BALOCHISTAN, the so-called strategic asset that is always

seemingly bleeding, has been in the news for several reasons

lately. There has been, of course, the global focus on it ever
since Akhtar Mansour, the Afghan Taliban leader, was killed
while travelling across Balochistan. Since then, the elevation of
Haibatullah Akhund zada, allegedly an event that took place in
Balochistan, has sustained the interest in Pakistan's geographica
y largest province. Balochistan has also been in
the spotlight because of aggressive new claims by the securityest
ablishment and its allies that the province has been virtually over
run by foreign spies, from Afghanistan, India and, for now, several
unnamed countries. Yet, the original security problemthere -
a low-
level Baloch insurgency that is now the longest inthe province's hi
story -
continues. The outgoing month has beenespecially bloody, with l
osses on both sides as militants haveclaimed bomb and gun attac
ks and security forces theelimination of militants in firefights. Is th
ere hope forBalochistan?
Perhaps the first step that needs to be taken is for the country toc
ome out of its denial over Balochistan. Political leaders likeBalochi
stan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti may rail
against theNDS and Afghan refugees, but the IED that killed two
FCpersonnel in Awaran and the two dead bodies of governmente
mployees recovered over the weekend from Kech occurred inarea
s that are hardly Afghan stamping grounds. Meanwhile, thepolitica
l government in Islamabad appears to have all but givenup on a p
olitical settlement in Balochistan despite the PML-
Nhaving installed its own party's leader in the province as chiefmi
nister. The overall media, too, by its lopsided coverage ofBalochis
tan has exacerbated the national problem ofperceptions and unde
rstanding of what ails the province. Withthe aggressive, almost hy
sterical, coverage of claims of foreigninterference in Balochistan i
n recent
weeks, the disaffectedBaloch may well be wondering if they were
better served whentheir province was effectively under a national
news blackout. More than ever, there is a yawning chasm betwee
n what isalleged to be taking
place in Balochistan and what the swathesof the Baloch populatio
n are experiencing.
Ultimately, if the Baloch insurgency is to be brought to an end, the
lead will have to be taken by the political class. The securityestab
lishment, now under three successive army chiefsspanning over a
decade and a half, has demonstrated that it stillsees Balochistan f
rom a regional security prism rather than as aprovince with legitim
ate socioeconomic and political grievances. But is the political cla
ss capable or willing to take lead onBalochistan?
so-called (what people commonly call a/not really a)
strategic (related to a plan to reach a goal)
asset valuable thing
seemingly (appearing to be)
several (more than two, but not a lot of)
global worldwide
allegedly (claimed to be)
took place happened
geographically (related to where mountains, rivers, cities, etc.,
are located)
province area of control/area of land
allies friends
virtually almost
insurgency revolution
militants fighters
Perhaps Maybe

rail against loudly complain about

refugees (people who have run away from their own countries
because of bad treatment)
employees workers
occurred happened

despite (even though there is the existence of)

lopsided (not level/one side higher than the other)
exacerbated worsened
ails sicknesses
hysterical (very funny/wildly emotional)
in recent weeks lately
disaffected (unhappy against authority)
blackout (no electrical power)/(no lights)/(no memory)
chasm deep division
alleged possible
taking place happening
swathes wraps
Ultimately (in the end)
successive (one after the other)
a decade ten years
demonstrated (showed/shown or proved)
regional (related to a large area)
legitimate legal/real and true
socioeconomic (how money affects people's lives)
grievance complaint