MOST Baloch leaders want the country`s top political leadership to come forward and play their role in resolving the province`s issues through a multidimensional approach, not only through the use of force.

At a recent address to the `Balochistan Grand Jirga` in Quetta, PM Shehbaz Sharif emphasised the need for talks to bring back those who had been `misled` by terrorists, and address the wider issues plaguing the province.

At the same time, Field Marshal Asim Munir made it clear that while he believed that the future of Pakistan was linked to stability and prosper-ity in Balochistan, the military would crush `every enemy, foreign or domestic, that dares to challenge our sovereignty`.

While such vows have been made in the past as well, Baloch leaders are of the view that consistent efforts are required on part of the national leadership to address the decades-old problems that continue to plague the restive province.

With PTI founder Imran Khan entangled in his own legal woes, and President Asif Ali Zardari seemingly content to follow the military`s lead on the Balochistanissue, most leaders from the province are looking to the elder statesman in the Sharif family to play the role of a bridge with the military establishment.

Indeed,out ofallpartyleaders on the national scene, Nawaz Sharif has the most political capital when it comes to engaging with the political leadership of the province.

But the PML-N chief is currently in London, ostensibly for a medical checkup.

Can Nawaz be the bridge? As a former three-time prime minister, the elder Sharif is no stranger to the province`s complex political dynamics. He not only enjoys a good rapport with Baloch leaders of nearly all shades, but has the ability to go the extra mile in bringing the province`s representatives and the powers that be to the negotiating table.

Earlier, too, Mr Sharif had called for a `political solution` to Balochistan`s issues, and had pledged to play his role infostering peace in the restive province, however he could.

Former Balochistan chief minister and National Party President Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, had called on Mr Sharif in Lahore in April, at the time when Sardar Akhtar Mengal was leading a sit-in to protest the treatment meted out to Baloch YakjehtiCommittee (BYC) protesters.

During their meeting, he had reportedly presented various proposals and asked the PML-N chief to meet with disgruntled Baloch leaders to hammer out a political solution.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Baloch said Nawaz Sharif had promised in their Jati Umra meeting that he would come to Quetta to meet with Baloch leaders. However, he has yet to make good on his commitment.

While the elder Sharif has been keeping an otherwise low-profile leading his detractors to brand him a `retired politician` many Baloch leaders are pinning their hopes on his capabilities as a national politician who can bring both, disgruntled Baloch and the military establishment, to the table.

`All political parties in Balochistan respect Nawaz Sharif and value his opinion. He also has a say with the government and the establishment. After speaking to the Baloch leadership, Mr Sharif is expected to bring their case before the military,` Dr Baloch said.

This cannot happen too soon, as the situation in the province is getting worse and worse, with law and order spiralling out of control.

In the words of security analyst Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi, `Whetherthe military listens to the elder Sharif on Balochistan depends on how serious he is in this regard.

He noted that PM Shehbaz Sharif is offering laptop schemes to the Baloch youth and diverting fuel savings for road construction and other development projects.

`But such projects are not among the basic demands of the Baloch today. What the PM needs to do is ask angry Baloch about their issues.

It appears that the solution to the problems lies with the military and not the political leadership in the current scenario,` Dr Askari says.

If the powers that be are serious about helping the Baloch, they need to address the main issues like missing persons, insecurity, poverty, development etc. `An inclusive government is need of the hour in Balochistan and not a handpicked one, and the military should give space to genuine politicians there, he concluded.

`Fifth insurgency` Apart from the recent discovery of mineral deposits in the province, Balochistan has lately been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons: the recent BYC protests over the missing persons issue which were joined by groups such as BNPMengal and a brazen terroristattack on the Jaffar Express have pushed all other issues to one side.

In the wake of the train hijacking, the arrest of BYC leaders such as Mahrang Baloch has signalled a shrinking space for dissent with the state narrative.

Although calls for a major military operation against insurgent elements have not materialised so far, there has been no let-up in intelligence-based operations across the province. In the wake of the confrontation with India last month, it is likely that the military may return to Balochistan with a renewed focus.

And if Field Marshal Munir`s statements are anything to go by, the military could become far more proactive in its anti-terrorism operations across the province.

But Baloch leaders maintain that the insurgency is not a new phenomenon. `The province has been in the grip of insurgency for the last 22 years, and this has to be ended, says Mr Baloch.

`The common man is drifting away from the state. The real representatives were made to lose the 2024 election, and those who greased palms won. Merit is not followed in postings, and the youth is jobless.

`[These problems] can be ended only when the youth is engagedthrough jobs, appointments are made on merit, the people are given the right to vote, industry is set and etc.

In Dr Baloch`s view, the government needs to change its attitude if it wants to resolve Balochistan`s issues,asforce alone cannotprovide a long-lasting solution.

`Currently, it appears that both the establishment and the militants are in a mood to fight. We have threats to our lives, too, but we will continue speaking about the people`s rights and problems,` he said.

`The government is only reacting to terrorism; it needs to understand the protest movement and militancy as well. As long as we do not account for political, economic and other factors, we may not be able to understand the situation on the ground in Balochistan,` says Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi.

Talking to Dawn, the senator recounted the history of the violence that has plagued the province.

`This is the fifth insurgency, and the current phase is different from previous ones mainly because of social media. The Baloch people need their rights and their share in the province`s resources like gas, minerals, and other realms. The Baloch are living in primitive conditions because of a lack of development, while the other parts of thecountry are in the 21st century.

In Mr Buledi`s view, the attention of the powers that be must be drawn towards the plight of the educated youth ofthe province.

Baloch leaders, he said, also want the national leadership to play its `due role` in resolving Balochistan`s core problems.

`We also want PM Shehbaz Sharif, President Zardari, Imran Khan, Fazlur Rehman to play their role in this regard as well. There are short and long-term solutions to the problems of Balochistan, and we cannot move forward without addressing them.

In the senator`s view, political spaceisintheprovinceisshrinking: the Balochistan Assembly doesn`t feature the people`s true representatives thanks to rigged elections, while missing persons are not being presented before courts of law.

`The people are being picked under MPO. They are trying to resolve the issues through force.

Instead, they should do it through dialogue.

He regretted that after about two decades, it was not finally being accepted that the killing of Akbar Bugti was not right. If it takes 20 years to admit these realities, how can corrective measures be adopted for present-day problems, he asked.