The law and order situation in Quetta is far from satisfactory. The attack on a school, assault on a rickshaw driver, and the martyrdom of a policeman in ‘targeted’ gun attack in less than forty-eight hours mean that the miscreants operate in the provincial capital quite easily. What is saddening is that the perilous law and order situation in Balochistan rarely finds any mention in the public discourse. If this is the law and order situation of the capital of Balochistan, one can well imagine the security measures in the rest of the province. Though law enforcement agencies have successfully established the writ of the state in the rest of the country; however, the restive province of Balochistan is yet to be secured.
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has already claimed responsibility for the killing of the policeman. Police department stands out as the government institution that has been targeted than any other department of the state in Balochistan. Death hunts police in the province to put it bluntly. One cannot restrain oneself but to ask the policymakers what steps they have taken so far to improve the unsatisfactory law and order situation in the province in general and prevent attacks against police in particular.
It seems that the National Action Plan (NAP) has failed in achieving its desired goal in the largest province of the country. The weak law and order situation in the region that brings life to a standstill quite regularly is probably the least concerning factor for the government. The provincial government and all other law enforcement agencies active in the province must be apprehensive of the militant organisation’s presence in the province. It is better to nub the evil in the bud. The admission of TTP for carrying out the attack establishes its presence in the territory. Before it grows a Frankenstein monster, it is wise for the state to launch a pre-emptive strike against the militant organisation.
Considering the socio-economic factors that make the area’s population the poorest of the poor in the country, the province is a potential nursery for recruiting of militants. The government can curb militancy in the region by adopting a multi-pronged policy having short, medium and long terms actions and goals. What the government needs to consider is that the two attacks, i.e., targeting of the school and attacking the police constable are major security lapses. The people in the area deserve a better law and order environment. They have suffered enough from militancy. It is high time for the state to show some action to establish its writ in the region.