THE state is understandably keen on neutralising the threat posed by various militant and terrorist outfits, but it must be careful that it does not end up antagonising the civilian population in the process.

As the situation in Balochistan slowly spirals out of control, there is a need to realise that years of bad policies have led to the recent security failures in the province. Blunt tools like lawfare and police brutality cannot address the province’s myriad challenges.

In his March 23 speech, President Asif Ali Zardari noted that the objective behind the creation of Pakistan was to establish a welfare state based on the principles of equality, justice and the rule of law. It is these principles that must be evident as the state strategises how it must defeat those who do not believe in the idea of Pakistan.

Unfortunately, recent actions show that the authorities are far from the right track. The decision to arrest and book Dr Mahrang Baloch, chief organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, along with 150 others on serious charges is unreasonable and will only stoke further trouble.

The BYC has now become a provincial phenomenon because its message of nonviolent but persistent protest has resonated well among ordinary people tired of state excesses. The movement has been led by women in a province where women have traditionally been confined to very limited spaces in society. This is quite extraordinary and should have been taken seriously from the start as a sign of the Baloch people’s commitment to fighting for their rights without resorting to violent means.

Instead, the state continued to treat the BYC with contempt, and it has now charged its leadership with terrorism, murder, incitement to rebellion and promoting racial hatred, among other things, over one admittedly ill-advised protest.

From the Baloch perspective, does this not reinforce the perception that no matter what they do, they will be treated as antagonists by the state? Does this not play right into the hands of those who want to see Balochistan isolated, and its people alienated from the rest of the country?

The state must not push ordinary citizens away with its excesses. It must not let terrorists provoke it into making bigger mistakes. The fight against militancy needs to be won in hearts and minds as well.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025