IT was satisfying to observe that the parliament has put its entire weight behind the anti-terror campaign following a dangerous escalation in terrorist attacks as witnessed in different areas of Balochistan.
The lawmakers in both the upper and lower houses of parliament adopted a firm and uncompromising stand on the issue on Monday, highlighting a rare consensus on the need for national unity. Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif echoed national sentiment by emphasizing the need for large-scale deployment of troops to cover Balochistan’s vast terrain, stressing also that combating terrorism was a national responsibility.
We have been emphasizing in these columns, time and again, that the parliament being the collective voice of the nation must play a lead role in firming up a comprehensive strategy to wipe out the menace of terrorism, which is posing one of the major threats to progress and development of the country. What parliamentarians displayed on Monday was reassuring in that it sent a crystal clear message to terrorists and their sponsors that the nation stands united in foiling designs of internal and external enemies of peace and progress. It is also important to note that there was a growing realization among parliamentarians that there was absolutely no justification for taking up arms against the state on the pretext of political or economic conditions, which are being twisted by vested interests in line with their nefarious designs. Addressing the National Assembly session, the Defence Minister said the narrative of deprivation in the province is baseless, maintaining that no negotiations would be held with terrorists and that the state would respond to their actions with full force. Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, addressing the Senate session today, said that terrorists must be called terrorists without any “ifs or buts” and asserted that there was no sense of resentment in Balochistan. He rightly pointed out what kind of grievances the militants have in stopping buses and taking passenger trains hostage to identify people from other provinces and kill innocent souls. Similarly, the militants belonging to banned outfits and facilitated by India and Afghanistan, routinely target infrastructure and development projects besides attacking manpower working on them including those from China.
In fact, feudal chiefs and misguided elements are squarely to be blamed for poverty and backwardness. It is a matter of record that the successive federal governments launched comprehensive developmental packages for Balochistan but the allocated funds were not judiciously spent and wasted due to proverbial corruption in the province. It is understood that people of Balochistan will be the major beneficiary of multi-billion dollar connectivity projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridors (CPEC) but attempts are also being made to make the initiative controversial. A paper published by Islamabad-based Centre for Research, Policy Development, Peace & Strategic Studies point out that long coastline of Balochistan, the province rich in coal, copper, gold, chromite and other minerals, its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz and its location at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East give it immense geo-economic and geostrategic importance but despite these advantages the province lagged behind in social and economic indicators. A number of projects initiated under the umbrella of the CPEC have the potential to transform the socio-economic landscape of the province provided there is peace and stability. For this to happen, the treasury and the opposition benches must make concerted efforts to address the challenge of terrorism. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai apparently condemned terrorism and approved of the counter terrorism strategy by questioning how attackers were able to operate and why the response was delayed. The suggestion of the Defence Minister for large-scale deployment is understandable but it is also important to forge a consensus political narrative to isolate terrorists.
