It is a success worth celebrating. According to reports, the Balochistan government and the Baloch Yakjehti Committee have reached an agreement, breaking a deadlock that had prevented the long protests that had paralysed life in various parts of Balochistan from disbanding peacefully. The provincial government deserves some commendation for keeping the dialogue channel open despite repeated attempts, including from the highest levels of the state, to paint the BYC as a ‘proxy’ of foreign forces and terrorists. It is encouraging that sense finally prevailed. It is no mean feat that, despite the deep distrust between the protesters and the provincial government, they managed to secure an understanding that both appeared to be content with. Much now depends on how the agreement is executed. It is hoped that both sides will abide by the terms they have set and ensure that the other party has no reason to be aggrieved going forward.

The issues raised by Baloch protest movements have been so simple and similar that it defies understanding why they have never been resolved. In plain terms, the BYC, like other movements before it, has merely asked for the rights the Baloch people are entitled to as citizens of Pakistan. It has made it clear that it is not against criminals or terrorists being tried in courts based on evidence collected against them: it only wants the state to stop tearing families apart with enforced disappearances. By no measure is this an unreasonable expectation. Because the practice of disappearing people has been tolerated for so long and executed with such impunity, it has accelerated societal rot and hollowed out the social contract. The state must learn to engage positively with peaceful activism, instead of treating it with hatred and contempt. It is its responsibility to ensure that the Baloch people do not have cause to agitate, peacefully or otherwise. The province needs a healing touch, not iron fists controlling it.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2024