Balochistan crisis and the International Dimension...

The International Dimension in the Balochistan Conflict

Maryam Sakeenah

The international dimension of the Baloch conflict is linked to the immense strategic importance of the province. It is rich in natural resources, has a long coastline providing a link to warm waters for the landlocked Central Asian countries to the north. The Gwadar port has tremendously increased the region’s importance. According to analyst Frederic Grare, there are almost 20 countries that are in need of the trade facilities the development of the Gwadar port promises. The proximity to China, Afghanistan and Iran and the increased importance of South East Asia in the context of the War on Terror has brought international attention and focus on Balochistan. The Chinese have invested in the Gwadar port as it can provide a convenient link to ‘monitor US military activities in the Persian Gulf region.’

Recently there have been efforts to materialize the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, which will pass through Balochistan. The estimated cost of the project is $ 4 billion.[1] For India, the gas pipeline is essential for its growing energy requirements as it aspires to become the regional power. The pipeline project can generate employment in the heavily populated region along its route, and attract international investment in Pakistan. It can also act as a means to develop friendly and enduring bilateral ties among the countries involved, particularly the traditional rivals India and Pakistan. The United States is not supportive of this project owing to its hostility against Iran over its alleged pursuit of a nuclear armament programme and its ‘support to terrorism’ in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. The pipeline project will turn South Asia into an energy rich zone, bringing benefits for both Central Asia and more importantly, China_ the emerging world economic giant. This is not in the interests of Washington.   

The ongoing unrest in Balochistan and the volatile security situation has brought about a halt to the development projects, particularly the Gwadar port. The pipeline issue is in a stalemate, shelved till the security situation improves. The killing of Chinese engineers working at Gwadar on the eve of the Pakistani President’s visit to China is an indicator of the precariousness of the situation. Reportedly, a number of multinational companies find the situation in Balochistan an unwelcoming and rather hostile milieu for investment and are considering pulling out.  

The War on Terror has added complex dimensions to the issue:

“In the post 9/11 world, a struggle for their rights will pit the people of Balochistan against a trigger-happy army on the hunt for ‘terrorists.’ The religious parties, not quite without support, may oppose this and the Pashtuns of the region may be egged on to act against their provincial brethren... certain American agencies and individuals with decades-old links with the Pakistan Army may even supply intelligence and surveillance aid to their friends in such a conflict. With Afghanistan also under the American grip, this can happen quite easily.”[2]

With claims of Al Qaeda leadership operating from Balochistan, international attention and involvement in the region is still likely to increase. The kidnapping of UN official John Solecki by Baloch rebels, the cold blooded murders of politicians, civil servants and bureaucrats demonstrates the sway the miscreant rebels hold in the region, the rampant insecurity and lawlessness and the ineffectiveness of the government’s writ in the area. 

The Pakistan government has very often mentioned the interference of Afghanistan and India in the province. There have been allegations of the Baloch Liberation Army receiving financial assistance and training from Indian Intelligence Agencies, notably the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). India happens to be the only country that has officially expressed its concern over the Balochistan conflict, and called for international attention, highlighting the Pakistan Army’s ‘atrocities.’ During Afghan President Karzai’s 2005 visit to Pakistan, the Pakistani president shared with him evidence of the RAW’s involvement in militant and terrorist activities in Balochistan.’[3] The role of Iran has also raised suspicions in Islamabad. Iran suspects that the Gwadar port, so close to the Iranian territory, may be used by the US_ Pakistan’s strategic ally and partner_ as a base for monitoring Iran. Some suspect that Washington has an interest in using Balochistan to consolidate its military presence in the region in order to monitor and threaten Iran and China. There is also a competition among international contenders to control the oil and gas supply from Central Asia that will pass through the Makran Coast.[4] How much of this is speculation and suspicion, and how much is fact, however, remains to be seen. 

