Crisis Group: Pakistan should change tracks in Balochistan

The latest report from the International Crisis Group on Balochistan:

Crisis Group: Pakistan: The Worsening Conflict in Balochistan
President Pervez Musharraf and the military are responsible for the worsening of the conflict in Balochistan. Tensions between the government and its Baloch opposition have grown because of Islamabad’s heavy-handed armed response to Baloch militancy and its refusal to negotiate demands for political and economic autonomy. The killing of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in August 2006 sparked riots and will likely lead to more confrontation. The conflict could escalate if the government insists on seeking a military solution to what is a political problem and the international community, especially the U.S., fails to recognise the price that is involved for security in neighbouring Afghanistan.

"Although regional parties still seek provincial autonomy within a federal parliamentary democratic framework, and there is, as yet, little support for secession, militant sentiments could grow if Islamabad does not reverse ill-advised policies" that include economic exclusion and military operations. "The only one way out," argues the report, "is to end all military action, release political prisoners and respect constitutionally guaranteed political freedoms."