THE PROVINCE of Baluchistan in Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan, has
recently suffered from flooding, causing hundreds of deaths.
This misery has come on top of fighting between General Musharraf’s
regime and the province’s power brokers, the tribal chiefs.
Khalid Bhatti, Socialist Movement Pakistan (SMP – CWI, Pakistan)
reports on this deadly conflict.
THE SITUATION in Baluchistan has become so explosive and volatile
that the Pakistani army is finding it difficult to control. The present
wave of violence in Sui and other areas of Baluchistan started after the
rape of a female doctor in a hospital near the Sui gasfields in January.
The local people and tribal chiefs suspected a military officer of
the crime. At first the government denied the involvement of this army
officer but when violence erupted they withdrew their first statement
and admitted to the involvement of the army.
This area of Baluchistan is called Dera Bugti. In everyday language
it is referred to as "Sui" and is known for its huge gas
reserves. The area where the gasfield is, the largest of its sort in
Pakistan, belongs to the Bugti tribe, one of the biggest tribes in
Baluchistan.
Tribalism
THE CHIEF of this tribe, Nawab Akbar Bugti, rules this area. He has
prisons in which his rivals and dissidents vanish, and maintains his own
military force to repress the masses. Tribalism in the province of
Baluchistan not only still exists, but is very strong.
This rotten tribal and feudal system with all its repression and
brutality, its inhuman and reactionary laws, is centuries old but it
still exists today. The area of Sui is very backward and underdeveloped.
Schools, hospitals, transport facilities and other basic requirements of
life hardly exist.
Education for women is non-existent because it is not allowed by
tribal law. Women are not allowed to leave their homes. Honour killings,
forced marriages and other cruel, inhuman customs and traditions are
widely practiced under the guise of tribal traditions and pride.
Social and economic conditions
THIS AREA of Baluchistan is marked by abject poverty and horrific
social and economic conditions. A wasteland of poverty stretches as far
as the eye can see. Houses built of concrete are not available for the
overall majority of ordinary people. Most of them live in mud houses
without clean drinking water, sanitation and electricity.
The military rulers have deployed the Pakistani army in Sui. The
military have established a small military base in the area. The
original plan was to build a much larger base which would have allowed
them to control the area. This proved impossible and they have changed
their approach.
To secure the area they are now planning to forcefully remove the
civil population from the area and house them 35 kilometres away from
Sui. The whole area has become a theatre for military operations with
the army conducting widespread house-to-house searches. However, the
military repression is failing to stop the attacks.
Local people are saying that they will resist any forced evacuation
and that if war is imposed on them they will prepare for it.
The situation has become very dangerous; all-out action from the
military will escalate the situation to the level of a civil war in many
areas of Baluchistan. Recent events have already provided proof of
elements of an emerging civil war
In the last few days, eight trains have been targeted by what the
government claims are ‘unknown terrorists’. All the main power lines
have been destroyed, disrupting the electricity supply to most areas of
Baluchistan. The main railway lines have been destroyed and nine bomb
explosions in different cities were reported.
Attacks on security forces
THE DESTRUCTION of gas pipelines has become a daily routine. But
whilst many innocent people have died as the result of continued
violence, the promises of the government, on the one hand, and the
leadership of the Nationalist parties on the other hand, are met with
strong feelings of distrust.
A layer of the younger generation mistrust the Nationalist parties
headed by the tribal chiefs. These youth are interested in the
alternative ideas and in the future the SMP, with a correct strategy and
programme, can make headway.
The government is in a quandary about how to control this region.
Launching an all-out military operation might totally spiral out of
control. Different political forces are trying to exploit the weakness
of the military regime and make some gains for themselves.
The muthida qaumi movement (MQM, a Karachi and urban Sindh,
linguistically-based, and politically middle-class outfit) has already
threatened to quit the government if the government decides to launch an
all-out military operation. In Sindh, nationalist parties organised a
very successful strike on 24 January.
It is unlikely that the government will opt for a solely military
solution. It will try to reach a compromise with the tribal chiefs and
the leadership of the Nationalist parties.
This will reduce the violence temporarily but will open new
rivalries, struggles and political wars between the different currents
and tendencies amongst the Nationalist leadership keen for a slice of
the money and power offered by the government.
This crisis can not be solved on a capitalist basis. Capitalism has
made the national question more complicated and volatile. The overthrow
of capitalism is necessary to solve all the basic and fundamental
problems faced by the working class.
