Balochistan: The Soul of a Nation and the Search for Peace
By Syed Farooq Shah | Editor, Daily Independent
Balochistan is my home. A wonderful, beautiful province with proud, dignified people—people
who cherish love, uphold hospitality, and care for their guests with a grace unmatched
anywhere in the world. In Baloch and Pashtun society, even if a family has only one piece of
bread and two guests, they will offer that bread to the guest and go to sleep hungry themselves.
This is the kind of society we are dealing with—Baloch and Pashtun societies that are, in every
sense, out of this world in their generosity and warmth.
Since my birth in 1955, I have lived in and observed the typical Baloch and Pashtun societies in
Balochistan. Their values, traditions, and unique cultural identities have endured the test of time
and continue to exist with intensity and authenticity. But unfortunately, today, we are witnessing
the viral spread of violence and terrorism—phenomena that are alien to the cultural DNA of
these communities. This aggression is not homegrown. It is a foreign element, manipulated and
injected by external interests, fueled by regional interference, and now, we are dealing with the
blowback.
There is no terrorist or militancy solution. Violence in all its forms is both counterproductive
damaging not only Balochistan but to the entirety of Pakistan. Sanity must prevail.
We must understand both narratives—the Government’s and that of the disgruntled Baloch
elements who have taken to the mountains in pursuit of what they believe are legitimate rights.
They see armed struggle as the only way to be heard. But history tells us otherwise. Around the
world, such movements have failed to bear fruit. Because noncombatants, civilians and
nonfighting groups never in the world are justified to be killed and targeted for the political group
purposes. And this will only pave the way for more violence and escalations by every passing
moment from the Bolan train attack to the civilian drivers, laborers, passengers and innocent
men killed in the name of espionage has only been a reason to stir violence alone and these
activities are recorded as “blacklist” contents by the international humanitarian organizations
globally.
On the other hand, hard Governments that use force to suppress legitimate grievances of them
people only end up harming themselves in the long run. When a government chooses bullets
over dialogue, it surrenders its moral authority and alienates its own citizens there should have
been a political and diplomatic approach to the issues of Balochista instead of the militarized
approach alone.
Balochistan has never known lasting peace since its inception into Pakistan. The cycle of
violence and despair have gripped this land in painful intervals, inflicting deep wounds and
unspeakable grief since the beginning. The Government, understandably, wants its writ to
prevail across the country so that all citizens—whether in Gwadar or Gilgit—can live in peace,
trade in peace, and enjoy the diversity that Pakistan offers. This is a valid aspiration and no
Government in the world let the commoners get suffer through group or individual violence
because both international law and local law supports the Government defense activities if it is
faced by such situation of militancy that is harming most of the civilians to the level of terrorism,
torture, harassment and anxiety e.g. the situation in Balochistan.
But equally valid is the Baloch peaceful political party’s narrative—that the wealth extracted from
Balochistan should first uplift the people of Balochistan. That leadership should rise from among
them, not be imposed through the established bureaucratic channels. These demands are not
rebellious; they are reasonable.
The key question remains: Can the ongoing militancy in the mountains, with its violence and
terror, ever achieve the objectives of the commoners and peaceful Baloch people? The answer,
again, lies in history—it never has, and it never will.
As someone deeply attached to Baloch and Pashtun leadership through my professional life, I
can say with confidence that the common Baloch do not harbor hatred for the Punjabi people as
they [Punjabis] are equally children of the soil because never in human history racist division
has become a logical approach. Therefore, the Baloch masses issue is not racist—it is instead
structural. They [the peaceful Baloch] view the Punjabi political elites that even include the
Baloch partners of the structural system equally and other elites as exploiters, so not ordinary
Punjabis who are themselves the subject of exploitation even within the premises of the Punjab
province, many of whom suffer from the same deprivation—of roads, health care, education—as
the people of Balochistan and other marginalized regions of the country.
It is unfortunate that the country’s military, propagated being predominantly Punjabi in
composition, is seen by the commoner Baloch as a symbol of oppression because of the
hardcore militant’s narrative makes it pushing to the commoners’ mind through a scientific
approach-based propagation. This perception fuels ethnic animosity, though the real issue is not
ethnicity, but power and disenfranchisement.
This is a low-intensity conflict with no declared enemy—where symbolism is powerful, and
violence is often aimed at making things worse. When Baloch militants attack Punjabis who are
civilian and noncombatants e.g. the ones in Bolan, Rarhasham Musakhel and rest of the
regions, they get themselves in more controversy. Because a civilian is as innocent as a
commoner Baloch is.
Violence on both sides is deplorable. The Government must show restraint in using force
against its own people. The Baloch in the mountains is though becoming aliens through them
separatist attacks while ambushing the commoners, though they are Pakistani citizens by
default there should be a way of dialogue with them, and the violence should get an end by
providing a clean slate to the peaceful Baloch political parties who can do the job better for the
commoners, as they deserve the same rights, respect, and protections as anyone else in this
federation and this will eject the.
Likewise, the peaceful Baloch leadership must also recognize the legitimacy of the
Government’s responsibility to maintain order. Without a functioning Government apparatus,
anarchy would prevail—destroying the very roots of society. And none will be controlling the 5
languages speaking Baloch population or the earlier Brahui confederacy.
How, then, do we bring the disgruntled Baloch elements back from the hills into the
mainstream?
The first step is confidence-building. The Government must address the grievances that fuel
insurgency. Chief among them is the issue of missing persons where all of them should be
brought before the law and judicial proceedings, those innocents should get release and those
involved in the inhumane brutal activities will by default face the justice system. As a gesture of
goodwill, the Government must release those who have been unlawfully detained and return
them to their families. Let the healing begin here.
Secondly, Balochistan needs free, fair, and transparent elections. Let the people choose them
own leadership—one that is truly representative and not installed through rigged processes.
Once such leadership emerges, it must be given autonomy to govern and make critical
decisions for the province’s development.
Third, we must forgive and reintegrate the so-called fighters or militants—granting them
amnesty upon their return and allowing them to live as law-abiding citizens with dignity, if they
are willing to join the peaceful life.
Parallel to political empowerment must come economic empowerment. Every Baloch male and
female aged 18 to 60 should be admitted to technical training programs, like the vocational
strategy China adopted in Xinjiang. Centers must be set up across every district of Balochistan
to train citizens in trades and skills that match local and national job markets. And these training
programs must be directly connected to employment opportunities—so that those who graduate
are guaranteed jobs, whether in Balochistan or elsewhere in Pakistan.
Poverty is the enemy. And Balochistan—on nearly all human development indicators—ranks
even below Afghanistan. That is not just a tragedy; it is a national failure. We must change that.
Let the Government stop wasting resources on ineffective campaigns and start investing in the
people. Balochistan doesn’t need harsh solutions—it needs vocational centers, industrial zones,
access to healthcare, quality education, and infrastructure. And above all, it needs dignity.
In conclusion, the solution begins with the Government acting like a parent—not a disciplinarian.
A parent does not cast out a child who errs. The parent empowers the child, teaches them, and
brings them back into the fold.
Second, true political empowerment must be ensured—not through manipulation, but through
honest, democratic participation.
Third, we must stop silencing voices. Media blackouts and social media censorship do not
eliminate the truth—they only postpone its eruption.
Let us tackle the issue head-on, resolve it with compassion, and restore Balochistan to its
rightful place as the crown jewel of Pakistan—a province once rightly described by former
Finance Minister Dr. Mahbub ul Haq as “the future of Pakistan.”
Let us all, as a nation, preserve that future—with dignity, inclusiveness, and unwavering hope.
