Rules of the game…Ghazi Salahuddin
After the Jaffar Express hostages had been rescued and the military operation, conducted with a high level of professional excellence, had ended, the military spokesperson said that this act of terror would change the rules of the game.
This observation effectively reflected the gravity of an act of terrorism that has shocked the nation. It is unprecedented in how it was planned and executed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). It would stand out in the annals of major terrorist attacks that have wounded Pakistan.
Imagine the improbability of a train being hijacked in the midst of a rocky wilderness, with no means of communication. That is how the bloody encounter continued for 36 hours, with so many fatalities. We have the details of what actually happened.
Anyhow, if the Jaffar Express incident was unprecedented, the people also expect an unprecedented response from the state. And it was in that context that the statement made by Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, about a change in the rules of the game, raised expectations that a new beginning in dealing with the situation in Balochistan was imminent.
However, there was little clarification as to how the rules of the game are to change in the press conference addressed by Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif on Friday afternoon. There was a reference to this in one of the questions asked during the long and very instructive session. What are the new rules? But it got lost somewhere.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, who sat with the military spokesperson to represent the provincial government, elaborated upon the initiative to improve governance by integrating the youth and promoting the principle of meritocracy. He was quite impressive in projecting the official stance towards the Baloch youth that had resorted to violence
and terrorism.
But it was left to Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif to not only present a graphic account of the Jaffar Express operation but also provide a larger perspective of the incidence of terrorism in Pakistan. He underlined the involvement of our adversaries – Afghanistan and India – in facilitating terrorist operations in Pakistan.
Incidentally, the Jaffar Express incident has come at a time when there is a visible surge in acts of terrorism. For instance, I began my column last week by taking note of the “strange coincidence in the timing” of a terrorist attack on the high-security Bannu Cantonment at about the same time that the Global Terrorism Index, 2025, was released. And Pakistan has risen to second place in this index.
Should one also wonder about the timing of the big attack made by Baloch separatists just about a week after a formidable assault on a military target by the TTP terrorists? Is there an alliance or coordination between the two outfits? Their ideology may be poles apart, but their linkages abroad could be the same.
Still, the capacity for strategic planning and intelligence gathering demonstrated by the BLA is truly alarming. There is a list of bold ventures that the Baloch separatists have undertaken recently. One notable incident, which has some relevance to this week’s terror attack, was the suicide bombing at the Quetta railway station in November. At least 25 persons, including security personnel, had died in that bombing.
One focus, then, should exclusively be on Balochistan. It is a situation that has festered for decades. Obviously, some of our past rulers have made terrible mistakes in interpreting the longings and aspirations of the Baloch people, particularly its youth. Chief Minister Bugti does present a bold front but to what extent is Balochistan governable at this time? And who can hear all the voices that are expressed across its desolate expanses? One sentence I noted in the chief minister’s talk on Friday: “Everyone in Pakistan is confused”.
It is sad to witness the helplessness of some well-meaning leaders of the province. It appears that they are becoming irrelevant. Even if the BLA is defeated by the military might of the state, the grievances of the Baloch youth cannot be erased within the present arrangement.
There is no doubt that the menace of terrorism is becoming a threat to the survival of Pakistan. This has been conceded by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself. Hence, something big and drastic has to be done readily to turn the tide. The rules of the game must change.
For that matter, Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif did invoke the National Action Plan (NAP) in his press talk. He particularly examined the 14 points of the Revised National Action Plan that encompasses both kinetic (military) and non-kinetic (soft) measures to counterterrorism and strengthen counterterrorism capabilities. How he presented his case showed that the military is doing its part.
I was surprised to see that one of these points relates to the “Baloch reconciliation process”. Who will preside over this process and how will it go forward?
“Civil, military leaders must put their heads together”. This was the message that made big headlines in the newspapers on Friday, quoting the prime minister. Makes sense. But why can’t these civil and military leaders also include in their consultations some independent scholars and social scientists? Why can’t our rulers benefit from the wisdom of experts who have some insight into the complexity of Pakistani society?
Finally, it seems that the rulers of Pakistan are congenitally not able to change the rules of their game. They have their own powers and privileges to protect. Our political leaders are obsessively engaged in playing their own partisan politics. The National Assembly
of Pakistan had no time to seriously discuss an event that has distressed the entire nation.
Actually, there have been other occasions, more deadly than Jaffar Express, which demanded a radical shift in our policies and our sense of direction. We need to remember that the original NAP was drafted after the massacre of our schoolchildren in Army Public School, Peshawar. If that has not changed the rules of the game, what will?
Courtesy The News