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No Indian role in Balochistan Balochistan: International Crisis Group

2006-09-17 Pakistan's allegation of India being involved in the unrest in Balochistan has been rubbished by noted European think-tank International Crisis Group (ICG) which slammed President Pervez Musharraf for the continued military campaign against Balochistan.

The Brussels-based group, headed by former European Commissioner Chris Patten and former US diplomat Thomas Pickering, has criticised Musharraf for "eliminating" Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, saying that because of this the President's credibility has "sunk to an all-time low".

"Pakistani intelligence agencies are convinced that Indian consulates in Kandahar, bordering Balochistan, and the city of Jalalabad, bordering NWFP, provide funds and arms to the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front," the ICG said in its report released three days back.

But Pakistan government "has offered little hard evidence of substantive foreign funding or cross-border sanctuaries and bases," the report noted.

Pointing out that "even if India were conceivably cultivating Baloch dissidents", the ICG said New Delhi would not like to support unrest in that region as it would not be in its interest.

"After all, a Balochistan that spins out of control would not serve India's interests. It would destabilise Afghanistan and undermine India's prospect of gaining access to the energy resources of Iran and Central Asia through pipelines that would traverse Balochistan," it said.

The ICG severely criticised use of military by Musharraf against people of Balochistan who are seeking redressal of their grievances like share in their region's rich resources.

"In Balochistan, .. the military government (of Musharraf) has, for all practical purposes usurped the province's policing powers and that of the federal government," the international NGO said.

"Following Nawab Bugti's killing, even if the military were, inconceivably, to win the battle for Dera Bugti and Kohlu, it has already lost the war for hearts and minds of Balochistan," the report said.

The Group said that with Bugti's killing, the credibility of President Musharraf and the military has "sunk to an all-time low, not just in Balochistan but in all the smaller federal units" and that the extent to which the federation of Pakistan has been damaged "can hardly yet be assessed".

With Bugti's death, "the directions of the conflict in Balochistan have become far more ominous, evident in the tide of anger that has swept the province," it said.

Noting the "dangerous" and "fast widening gap between the Baloch and the Centre," the group said if it is to be narrowed, restoration of democracy is the only way out.

"If a free and fair general election is held in 2007, the Baloch nationalist parties will likely sweep the polls in the Baloch majority areas of the province," it said.

With representative institutions restored, the Baloch would once again have political avenues and mechanisms to voice their grievances and demands, the ICG said, adding it is in the interests of the international community to ensure that this election is indeed democratic, free, fair and transparent.