THE country’s premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), deserves appreciation from every patriotic Pakistani for successfully neutralizing one of the serious threats to peace and security of Balochistan and thereby contributing immensely to the cherished objective of progress and stability of Pakistan. It apprehended Gulzar Imam alias Shambay, the founder of the banned Baloch National Army (BNA), in a highly complex intelligence-based operation which is rightly considered to be a remarkable achievement of the agency and reflective of the professionalism of its Director-General Lt. General Nadeem Anjum, who oversaw and coordinated the operation.
This is, indeed, a memorable achievement of the ISI in its anti-terrorism campaign in the country’s largest province which is witnessing turmoil as militant organizations funded, trained and armed by hostile states and agencies have been engaged in acts of terrorism and sabotage for the last two decades. The most important aspect of the operation to nab BNA chief is that Shambay and his accomplices have vowed never to pick up arms again against the state and instead become part of the national mainstream. The most high profile militant leader, who was presented before the media on Tuesday, urged the disgruntled Baloch people to leave their “armed rebellion” and better join the national mainstream to work for the development and prosperity of Balochistan and the country. He refused to remain a pawn of the hostile agencies, saying the state, like a mother, would give him and other militants to come into its fold giving them a chance to reform and become responsible citizens instead of continuing the so-called “fight for rights”. While congratulating the ISI, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that the Director General of ISI deserved the nation’s highest commendation for carrying out with great sophistication, the “first of its kind and the most complex” intelligence operations involving various geographical locations. Given the fact that Shambay was an ideologue, who remained a leading character in steering militant activities in Balochistan, particularly in the south Balochistan, besides maintaining contact with the hostile intelligence agencies for the so-called independence of the province, his arrest and mainstreaming of his organization will surely have a demoralizing effect on several other banned outfits that are still involved in destabilization of the province. It may be pointed out that the successive governments made special allocations to address the proverbial backwardness of Balochistan and bring the province at par with other regions of the country but a systematic and organized campaign was launched by enemies of Pakistan and regrettably some disgruntled elements became willing tools in the hands of their foreign masters. The very fact that developmental/infrastructure projects including those under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were repeatedly targeted to deny the benefits of progress and development to the people of the province. A propaganda campaign was also launched against Pakistan Army and security agencies to malign them on the pretext of human rights whereas the fact remains that personnel of the Pakistan Army and security agencies offered immense sacrifices to protect lives of the people and to create a congenial environment for progress and development. There was sufficient evidence to suggest that the militant outfits were being funded and trained by India and the interference was so crude that Pakistan presented dossiers to the United Nations and important capitals providing proof of Indian involvement in acts of terrorism in Pakistan in general and Balochistan and Karachi in particular. Now Shambay has acknowledged he visited both India and Afghanistan on several occasions and received assistance from New Delhi. In this backdrop, it is encouraging to note that the state, law enforcing agencies and intelligence agencies (especially ISI) are cognizant of the challenges and in full grip of the militant landscape. Peace and stability in Balochistan is a pre-requisite for successful operation of developmental projects like Gwadar deep sea port and energy and trade corridors linking Pakistan with Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia. Therefore, we hope, the agencies, using information gathered from Shambay and his group members as well as from other militant organizations, would also be neutralized at the earliest. It may also be pointed out that the Pakistan Army and the ISI are performing their responsibility meticulously and it is now for their civilian counterparts to adopt a multi-pronged approach to restore peace in the province on a sustainable basis.
