the position of operational commander of the group.
It is very often quoted within the circles of the security experts that three major Baloch separatist groups —Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) orchestrated by Hyrbyair Marri, Baloch Republican Army (BRA) led by Brahamdagh Bugti, and United Baloch Army (UBA) piloted by Mehran Marri— started nourishing internal rifts due to the reason that the heads of all these separatists factions belonged to the social elite living in self-exile in Europe whereas the operating field commanders belonged to the lower-middle classes which resulted in fragmentation in these groups to gain hegemony.
Imam is quoted to have also not been on good terms with BRA chief Brahumdagh Bugti over several issues who attempted to exert more control in the affairs of the BRA while being in exile.
Another reason behind the differences that emerged between Imam and Bugti was the fact that the latter was more inclined toward negotiations with Pakistani authorities. Imam was thus expelled from BRA in 2018 for his alleged involvement in extortion and extrajudicial killings in reaction to which he made another separatist action with his influence in the Makran region and in some other urban areas of Balochistan.
Similarly, BLA also underwent the same plight where Aslam Achu and Bashir Zaib revolted against Hyrbyair Marri and founded own faction of BLA. Several separatist groups merged to form an alliance under the name Baloch Raji Ajoi Sangar (BRAS). BNA was also involved in bomb attack at crowded market in Lahore’s famous Anarkali Bazar in 2022 in which three people were killed and several injured.
Imam was among the few most wanted terrorists who was engage in a series of sabotage activities and killings of innocent civilians and security officials and this is why his arrest has been termed as a major breakthrough—a serious blow to the militant groups in Balochistan which is restoring to peace and youth of Balochistan is rather shunning away insurgency leaving such miscreants into turmoil for want of ‘raw material’.
Security experts and officials have hailed Imam’s arrest as a great achievement for law enforcement agencies. The capabilities of Pakistani law enforcement agencies have been globally acknowledged to uproot the menace of terrorism. The unsung heroes of these security agencies have been laying their lives for the stability of the country as well as the region.
Imam is one of the three most influential commanders after BLA chief Bashir Zaib and BLF chief Allah Nazar who had a key role in the formation of BRAS and his arrest is another feather to the crown of the security forces of Pakistan and the information gathered from him will be a massive end or neutrality to the longstanding insurgency in the province. Many of the militants have left these groups and due to internal conflicts their operational powers have been reduced.
However, measures will have to be taken to curb the militancy tilt in Balochistan at grass root level by extending opportunities and economic development of the deprived province for there are ideological roots of insurgency and a counter narrative with rehabilitation plan would be required for the people of Balochistan. The state needs to quickly address the emerging threat, lest Balochistan slip back into large-scale violence.
If there is an emerging nexus between Baloch militants and foreign agencies, it must be broken, while if there is evidence that the Baloch separatists are finding refuge in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, this needs to be taken up with Kabul’s rulers.
A short term solution and cracking down on militants is obviously not a guarantee to the peace in the region as in the past years of policies to pacify Balochistan have either failed or foiled. Therefore, along with kinetic action, the state must also look at why it has been unable to bring socioeconomic uplift to this resource-rich, but appallingly poor province.
Speakers Determined not to let the Militants Hijack Peace and Prosperity in Balochistan