There are, however, a number of questions that surround the situation and seek answers. For one, the leadership of the Baloch Liberation Army reportedly has international connections, and it is not clear where it receives support, weapons supply, training and finances. Other than that, there also exists a record of the involvement of Soviet intelligence agency_ the KGB, in Balochistan during the decade of Russia’s war in Afghanistan. There is evidence of the fact that the KGB had indeed helped arm Baloch rebels and instigated insurgency to destabilize Pakistan which at that time was helping Afghan mujahideen. KGB secret offices still operate in Balochistan and have close ties with the BLA. 

Yet more stunning is an investigation report by five eminent researchers. It begins thus: “Deception and treachery. Live and let die. The ultimate zero sum game. Repetition of bloody history: Call it what you may, something is happening in Balochistan that defies comprehension on any conventional scale...”[5]

The report discloses the active involvement of Russian, America, Indian, Afghan and Iranian intelligence agencies in the province. These help arm and finance the militant groups, primarily the BLA. The story goes back to the days when Soviet intelligence officials landed in the region prior to and during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. These KGB officials have thorough and indepth knowledge and experience of the nature of the conflict in Balochistan. As a strategy of vengeance against Pakistan’s active support to the Afghan jihad, Russia began to use its intelligence arsenal to fund and support sabotage activities in Balochistan in order to weaken the federation. The Balochistan Liberation Army was hence the brainchild of the KGB. The BLA went underground after the signing of the Geneva Accord in 1988, but re-emerged with a new leadership following the onset of the War on Terror which focussed international attention and increased American presence in the region. The Russian KGB officials, having known the area and its people well_ perhaps better than most Pakistanis do_ assisted the Americans to ‘set up shop’ in Balochistan. The CIA and KGB have a relationship of co-operation on the issue of Balochistan, the report maintains.

Balach Marri who heads the BLA stayed for several years in Russia where he got a degree in Engineering and developed close ties with Russian officials. Training camps were set-up in 2002 and an insidious plan of indoctrination of Baloch youth began, in order to fan their already existing grievances against the state. The report summarizes the following points as the highlights of the BLA indoctrination programme:[6]

i)                    The Baloch people’s right to independence.

ii)                   The concept of ‘Greater Balochistan’

iii)                 Sabotage as a tool for political struggle

iv)                 Tyranny of Punjab and the plight of oppressed ‘nations’within Pakistan

v)                  Propaganda and media-friendly methods of mass protest

The RAW lent its assistance in training and arming the BLA, as the anonymous KGB officials interviewed in the report disclose: “When we first began the BLA, it was logical to ask RAW for assistance because they have several thousands of ground contacts in Pakistan, many of them in Balochistan. Anyone wanting to set up shop in Pakistan needs to lean on RAW. Our training camps have rapidly increased with time and now there is a big triangle of instability in Balochistan as 45-50 training camps are freely operating, each of them accommodating from 300 to 550 armed militants. A massive amount of cash is flowing into these camps. American defence contractors, Pentagon operatives, CIA foot soldiers, instigators in double-disguise, fortune-hunters, re-hired ex-soldiers and freelancers are reportedly playing a big part in shifting loads of money from Afghanistan to Balochistan. The Americans are invariably accompanied by their Afghan guides and interpreters.”[7]

The forbidding terrain of the region as well as the weak communication links with the rest of the country give these operatives a free hand, and most of the clandestine work carries on undiscovered. The border with Iran is entirely under the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who use the route for movement of intelligence and espionage personnel. This route is frequently used for free-flowing ‘international traffic’ of intelligence agents, arms supplies and money. Other than that, the coastline brings in Indian ‘aid’ to keep the insurgency ‘alive and kicking.’[8]

The KGB agents interviewed by the researchers describe the scenario as ‘a pragmatic solution to a strategic problem.’ Moscow’s original interest in the region began from its search for ‘warm waters.’ Russians today want monopoly over the energy resources of Central Asia, and want to keep the CAR states dependent on Russia for oil and gas. The prospective pipeline and access to sea trade through Gwadar would not be in the interest of Russia. The US has a similar interest. An energy-rich South Asia would boost up the Chinese economy, as China already has good relations with Pakistan. Hence Washington leaves no stone unturned to keep Balochistan volatile and its prospects of development as an energy-rich region thin. America deeply resents China’s assistance and involvement in the construction of the Gwadar sea port. 

