THE cruelty of a murky, apparently endless war in Balochistan was once again bloodily underlined on Tuesday. At least six security personnel were killed and more injured in a vehicle bombing and a double suicide attack by militants. It should be shocking that not only are militants able to penetrate Quetta seemingly at will but that they are also capable of launching coordinated attacks which involve multiple attackers. However, the regularity with which Quetta is struck by militants suggests that the government and the security and intelligence apparatus do not have the capacity to secure Quetta, let alone the rest of the violence-hit province. It appears that no matter who the chief minister of Balochistan may be, or who among the military leadership is rotated through the province, accountability and true security are beyond the national leadership. Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti typically shrugged off responsibility in a series of tweets. “Till the safe havens of terrorists prevail in #Afghanistan, peace can’t be guaranteed in Pakistan,” Mr Bugti has claimed. The home minister has also demanded that the Afghan army and foreign forces in Afghanistan “do more”. Mr Bugti does not seem to believe that security failures in Quetta and Balochistan generally may be a factor in the continuing violence.

Certainly, there is foreign interference in Balochistan and all manner of militant groups — separatists, Islamists, anti-Pakistan, factions and splinters — are active in the province. Hizbul Ahrar, a splinter group of Jamaatul Ahrar, itself a breakaway faction of the banned TTP, has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Frontier Constabulary camp. While such claims are virtually impossible to independently verify, it should be noted that Hizbul Ahrar and Jamaatul Ahrar trace their roots to Mohmand Agency. As ever, when militants find it difficult to attack in one region, they focus on another, more vulnerable one. While that may be the nature of the fight against militancy, the state can be more proactive in its strategy. With only weeks left before the dissolution of the federal and provincial governments and the formation of a caretaker setup to take charge ahead of the general election, an urgent review of the security situation in Balochistan is required. Election campaigns and the polling process are likely to be targets of a range of militants active in Balochistan. If it is impossible to end all violence immediately, it should be possible to dramatically step up security arrangements in the days and weeks ahead.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2018