Baloch “Gwadar Grand Gathering” of 29th July – 16 day long Successful Peaceful public mobilization that gave a sound drumming to the Generals – Asim Jaan

Written by: Asim Jaan

This phase of the Baloch struggle asking for justice against the oppressing Military behemoth’s illegal and unconstitutional kidnapping of Baloch citizens, their torture and killing during illegal detention, started its travel on 28July from Quetta and from all the cities & towns across Balochistan towards for Gwadar for the Grand Gathering there set to be held on on 29^th July.

The military cut off the roads all across Balochistan to stop the caravans from travelling, fired on unarmed travellers in several places, killing scores and wounding dozens. In Gwadar itself, they surrounded the Marine Drive venue of the protest, cutting if off from the Gwadar city, thus marooning it and restricting supply of foodstuff and blocking incoming caravans from joining it. Mobile phone and data networks were cutoff both in Gwadar and all across Balochistan so as to stop communication between the participants and to stop spread of images and news of their atrocities on the coming caravans across dozens of cities in Balochistan.

All this was done to decrease attendence in the gathering and thus make it a failure. But the BYC (Baloch Yakjehti Committee) leaders were more than a match for the intimidation tactics. Their counter tactic was firstly

a) at Gwadar to convert and stretch the proposed 1 day gathering in Gwadar into a 11-day trench warfare, holding out in Gwadar till 08 Aug, weakening the enemy’s resolve with Psy-Ops.

b) and secondly to motivate the forcibly held up processon travellers in various cities across Balochistan to not lose heart and disperse by going back to their homes, but to convert their procession in dozens of sit-ins in all the cities. Thus the spirit de corps as maintained.

At the time when the Military’s thought that it has cooped up the gathering, and thus weakened it to the extent that it will disperse, BYC sprung a surprise by suddenly taking counter offensive.

It used the tactic of triumphal rear-attack by spreading the movement beyond Gwadar and moving in the form of a convoy towards cities from which the delegations were stopped from coming by force. By doing so, they thwarted what the military thought was their success of containing and cooping them up in one place.

First stop reached on 09 Aug was the historic city of Turbat, where they were welcomed as veterans from a war by tens of thousands of emotive populace.

From Turbat onwards the BYC launched a concerted counter attack sweeping movement through Hoshab, Panjgur, Greesha, Sorab, Qalat, Naushki, everywhere being welcomed as saviors and brothers & sisters in arms.

Finally making triumphal return to Quetta on 12Aug to a jubilant welcoming crowd.

To conculate, it was a successful battle lasting 16 days, a significant stage in the long war. We call it so because the whole process energized, involved and emboldened it’s supporters, activists, supply team while severely weakening the enemy’s resolve during this 16 days long nerve wrecking counter offensive,  where the initiative was always kept by the sandal wearing Baloch girl Leaders  and the seemingly unconquerable armed bodies of men led by Military Generals had their decorations on their uniforms looking like trinkets, being clueless on how to respond to one unexpected attack after another in the form of mass mobilizations (Antonio Gramchi’s ‘Battle of position’).

The moral of the story is that military war machine guided by the academically trained Generals with their ingrained idea of superiority complex over civilians & more so Punjabi sense of entitlement & prejudice against what they see as lowly Baloch, got quite a drumming by the sandal wearing Baloch girls….now they would be suffering from wounded pride, but alas for such low lives, they have no lesson to learn, as they owe their entitled live not due to any real achievement, but only due to occupying a position in a institution of Coercion combined with originating from majoritarian ethnic Punjabi background…these are the two things holding them together. Their only aim, to preserve their ill-gotten Institutional entitlement position. And Capitalist class from Punjab standing shoulder to shoulder with the military institution, to exploit resources of other nationalities because in Pakistan’s peculiar political-economy the military is the leader of the pack of looters, the leading fraction of the Ruling Grouping…which is predominantly Punjabi.

Hence in Pakistan’s case the ruling mechanism takes the shape of both Class Exploitation & National Oppression, the second part cannot be stressed enough. For that very reason, the struggle of smaller ethnicities against Punjabi elite’s stranglehold to the point of liberation is a vital step in defeating this ruling alliance. Working class & progressive elements from Punjab needs to give unconditional support to the struggles of Baloch, Pashtun, Kashmiris & Gilgit-Bultistanis & launch a concerted campaign in Punjab demanding immediate stoppage of all murderous & inhuman military operations in Balochistan & KPK, release of kidnapped persons, ending the ISI’s role in internal politics, condemning & calling out its propping up of right-wing groups from petty bourgeoisie & lumpen fragments, franchising of local terror gangs popularly referred to graphically as ‘Death Squads’ by the natives.

If such a Political campaign from Punjab is launched & gains some sort of following, we can then have a possibility of uniting / linking these progressive movements from Majority & powerful nationality Punjab with the currently on-going emancipatory struggles of the smaller ethnicities and then a combined attack can be launched on the ruling alliance. Otherwise, the Baloch & Pashtun & others are anyway fighting for their survival from this killing machine, which we are witnessing as intensifying very quickly because due to economic crisis of the ruling class viciousness of their attacks, both economic & coercive on smaller ethnicities are taking more deadly turn.

The smaller ethnicities are responding to the challenge thrown towards them with bravery, sagacity and grit.

Question is whether the Punjabi working class will fight the battle for its own emancipation or side with its ruling class as it has done several times in the past?