Gwadar can step up competition with Iranian ports that can be an alternative route for landlocked Central Asia. Iran is also suspicious of America using Gwadar to monitor Iranian territory given the close Pakistan-US alliance. In Afghanistan, there exist numerous elements in the government who have links with India and harbour ill-will against Pakistan. They use their long border with Balochistan to stir up trouble for Islamabad and appease their supporters and allies in Delhi. The BLA currently also receives tremendous support from the Baloch sardars.

It is obvious that the mineral wealth and strategic importance of the region has made Balochistan a theatre for the ‘Great Game’. This is tremendously dangerous for Pakistan as, if left unchecked, it could lead to the bifurcation of the state itself_ which the country has already suffered in 1971. This time, history must not be allowed to repeat itself.

Dr. Noor ul Haq opines, “To eliminate the external factor, the best alternative is to put our own house in order. Internal harmony and strength is to be achieved by a constitutional government established through a democratic process, rule of law and dispensation of justice, economic development and prosperity, abolition of feudalism and empowerment of the people, adequate military strength and proactive foreign policy. This will deter external powers from exploiting internal grievances and interfering in internal affairs.”[9]

---

[1] Ali, Imtiaz, “The Balochistan Problem”, Current Affairs Digest, Lahore, November 2005.

[2] Singh, Airavat, “The Baloch National Question”, Bharat Rakshak Monitor, Vol.6 (4), Jan-Feb, 2004.

[3] Reported by The News (Islamabad), February 22, 2005.

[4] Grare, Frederic, “Balochistan at the Crossroads”, www.fpc.org.uk, June 27, 2008.

[5] Saeedi, Tariq, Pyatakov, Sergei, Nasimzadeh, Ali, Jan, Qasim, Kasi, SM: “The Stunning Investigative Story on the Birth of the Balochistan Liberation Army”, 2006.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Haq, Noor ul, Dr., “Balochistan Disturbances: Causes and Response”, Islamabad Policy Research Institute Journal, Summer 2006, Vol.6 (2), Islamabad.

A Surfeit of Politics

A Surfeit of Politics

Maryam Sakeenah

 
"'Twas grief enough to think mankind 
 All hollow servile insincere
But worse to trust my own mind
And find the same corruption there." (Emily Bronte)

'Politics' is the raw human nature I carry within magnified onto the world map. Strangely enough, studying political intrigue, conflict, conspiracies, power struggles, war and peace, human motivations, aspirations and errors, I only find my own nature magnified onto the chasm of History. History: that embarrassing account of our communal actions as a species, and our communal mistakes.

History repeats with a pattern all too familiar, predictable and regular. It is a record of human mistakes that mattered. Fatal Mistakes that affected millions of anonymous lives. Mistakes that repeat themselves: relentlessly, tragically, incorrigibly. It is only the names, the faces, the dates that change. Not our inner rawness of nature. It is the context that changes, not the motives; not the actions; not the impulses_ not the feet of clay, not the tail between the legs.

First it was the primordial jungle where our predecessors tore each other up for space, or food. Now it is the Brave New World. No more stones and spears, no more caves. We have our Ministries of Defence. Our Smart Bombs and Dirty Bombs. And we fight for oil. We grew more sophisticated in our tastes, but in the process of the onward march of time, we forgot to learn the little lessons on the way, those little signs God signposted to direct, guide, warn, assist. We refused to learn from the consequences of our deeds and misdeeds. But mostly misdeeds. Sigh.

