Prime Minister Imran Khan did well to visit Naushki, meet the soldiers and ensure them that they enjoy the support of the whole nation. To suppress the insurgency in Balochistan Pakistan needs to avoid past mistakes. The insurgency has now entered a new and highly dangerous stage. Instead of the earlier hit-and-run attacks, this time there have been coordinated attacks on FC camps with sophisticated weapons. What is more, the terrorists seem to have no shortage of recruits and shelter.
Two major blunders have led to the present situation. One, there has been a total reliance on use of force without any serious attempt to win over the population and isolate the terrorists. As a result the youth continues to be lured by the terrorists and there seems to be no shortage of recruits. The PM says the development of Balochistan is critical for the future of Pakistan. Equally important is that the Baloch have a sense of ownership which comes when the developments come through their genuinely elected representatives rather than a selected administration imposed on them. A section of well-rooted and mainstreamed nationalist parties was ready to help to put an end to insurgency through talks if certain conditions were fulfilled but their offers were rejected.
The second blunder was a miscalculation that a friendly Taliban government would not allow any terrorist group to launch attacks inside Pakistan. With the Taliban in power, terrorist attacks in Pakistan have in fact increased compared to the previous regime of Ashraf Ghani. The handlers of those who carried out attacks in Kech and Panjgur have been traced in Afghanistan and India.
A report by a UN monitors team reveals that the TTP has between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters in Afghanistan. What is more, the network maintains close working relations with all major terrorist groups in the region. Afghanistan under the Taliban has thus become a potent threat to neghbouring countries and the region. There is a need to take up the issue at the conference of the immediate neighbours of Afghanistan being held in China next month and to collectively pressurize and assist the Afghan government to expel these groups from their country.
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