In every fraction of a second, there is something happening in this part of the world, which you call Balochistan. It would have never concerned us, if these happenings were a matter of national pride or positive in nature, but, regrettably, these are the news of our loved ones going missing, being killed, tortured, escaping, or dying in the miserable road accidents. So the other times, these are the news relating to the hawkish policies of the state to further marginalize the Baloch society.
It was a relatively better morning, I had my planned agendas to work on the upcoming deadlines of a pile of academic assignments when news of a firing incident and killing of a young Baloch in Parom town of Balochistan caught my attention. “The shooting could be a result of infighting as the town is ill-famed for warring kinsmen for political gains, oil-business competitions, or longstanding grudges”, I presumed as the news pertaining to the killing did not contain other details than a young man was gunned down by unknown armed assailants in Parom area of Panjgur.
Some hours later, a friend from the very same town had these words with a tagged profile ID of slain Waqar Fida on his Facebook timeline:
“تِیران کہ توار کورت وکار جان نزانت من کئ دیناں جانگ بوگءآں”
“Waqar Jan did not know for which deeds, a storm of bullets was fired at him.”
Literally, I would not care to know more about the slain man if I had not come to this post of a friend whom I have known for years now. I sensed his deep-down pain for losing a credible person who could be relied on. I spared some minutes to peep into the account of the murdered teacher. It was astonishing to see the young guy was actively campaigning for the two missing students from Panjgur, besides some posts on political satires and general etiquette. I could not find anything relevant that could corroborate an association between him and an orientation towards a hardliner. However, backing to any campaign for the restoration of human rights could not be attributed as a crime. “Was he punished for a crime committed by others, in support of a campaign that demands an end to enforced disappearances, or was he assassinated to instill fear among other peers in the town?” I wondered.
I could not get an answer for obvious reasons that I was not from his hometown, and I had never met him. However, there are numerous accounts of events that could be attributed to “collective punishment”, for instance abduction of Baloch women to compel the male members of a family to quit their support for the Baloch cause or at least endorse the state narrative, besides spreading an atmosphere of fear for others who dare to go against the state that their family members might meet the same fate.
I am at a loss to relate this unfortunate incident to anything involving the state and its actors. But what I believe, in this uncertain moment, is that all the subjective feelings of individuals concerned with human rights violations in Balochistan should become part of the media limelight for social cohesion. Such an exertion would definitely send a message to the culprits involved in such inhumane actions that any sort of collective punishment, provocation of fratricide, or incarceration of an individual will never bring a benefit to them but always result in more strength and courage to speak against the wrongdoings.
