As one got to know more of Pakistan over the years one was surprised to know there were areas within the country where the writ of the Central Government never ran. This arrangement existed all along since the inception of Pakistan in 1947. These areas existed along the erstwhile NWFP / FATA and Balochistan regions. It would serve one well to also know that the no-go area being mentioned in this article is quite different from the normal areas. There is no presence of Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan (LEAs).
The dichotomy all started when the leaders were pursuing to join Pakistan. Next, it would also serve one well to know that there are areas in the US and Canada which are parallel to what we have had in FATA; areas which are federally administered, exempted from taxes, ruled under tribal law with the tribes owning the land etc. Discussing the issues of Balochistan the story is a bit different. The areas in Balochistan include Pishin, Bugti Agency, Kohlu Agency, Sibi district, 35 miles border area of Qilla Saifullah, Zhob Agency, Loralai all once listed as ‘no-go’ areas. The writ of the state was quite ambiguous there and the land was being held by a set of outliers.
Residents of those areas claimed not be given their due rights, hence they turned to pick up weapons against the state. Moreover, their cause was being highjacked by hostile countries in the region as Balochistan is at crossroads of Asia and has immense importance. The fight for Balochistan was appropriate in some sense but the framework they adopted against the status apparatus was not feasible. It made them a culprit rather than deprived. Even peace dialogues were halted many times due to the provoked attacks on the people of Pakistan and Balochistan. These no-go areas ideology was converting into a demand for a separate state. These outliers stood against the state and on foreign agenda started working for partition of Balochistan.
Mistakes were already made by the Government of Pakistan, but for the first time Pakistan Government and the Provincial Government started to understand the cause of Balochistan back in 2009 when Pakistan Peoples Party started ‘Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan. That was the very moment when people of Balochistan started sensing ownership. With the passage of time, people understood what their rights were and what they were fighting for.
On the contrary, their needs and demands were fulfilled with extra efforts of the Provincial Government. Terrorists and insurgents were quelled off from Balochistan and the end of the bad era started. People now in Balochistan feel developed and safe. Many Ferraris surrendered in the favour of the Government of Pakistan. Last month Balochistan’s Home Ministry issued a statement that “there is no no-go area in Balochistan; the state has established its writ and it will consolidate it further”.
