The death of Balach Marri on November 21 seems to have another destabilizing effect on the already ongoing instability factor in Balochistan. The assassination of 42-year-old Balach was greatly resented in Baloch/Brohi areas of the province including the cosmopolitan capital city of Quetta where there is a considerable settler population.
There is a growing law and order situation with day-to-day attack on law enforcement agencies personnel and threat to the lives and properties of the settler population. The death of Balach is taken by Baloch elements as martyrdom of another Baloch hero and will boost nationalist sentiments at a time when the country is suffering from crisis of political development.
The resentment can better be understood in the contexts of growing Baloch nationalism, having gained momentum during the last many years due to the authoritarian pseudo democratic politics and military actions, rather than the legal-rational authority in the country -- fanning the flames of instability and anarchy.
The death of Balach Marri, the causes of which are still unknown and in mystery without any direct involvement of the government, are regarded as an aggression on the rights of Baloch rights and privileges. There was protest and demonstration on streets and burning and stoning of properties. Security got alert, universities and schools closed, and examinations postponed. All led to sudden uncertainty and chaos.
Balach Marri who was known for leading guerilla warfare for the rights of the Baloch population lived in Afghanistan along with his father after the 1973-75 insurgency in Marri-Bugti area. In the wake of wide scale military actions and casualties, a large number of Marri tribesmen (few were Bugtis) fled to Afghanistan. They largely lived in the Helmand and Qandahar provinces. Balach like his father believed in the doctrine that the Baloch couldn’t get their political and economic rights without an armed struggle.
Balach, an electronics engineer from Moscow, won the provincial assembly seat from Kohlu with considerable majority, against his rival candidate, Mir Mohabat Khan Marri, the then provincial caretaker minister, Bijrani Marri. He was believed to be actively participating in the armed struggle between Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and armed forces in Marri-Bugti area with him until the last days of Nawab Akbar Bugti. He enjoyed very close liaison with Nawab’s grandson, Baramdagh Bugti.
Nawab was said to have asked both to leave him to his destiny in the last moments of his struggle against the armed forces. Nawab died heroically and his death resulted in countrywide protests. His body, which was recovered two days later, was silently buried without being shown to even his close kith and kin.
Nationalism is one difficult and controversial terminology to define. The term “nationalism” is generally used to describe two phenomena: (1) the attitude that the members of a nation have when they care about their national identity and (2) the actions that the members of a nation take when seeking to achieve (or sustain) self-determination. It can broadly be defined in three kinds. They are unifying nationalism, ethnic separatist nationalism and ongoing patriotic nationalism (every country has).
Nationalism has been a pronounced phenomenon in Balochistan since 1947. Being the largest of provinces in terms of area and rich in minerals, it was raised to the status of province in 1970. Baloch nationalism has the elements of all three, but due to lack of power sharing and viable political institutions it now more tilts towards ethnic separatist nationalism. The simple reason for that is that Baloch and Brohi (two ethnic groups with cultural/religious and political similarities except lingual) feel humiliated at the hands of the federal government where army rules in praetorian ruler type role.
The growing crisis of political instability will aggravate the situation and fan more separatism. Balochistan has lagged behind and economic backwardness of the province and government misrule is responsible for the emergence of Baloch question. The Baloch question largely supported by political and financial grievances and deprivations is a strong unifying factor for Baloch nationalism.
Balochistan in power sharing has far lagged behind the other provinces. Punjab is the leading province and enjoys the lion’s share. NWFP despite the politically grievances and economic problems is comparatively a privileged province by having an established educational and social structure and enjoying a sufficient share in the higher echelons of the military/bureaucratic and other organizational structure of society; and an increasing level of political maturity. Sindh may not seem that deprived. It being below par administratively and economically with an ethnic bifurcation between rural and urban has not been without enjoying a share in government. Karachi being its port city and a nerve of the economic inflow of Pakistan has international importance. Sindh rural has had three prime ministers and enjoy a political value under a representative system. But Balochistan indeed has found no feeling of spring in the changing political weathers since the creation of Pakistan.
Development of democracy and representative institutions facilitate the good management of nationalism. Democracy matters in managing nationalism because democracy presents myriad opportunities for the expression of views and public discourse on policy. In the presence of constitutional setup and division of power sharing the flames of nationalism among the people are hard to fan. But the public review characteristic of democratic systems highlights the dangers and exerts a calming influence. Such checks and balances on the actions of government are absent in non-democratic systems. In Pakistan since 1947 for the larger period of its existence, unfortunately, it has been ruled by undemocratic forces where legitimacy to rule was drawn from authoritarianism and pseudo democratic methods rather than the legal-rational authority.
The death of Balach reflects the growing alienation and distrust of the public from the system, which provides a launching pad for Baloch separatist nationalism. It is not his own popularity and cause of mission but the repression and volatility of a system having lost all moral bases of legitimacy to rule.
