QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti on Thursday vowed to establish the writ of the state after violence marred Independence Day celebrations in the southwestern province this week, resulting in the killing of five people. 

Separatist groups in mineral-and-gas-rich Balochistan have attacked shops and stalls selling Independence Day merchandise in the province in the past. On Aug. 13, a man was killed in an IED blast that targeted a shop selling Pakistan’s national flag in the provincial capital of Quetta. The same day, unidentified men killed two people in Quetta by firing at them with a grenade launcher. On Aug. 14, a man was killed and 10 others injured in a blast that targeted an Independence Day gathering at the Quetta Railway Station. 

All attacks were claimed by the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group, which is among ethnic Baloch militants that have launched an insurgency in the province for decades. The militants demand independence from the center, accusing the state of exploiting Balochistan’s mineral resources for their benefit, a charge the Pakistani state vehemently denies. 

“Whosoever wants to negotiate with the government, our doors are open for them but the writ of the state wouldn’t be compromised at any cost,” Bugti told reporters at a news conference in Quetta.

“The provincial government has zero-tolerance policy against people attacking schools, laborers, doctors, teachers and ethnic Balochs.”

Balochistan has seen an uptick in violence since the last week of July after an ethnic Baloch rights group known as the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) called a public national gathering in the port city of Gwadar. 

The gathering aimed to highlight alleged human rights abuses, extra-judicial killings, and enforced disappearances in Balochistan that rights activists and the families of victims blame on Pakistani security forces.

Their protests triggered clashes with Pakistani security forces in various parts of the province, prompting the government to arrest protesters. However, last week the BYC announced it has called off its protests, citing a deal reached with the government. 

When asked about the government’s action against the BYC, Bugti described the group as a “legitimate voice” for separatist outfits. 

“BYC’s women supporters were seen on camera instigating security forces deliberately but the government didn’t arrest any woman protesters and dealt them with restraint,” he said. 

He blamed some elements for attempting to shrink the state’s “social space” through mobilization campaigns. Bugti said the government would have to deter these attempts through good governance. 

The chief minister blamed the killing of Zakir Jan Baloch, the deputy commissioner of the Panjgur district in Balochistan, on the BLA. Baloch was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Mastung district some 67 kilometers away from Quetta on Aug. 12. 

The banned outfit denies involvement in the killing.

Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a 31-year-old activist who heads the BYC, criticized Bugti’s comments, reiterating that her group does not back any separatist outfit. 

She said the BYC is leading a peaceful protest movement against the state’s oppressive tactics, which included enforced disappearances and torturing dissidents. 

“The chief minister should have given statements about the use of intense force against BYC’s women protesters,” she told Arab News, accusing the government of dishonoring its agreement with the BYC. 

“After the first agreement, the authorities killed one of our supporters in a straight firing attack on a peaceful protest in Nushki, which was a clear violation of the agreement,” she said. 
 
“We still demand a judicial inquiry to probe who ordered violence against BYC supporters in Gwadar which killed three of our members and injured dozens.”