Ethnic spat heats up Pakistan-Iran border
Balochistan rebels may damage Iran's relations with neighboring Pakistan.
from the April 18, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
By far the worse violence, however, has erupted in the last year in Sistan-Balochistan. It is home to more than 1.4 million ethnic Balochis, who, like Balochis in Pakistan, live amid conditions ripe for discontent and violence. Unemployment rates are estimated at between 35 and 50 percent; guns, organized crime, and drugs mix freely – elements of lucrative smuggling and heroin routes.
As in Pakistan, the Balochis of Iran have long accused the government of neglect and abuse. Four years ago, those expressions of popular discontent gave birth to Jundallah, a militant group which claims to have killed 400 Iranian soldiers and policemen. Last month, ABC News reported that Washington, in collaboration with Pakistan, has secretly advised Jundallah's activities in a bid to destabilize Tehran, claims that both Washington and Islamabad have denied.
Whatever the case, Jundallah's campaign of violence peaked in February, when its operatives killed 13 Revolutionary Guards, a highly publicized and stinging blow. Iran struck back by publicly hanging a suspect held responsible and arresting several more. Apparently unfazed, Jundallah abducted four Iranian policemen, three of whom were later recovered in Pakistan. Now, following Tehran's sweeping arrests, many wonder how Jundallah is holding up.
Jundallah's organizers were incited by Iranian and Pakistani state policies that do not extend equity to minority communities, some observers say. "The lesson is for states to understand that you can't target whole communities and expect not to see a response. This is exactly the Pakistani tactic as well. This is going to lead to more alienation, more confrontation," says Ms. Ahmed.
But some also see the fighting as a dimension of the growing divide between Sunnis and Shiites that appears to have transcended national borders.
) |
|
RSS feed
