IT is indeed a welcome move on the part of the Balochistan government to announce a general amnesty for all estranged Baloch youth.

Though this decision is late, it is still a right move. The Balochistan insurgency has seriously undermined the writ of the state.

Foreign interference, lack of economic opportunities and widespread poverty have forced the Baloch youth to take up arms.

The need now is to continue with the policy of rapprochement, as in the past, well-meaning government initiatives like Aghaz-i-Haqooq-i-Balochistan and judicial commission to trace missing people fell by the wayside.

Javed Khan Kakar

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2015

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