We chose to thrust fingers in our ears when the cry came loud and clear: “And travel in the land and learn from the fate of those before you...” (The Noble Quran) and “Many a nation have We destroyed before you...” (The Noble Quran) We forgot the greatest lesson of all: the realization that at the end of the day it is, after all, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust”, and that the only thing that makes “our little lives rounded with a sleep” have worth, is to

“leave footsteps in the sands of time

 Footsteps that perhaps another

 Forlorn and shipwrecked brother

 seeing, might take heart” (Longfellow)

 We chose only to leave stains of grease from heavy military boots thundering relentlessly onwards, trampling the small things, leaving behind stains of blood and the stench of death.

I remember some years back I saw a newspaper cartoon from Italy under Mussolini in the 1930s, which showed a volcano smouldering and full of lava, with a tag ‘freedom of speech’ written at the side. Atop the volcano sat ‘Il Duce’ Benito Mussolini with his fists firmly holding down the crater of the volcano. The caption beneath read, “This will hurt you more than it hurts me.” Time took it to the logical conclusion: Mussolini lost, living only as a pariah in history. Freedom triumphed. History taught the lesson it always does.

Yet decades down the line, we are still languishing for true and meaningful liberty and freedom_to live, speak, BE. Other tyrants hold down the volcano’s crater. Lesson: we forgot to learn from history. Again. And so we have our Abu Ghraibs, Bagrams and Guantanamos, we have Gaza and Baghdad, Mazar e Sharif and Srinagar where we let loose the Reign of Terror and then hold down the crater with boiling lava within, hoping it will not hurt us. We refuse to learn.

We refuse to learn that:

'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away” (Shelley)

We refuse to learn that the carrion littering the streets of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and Fallujah in 2003 had been once upon a time faces that smiled, eyes that twinkled with hope, hearts that pulsated with life... and that the victimized and oppressed do not forget their dead. The hurt keeps festering till it maddens, metamorphosing human beings into suicidal human bombs who laugh life to scorn, because they have seen life devalued, wrenched away with wantonness.

In our narrow, selfish and disgustingly self-righteous megalomania, we pursue our agendas toying with lives, desperately trying to perpetuate our petty selves, leaving ‘light footprints’, planting flags and arrogant bawdy nationalistic emblems over bleeding cities where those ‘people we do not know’ dwell otherized, dehumanized. We forget that the Greater Plan too is at work, as it always has been. “And while they plan, God also plans. And the best of planners is God.” (The Noble Quran) We forget that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but that it bends towards justice.’ (Martin Luther King)

Political intrigues, strategies, agendas and ambitions in this larger context seem puerile child’s play, the chessboard moves of politics a mere Game of Chess. We keep playing the Game with pretentions of grandeur, calling it ‘Great Game’ , and we refuse to read the writing on the wall, the destiny writ large, the Hand of Justice constantly at work. “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

Multitasking and the Sunnah

MULTI TASKING AND THE SUNNAH

Maryam Sakeenah

You have to be a multitasker, or you’re old fashioned. It is just so normal nowadays to have a conversation while smsing a friend, listen to a song while typing an email, update your facebook status while looking up a reference on Google, watch the television while at the dinner table with family. This just goes to show the magnitude of the transformation the technological revolution has brought about in our social and even personal lives. Multitasking is the Way of Life.

While the modern lifestyle almost dictates multitasking, is it really an efficient way to get things done and get them done well? Much has been written about it, and concerns voiced about multitasking taking its toll on human relationships, work efficiency and quality, time management, mental concentration and human behaviour.   

What in the old-fashioned eighties would be considered rude manners, disrespect, attention deficit or disinterest is now the way to go about things. In a comedy show, Jerry Seinfeld explains his reasons for not possessing a Blackberry Smartphone: “Blackberry people... their pupils do not focus. They’re not really there. They hold the Blackberry in their hands all the time, because this is what it commands them to do. And they listen to what you are saying and compare it to what is on the Blackberry, and which one is really more interesting...”

