TENSION in Gwadar and other parts of Makran has been running high over the past several days, as protesters sympathetic to the Haq Do Tehreek have squared off against security personnel in the coastal city. While supporters of the movement, headed by Maulana Hidayatur Rahman, had been holding a peaceful protest for the past two months, things went awry on Monday after talks between the HDT and the Balochistan government stalled and a strike call was given. The HDT, which also held huge demonstrations last year, wants the state to deliver on several demands, including elimination of illegal trawlers off the Balochistan coast, easing trade with Iran and reducing the footprint of security forces in the region. Though the Balochistan home minister says the state has met all the protesters’ demands, there is clearly a disconnect between the government’s and the HDT’s perspectives. After clashes erupted on Monday, unidentified gunmen killed a policeman the day after during a melee, while over 100 protesters were arrested, with the provincial government banning large gatherings. The protests have spread to other Makran towns, while Gwadar was also cut off from Karachi.

It is the state’s responsibility to keep the peace, and it must ensure that the situation is handled cautiously. Many of the HDT’s demands are genuine and the state must continue to engage with the movement, instead of crushing it. However, the demonstrators — particularly the maulana leading the movement — must also eschew combative stances and continue to protest in a peaceful fashion, while those responsible for the policeman’s murder need to be traced and punished. Balochistan’s problems are well documented, and this and other protests stem from the fact that most people of this resource-rich province continue to live in misery. If the state mishandles this situation by cracking down on the movement, it may risk turning it in a more violent direction. When pushed to the wall, movements can resort to violence or be hijacked by extremists when they see that peaceful protest is not bearing fruit.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2022