What happened in East Pakistan is being repeated in Balochistan. Yesterday some terrorists killed thirty two Punjabi workers going to their home towns in a bus, then burnt ten vehicles and blew up a railway bridge. Of course this is not the first time such a thing has happened in the province. But the question arises, why didn't the government anticipate it? We have intelligence agencies who should have had prior information and taken action accordingly.
The issue of Balochistan separatists has been festering almost from the first day of independence. The Khan of Kalat claimed that Mr. Jinnah had assured him that his state would get full independence. He even went to Nehru and asked him for support in setting up an embassy in India. Nehru told him that his state would be surrounded on all sides by Pakistan, so his state would never be a viable country. Over seventy years have passed, but somehow the Baloch separatists have not been vanquished. They reportedly have support from Afghanistan, which has always claimed Balochistan and KP as their own territories.
An iron hand is needed to crush the rebels, as we are in danger of losing more than half of what remains of Pakistan.
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