It is interesting to note that the term multitasking is derived from computer multitasking. It is a basic computer function. But while machines are built to multitask, can we apply it to human lives as well? The modern way of life demands just that, but it is common observation that it leads to attention deficit, poor time management and poor efficiency. Psychological studies have disclosed that people show severe interference when even very simple tasks are performed at the same time, if both tasks require selecting and producing action. Many suggest that the human brain can only perform one task at a time. (‘Is Multitasking a Myth?’ BBC News, August 20, 2010). Psychiatrist Richard Hallowell has gone so far as to describe multitasking as a “mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously.” (Hallowell, Richard. Crazy Busy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap! Strategies for Handling Your Fast-Paced Life.) Researchers examined how multitasking affects academic success and found that students who engaged in more multitasking reported more problems with their academic work. (Junco, R. & Cotten, ‘Perceived Academic Effects of Instant Messaging Use.’).
Inability to manage time is a frequent complaint one gets to hear so often. We are by far busier today than ever before, we have more things to do today than ever before, our lives are faster and our tasks speedier than ever before, but we get to accomplish little, if not nothing. Multitasking achieves little. With our uninsightful and rather thoughtless embrace of technology, the ‘barakah’ has quite fled from our lives as we race against time and breathlessly chase deadlines, doing nothing to the heart’s content. We remain perpetual underachievers, perpetually dissatisfied.
As Muslims, the inspiration and guidance always comes from the life of the Prophet (SAW).  While we all know that the Prophet (SAW) possessed a multi-dimensional personality and lived out many roles that inspire all sorts of people, what must be highlighted and reflected upon is how he did justice to each of these roles, lived each aspect perfectly well, and accomplished all of his diverse range of duties remarkably. Whether it be his family life, his political life, his social sphere or his spiritual life, Muhammad (SAW) did it all to perfection. So then, dispensing so many tasks altogether, fulfilling so many of his duties that his position demanded, did the Prophet (SAW) multitask?
Here are some insights from his life that give us some clarity in this regard. For one, the Prophet (SAW) was a beloved husband, and spent quality time with his wives and children. To his friends he was a mentor and a loveable companion. As a military strategist and soldier, a jurist and lawmaker, a head of state, leader and statesman, a teacher and guide, the Prophet (SAW) was the paragon par excellence. Ayesha (R.A) narrates, “The Messenger of Allah talked to us and we talked to him. However, he was as if he had not recognized us when it was time for prayer, and he turned to Allah with his all existence.” This shows that the Prophet (SAW) would give his best to each task, one at a time. While at home, he would be fully involved in domestic affairs, spending time with the people of his household, listening to them, talking to them and attending to their needs. And when it was time for other duties for instance the duty of prayer to his Lord, he would shut out everything else and turn towards his Lord with heart and soul, with complete submission and thorough involvement. This perhaps is why he derived from it an intense pleasure that eludes us today, and could feel that Salat was for him ‘the coolness of the eyes.’ This is also why he managed family matters exceedingly well, and all his wives loved his noble companionship thoroughly.
It is also interesting to note the Prophet (SAW)’s manners of conversing with others. It is said he would speak little, but with gravity, precision, balance and wisdom. More than that, he was an intent listener and would listen to others patiently with complete attention till they had finished. In fact, when spoken to, he would turn himself with full involvement and interest towards the speaker, making him feel thoroughly understood and given importance. It worked wonders in gluing together a closely knit and firmly bonded community of companions, disciples, associates, lovers and devotees who later became integral to the spread of the Islamic mission.
In matters of the state or of military planning, the Prophet (SAW) applied himself fully and achieved astounding results. The fact that the Prophet (SAW) is universally acknowledged by all as perhaps the most successful figure in human history, must make us analyze his approach and methods with some seriousness. The way of the Prophet (SAW) was clearly what may be called ‘uni-tasking’, taking one thing at a time, performing it to the best of his ability till its conclusion without interruption, distraction or interference. It is only when one allows oneself to be possessed by a single idea and executes it to its successful end does one become an achiever with a deep sense of satisfaction. This deep contentment for having attained your target after successfully finishing a task you devoted yourself wholly to is an unparalleled feeling that is the privilege of the Sunnah-abiding Muslim to relish. Muslims are essentially uni-taskers.