The good doctor

The residents of Balochistan are in trouble again, and one of the leaders of the Baloch resistance, Dr Allah Nazar, is currently a hunted man. While systemic oppression by paramilitary forces, the Frontier Corps (FC) in particular, and disappearances and torture of citizens at the hands of intelligence agencies, has pretty much become the norm in Balochistan, Pakistan's military has now initiated a direct 'operation' in many areas of the province. The direct target of state ire this time around is former BSO chairman Dr Allah Nazar, who, the military claims, is heading an armed resistance movement for the independence of Balochistan.

Ironically, this new-found belief comes only weeks after Dr Nazar publicly declared that he would ultimately prefer a book over a gun to achieve his ideals. The military, it appears, was not concerned back when the former BSO chairman used to claim that a gun was his second love. Now that he has decided to take the path of peaceful resistance, however, a military operation has been launched in his hometown – Mashkay in Awaran district – and the houses of dozens of political workers have been razed, Baloch nationalists say. According to a spokesman for the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), the militant organisation thought to be headed by Dr Nazar, troops have ransacked and set fire to the houses of people who are considered sympathetic to the Baloch cause. A number of people have also been picked up over the span of a week and have now gone 'missing'. Dr Nazar's relatives have been harassed by paramilitary personnel and their properties have been destroyed, according to reports appearing in local newspapers. Similar treatment has been meted out to Dr Nazar's friend, Akhtar Nadeem, who is suspected [by the state] of being a 'rebel' who has accompanied Dr Nazar 'to the mountains' (in the Baloch national struggle, 'taking to the mountains' is an euphemism for joining the ranks of the freedom fighters or Sarmachar).