Trust is not a slogan. It is the most expensive political capital. Nations can survive economic recessions; they can survive security setbacks, but no federation survives a sustained deficit of trust between its people and its state.
Pakistan today stands at such a juncture. Our debates are dominated by inflation, IMF programmes, terrorism and institutional friction. Yet beneath all these symptoms lies a deeper crisis: the erosion of “Eitmad.” Nowhere is this erosion more consequential and more painful than in Balochistan.
To understand Balochistan, Islamabad has historically relied on two frameworks. I call them the two failed lenses.
The first lens is the security lens. It views Balochistan primarily as a law-and-order problem. In this view, dissent is seen as insurgency, and insurgency is to be managed through force. No one denies that the state must protect its citizens from terror. But security alone cannot produce loyalty. You can clear an area; you cannot win a heart with a checkpoint.
Benazir Bhutto Shaheed did not believe Balochistan needed to be won. She believed it needed to be heard.
The second lens is the development lens. It views Balochistan as an underdeveloped region that needs roads, ports, and economic packages. This lens has given us Gwadar, highways, and numerous development packages announced with great fanfare. Development is essential, but development without participation breeds alienation.
Both lenses have failed because both have treated the people of Balochistan as subjects to be managed, not partners to be trusted. What is needed is a Third Alternative: The Trust Paradigm.
Benazir Bhutto Shaheed had an intuitive understanding of this paradigm. She did not believe Balochistan needed to be won. She believed it needed to be heard. Her government in 1988-90 and again in 1993-96 restored elected governments in Balochistan, released political prisoners, and insisted that the political leadership of Balochistan be engaged with dignity, not disdain.
The trust paradigm rests on four pillars. First, Political Continuity. Balochistan has been a victim of policy discontinuity. Every new government discards its predecessor’s initiative. What Balochistan needs is a single, parliament-backed, long-term compact that survives governments.
Second, Genuine Representation. Trust cannot be outsourced. Decisions about Balochistan must be made with Baloch voices at the centre of the table, not as an afterthought.
Third, Justice and Human Rights. There can be no “Eitmad” without “Insaf.” The issue of enforced disappearances remains the single largest wound. A credible, judicially-supervised Commission on Enforced Disappearances is not a concession; it is fulfilment of the Constitution. Justice delayed in Balochistan is not just justice denied; it is trust destroyed.
Fourth, Economic Ownership, Not Charity. Balochistan does not want charity; it wants partnership. Special Economic Zones must first employ Baloch youth. Universities must be linked to industries in Balochistan. Human capital investment will pay far greater dividends.
Some will argue that trust is abstract. It is not. Trust has highly concrete outcomes. Where there is trust, voter turnout rises. Where there is trust, students pick up books instead of guns. Where there is trust, foreign hostile narratives fail. Pakistan is a federation. Federations are not held together by force; they are held together by trust.
We must ask ourselves: Have we given Balochistan reasons to trust? To rebuild that trust, Islamabad must do something harder than giving: it must believe. Believe that Balochistan’s youth, if given opportunity, will choose Pakistan. Believe that political dialogue is not weakness, but strength.
This is not a call for appeasement. It is a call for statecraft. Strong states do not fear dialogue; weak states do. The Karsaz tragedy taught us that democracy requires sacrifice. Benazir Bhutto Shaheed sacrificed her life for a Pakistan where every province feels included. Let us move beyond the security lens and the development lens. Let us adopt the trust lens. That “Eitmad” is Pakistan’s third alternative. And it may be our last, best hope.
The writer is a former Special Assistant to PM (Benazir Bhutto)