World

US turns its eye to Baluchistan

by René | October 9, 2009 at 09:14 pm

185 views | 26 Recommendations | 5 comments

Quetta Front & the Baluchi Factor
As fighting in Afghanistan, particularly the south, intensifies U.S. policy-makers are beginning to shift their gaze to Afghanistan’s southern border with Pakistan and wondering if the northern regions of Baluchistan are – like the FATA on Afghanistan’s eastern border – serving as a Taliban haven. U.S. officials have even claimed that Taliban head Mullah Omar and his top leaders are living in Baluchistan’s capital Quetta.

One of our friends here on NowPublic has been bemoaning the lack of concern for his countrymen for awhile, and the presence of the Taliban in his country along with their partnership with Pakistan forces in oppressing them.

From 2003:

The border regions of Pakistan, and Quetta in particular, are emerging as the main center of Taliban support in the region, and a breeding ground for opposition sentiment to the American campaign in Afghanistan and Mr. Karzai's government. Senior Taliban officials and commanders are taking refuge here, too, Afghan and American officials say. Members of the political opposition in Pakistan confirm that Taliban leaders are active and are recruiting young men to fight.

Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan, and reports have confirmed a major training camp for Taliban is located there.

Some bits of advice from in-country:

"America is in for big trouble in Afghanistan unless you remove the source," warned one influential editor, who declined to give his name.
Habib Jalib Baloch, a former senator and leader of the Baloch National Party, said, "America should have selected to crush Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan, rather than go to war in Iraq."

He said he was sure that the Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, and his top commanders were all in Pakistan, protected by their links to the Pakistani establishment.

"You need to cut the funding," he said. "You will not kill them with a hammer. You must cut the funding and the connection."

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Ahmar Mustikhan

at 22:24 on October 9th, 2009

Nice story. Before any drones rain, the U.S. must take the Baluchistan independence leadership into confidence.

René

at 22:56 on October 9th, 2009

US would do well to do more than that with Baluchistan people. and hopefully do better by them.

saeedshiekh

at 03:41 on October 10th, 2009

We are opening up the pendora box of hatred. Pakistan can be saved with the right leadership and determination. Remember that beneath the veneers lies the the true Pakistan.

Babel-Fish

at 05:40 on October 10th, 2009

We are now saying the needle is in a different haystack so the Taliban leader is not in Afghanistan nor Pakistan but where is Osama Bin Laden?

Here we have a war declared by UN on the Taliban because they where hiding Osama and now we see a problem, let alone can Osama be found nor can the leader of the Taliban.

The UN forces have no hope in hell of winning this war that now expands over two borders Due to America's influence on this war no one can win because of the mountainous terrain that as always led to the utter defeat of those that have tried to take control of Afghanistan. Its hard now to walk away from the fight that would need 3 times as many troops to win.

Its actual a worst situation than Iran where what ever happens there is going to be a war when the USA and its allies leave. If UN leaves Afghanistan the Taliban will just move in and take over within a week or so.

America can not do much about Baluchistan hiding the Taliban and its all getting beyond a joke. I regret to say I believe the only two reason Bush put america in this position is because he hated Saddam and Osama and he wanted to shut off any chance of oil and gas supply to China by pipe lines from Iraq and the Caspian Sea Basin and then though Afghanistan to connect to the existing just then completed pipelines in China.

What a problem Obama now has not to make a withdraw of troops into another Vietnam.