Pakistan on Wednesday banned five militant outfits operating in the restive Balochistan province and froze their assets as part of the federal government's decision to go after Baloch separatists who are fighting against the State as well as amongst one another.
This was announced in Quetta by federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik after reviewing the law and order. The five banned groups are Balochistan Republican Army, Baloch Liberation Front, Balochistan Liberation United Front, Baloch Defaee Tanzeem and Lashkar-e-Balochistan.
Besides the five banned groups, the Minister also threatened to go after all those outfits which bear the word ‘Lashkar' or liberation in their names. Stating that the federal government had offered separatist groups enough time and numerous opportunities to return to the mainstream and negotiate, he said: “Enough is enough. They are killing innocent people; they are mercenaries. We are going after them now.''
As for the Indian hand in the strife in Balochistan and insurgents making their way into the province from Afghanistan, Mr. Malik said: “We have not only raised it with the two governments, we have lodged our protest with them.'' Further, he said Bramdagh Bugti — grandson of slain Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Akbar Bugti who heads the Balochistan Republican Party and is regarded as the fiercest face of the insurgency — was in Afghanistan. Pakistan has time and again flagged his Indian passport as evidence of New Delhi's support for the insurgency in Balochistan.
This decision to crackdown on Baloch insurgents has been taken in view of the growing atmosphere of lawlessness in the province. The immediate provocation is the attack on the Shia procession last Friday though that suicide bomb strike is said to have been the handiwork of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
While Balochistan has always had a troubled relationship with the federation — particularly over control over natural resources in the resource-rich but most backward of Pakistan's provinces — matters came to a head in 2006 with the assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti; triggering a wave of separatist sentiments and renewed violence. So open is the disenchantment with the State that Mr. Malik's announcement provoked anger and cynicism. Reacting on a Baloch website, one native said: “Were we previously getting flower buckets from all those air and ground strikes, Mr. Malik, that you threaten to use ‘force' this time?''
