BALOCHISTAN bled again this past week — for the rest of the country. In reality, it is the part of the homeland that has rarely ever stopped bleeding over the past 20 years. But for those of us who live a long way from the province, we only become aware of the festering wound when the sepsis sets in. And that is what happened last week with the incidents in Quetta and Ziarat. The manner in which the events unfolded in Ziarat was heart-breaking and by the time the attack took place in Lasbela, the death toll was far too horrific to even comprehend.

But there is a greater tragedy. And that is the inability of those in power to approach the crisis in Balochistan with any empathy and political will to heal. The causes of the ailment have been discussed at length — the alienation of the people; the rise of the middle class youth and the roots of its anger; the absence of a genuine political process. It is a political problem that needs a political solution, along with counter-insurgency operations.

The people need healing and for that there has to be a dialogue with those in the political mainstream and also those who have been imprisoned. Instead, there are unrepresentative governments, harsh language, jail sentences, enforced disappearances and sheer use of violence. And it hasn’t worked. Last week’s events illustrated as much.

This is not just anecdotal information. Research reports show the increasing number of attacks in Balochistan. A recent........

© Dawn