New Delhi: Pakistan have scored a diplomatic victory after the U.S. labelled the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a terrorist organisation. The Majeed Brigade, too, was added as an alias of the BLA’s previous Specially Designated Global Terrorist classification.
While Pakistan is upbeat about the move, analysts in India say that this could only go on to worsen the problem for Islamabad. While incidents of violence have gone up in Balochistan, the situation is no different in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Pakistan has been locked in a fierce battle with a separatist insurgency in the mineral-rich Balochistan. The BLA has been fighting for an independent Balochistan and has accused Pakistan of forced resource exploitation. Now, with the terror tag and Field Marshal Asim Munir boasting about it, the BLA is likely to get more aggressive.
Jamie Ulema-Islam senator Kamran Murtaza said that the situation in Balochistan has gone from bad to worse. There has been no internet for the last couple of weeks, and the security situation has worsened. With the threat of more attacks in Balochistan, the Pakistan government has denied the region of internet, water and electricity.
Indian Intelligence agencies say that the heat is on the Pakistan army. Groups within Balochistan and PoK are going to get more aggressive, and the situation is going to be nothing but a mess.
The US designation will only make the BLA more aggressive, and this will put the Pakistan military in a spot of bother. Munir has felt that getting a minerals deal with the US and then having the BLA designated may have been a masterstroke. However, according to the Indian agencies, the situation is going to get worse, and if the US goes through with the deal will have a BLA problem, just like how the Chinese did.
The situation for Pakistan is no different in PoK. The people have started complaining of utter neglect and have even taken to the streets to protest against the Pakistan establishment.
This week, the Pakistan Army had a tough time quelling a huge gathering of people who were seeking freedom from Pakistan. The people of PoK have long been complaining about a lack of jobs, infrastructure and other basic facilities. Hence, they decided to stage a freedom march, following which the army had to intervene when the situation turned violent.
Indian officials say that Pakistan faces similar problems both in Balochistan and PoK. They treat the people of these regions with utter contempt. While they dig out all the resources from these regions, nothing reaches the locals. It is all diverted to the main cities in Pakistan. Worse, the high levels of corruption within the Pakistan Army and the atrocities that they have committed on the people of these regions have also added to the anger.
Like the people of Balochistan, the residents of PoK have been complaining that all the minerals and hydro power in their region do not reach them. It is those in the Punjab province who benefit from this, while the locals remain in shambles.
The strategy in both regions by the Pakistan administration is the same. They want the two regions to remain backward so that they can maintain a grip over the people.
It worked for them for some time, but the anger is out in the open. While in Balochistan, the Pakistan Army have been given a bloody nose on numerous occasions, in PoK, the anger is out on the streets and the situation could turn extremely violent soon.
(IANS)
