By Dr. Haybtan Baloch
No doubt Balochistan has become the part of Great Game, which is being played in Balochistan by international players. Balochistan is recognized as the best place for land as well as naval transportation hub and depleted with unrepresented precious natural resources, which have become the focal point for international infrastructure projects and their vested interests. International players of Great game in Balochistan ground consists of China, Britain, USA, Pakistan, USSR, India and so on. Great game in Balochistan has been launched and the players are playing their role. Owing to disturbances and poor law and order situation and the ongoing insurgency with full swing has created stumbling block in the ground (Balochistan) for international players. International players posses two major ideas for the game to be won; one to give moral support to the ongoing liberation movement and second to make Pakistan a scrap-goat. As Subic, it may happen that they will be able enough to win the game and be successful by supporting insurgency but the prefix seems impossible since Baloch have launched guerilla war against occupant they never compromise to their sovereignty. US and China have fixed their eyes on Gwadar port and the rich natural resources. Selig Harrison stated “Pakistan has given China a base at Gwadar in the heart of Baloch territory. So an independent Balochistan would serve U.S. strategic interests in addition to the immediate goal of countering Islamist forces.”
The Land of Baloch is an impoverished region beleaguered by insurgency. Balochistan posses an increasingly vital geo-strategic position. Consequently, Balochistan has been the focus infrastructural projects. Iran and Pakistan are busy in their activities of developing port, rail, and highway networks, hoping to make the trade of Central Asia through their own national territories. Baloch insurgents (Freedom fighters), not surprisingly, have targeted the new projects, but also provoking military escalation.
Lets talk about Gwadar which is the focus point among the international players. Gwadar was a minor fishing outpost on a sparsely settled coast since 20th century. Hooping to ease the congestion at Karachi and to tap the future trade of Central Asia, Pakistan selected the Gwadar port and made possible its construction with the help of China. Construction began in 2002, and by 2008 it became operational.
However, the plans for Gwadar include shipbuilding facilities, natural gas pipelines, and a military base. A Pakistani official website stated “Gwasar act as a catalyst for a large number of related projects like: trans-shipment of bulk cargo; oil storage, refinery, and petrochemicals; export processing and industrial zones; export of minerals/livestock; and services (hotels, accommodation, tourism).”
Chinese government for her vested interests foresees Gwadar as the terminus of a “back-door” transportation corridor into western China. China has herself stated that the proposed pipeline would carry crude oil from the port to Xinjiang enhancing Chinese energy security.On the other side,The global as well as US security analysts claim that China will use Gwadar for its military purposes, part of its “string of pearls”, strategy designed to project power into the Indian Ocean and in order to secure access to key Middle East and African resources. Other players including United States and India does not believe that Chinese designs are mere peaceful.
On the other side one of Great Game player Iran is expanding Chabahar’s port facilities in order to occupies some of the foreseen Central Asian trade through Gwadar.The plan of Iran is to connect Chabahar to Afghanistan, former Soviet Central Asia, and Russia; known as “multi-modal transport link”, is supposed to reach St. Petersburg. Iran and India are also discussing for a possible natural gas pipeline that would snake along the seabed from Chabahar to India, by-passing Pakistan. “Indian officials now believe that Iranian reluctance to move faster on Chabahar may be linked to its anxieties about the troubled Sistan-Baluchestan region where Shi’ite Muslim Iran is trying to put down a Sunni Muslim insurgency.”
It is stated that the geopolitical and economic intrigue currently underway in Balochistan fits into what is sometimes called the “New Great Game”. According to the Wikipedia, the New Great Game involves “competition between the United States, the United Kingdom and other NATO countries against Russia, the People’s Republic of China and other Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries for ‘influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus.”
However, according to several analysts opinions that the US nominal “War on Terror” after 9/11is not really against terrorists but a trick to be successful for reaching and having access to the central Asia natural resources.Whatsoever is being happened in Pakistan is the part of Great Game. The recent event of Abottabad where so-called Osama Bin Laden was assassinated also seems the part of Great Game. Suicide attacks on Pakistani installations are also part of this game. A Washington base investigative journalist named Wayne Madsen revealed in his article,’’ Xe Services operating in Pakistan’s major cities had been conducting “false-flag terrorist attacks” that were later blamed on the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Wayne reveals that the responsibility for the recent bomb attack on the pro-Palestine Shia rally in Quetta that killed 54 people was claimed by the Pakistan Taliban, though it was actually carried out by one of the Xe’s covert cells in the country, acting in concert with the CIA, Mossad and RAW. The bombing during the Ashura procession in Karachi last month was also the result of such covert operations. The pattern of violence in Balochistan, including systematic target killing of Punjabi settlers, and Baloch citizens, who are seemingly coordinated by foreign intelligence agencies with the local militant groups, aims to drive a wedge between Islamabad and Baloch nationalists by trumpeting charges against Pakistan’s security apparatus.’’
NATO and USA are in favor to support Baloch Liberation Movement, since USA possesses her vested interests in Balochistan. It will happen that US in future will fully support Baloch Liberation Movement.
CONCLUSION: Now it is imperative for the Baloch Nation to support the Baloch Liberation Movement by joining freedom fighters in order to spoil the evil designs of Pakistan and Great Game players. International players are playing in Balochistan to capture Baloch Natural Resources and to occupy Balochistan. We should stand against occupant, before it be too late.
