One year after its eastern half broke away to become Bangladesh, Pakistan is again torn by disunity. Reminiscent of events that preceded civil war in East Pakistan two years ago, President Zulfikar AH Bhutto (see box page 27) has 1) dismissed the governors of Baluchistan and the North-West Frontier province, both popular leaders of the opposition National Awami Party, 2) sent troops into Baluchistan to put down tribesmen sympathetic to the ousted governor, and 3) touched off a storm of disapproval with a draft constitution that would in effect continue his own rule for another 15 years. To make matters worse, the army operations in Baluchistan were reportedly supervised by Chief of Staff General Tikka Khan, the former martial-law administrator of East Pakistan who earned notoriety as the "butcher of Bengal."
Another violent showdown may be near. Last week National Awami Leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan demanded that Bhutto reinstate the governors. "We will take these rights by force if they are not conceded by will," he told a huge angry crowd in Peshawar. Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, the ousted Baluchistan governor, called on the National Assembly to halt the military's interference: "I would like to inform the public that the army action will destroy the unity of what remains of Pakistan forever," he said. Even Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party was divided. The P.P.P. governor in Sind, which borders on Baluchistan, resigned in protest against what he called a "wicked, power-hungry clique."
Bhutto's actions threatened to destroy a fragile peace worked out last year with the opposition National Awami Party, which is the dominant political force in Baluchistan and the North-West Frontier province. Baluchi and Pathan tribesmen in the two provinces have long been agitating for greater autonomy and a larger share of the economic pie. Although the National Awami Party has never advocated independence from Pakistan, various other political groups in the provinces do. Recently a group called "Azad [Free] Baluchistan" has sought to unite Pakistani Baluchis with fellow tribesmen in Iran to form a new nation. Though the organization is small and appears to be composed mostly of students, it has opened an office in Baghdad and set up a clandestine radio in the area, straining Iraq's relations with Iran. This threat has prompted a growing military alliance between Iran and Pakistan, neither of which wants to lose a strategic chunk of its territory.
To further complicate matters, Pathan tribesmen would like to create a new state within Pakistan to be called Pushtunistan (Pathan Nation). They have been getting help and support from Pathans in neighboring Afghanistan. Adding to the ferment and intrigue, both the P.P.P. and the N.A.P. have organized large paramilitary groups to protect what each considers to be its own turf.
Last month coal-mine owners, disgruntled over nationalization of their mines, and landlords, who had had their estates reduced by land reforms, staged a protest in the Las Bela district of Baluchistan. Government troops began moving into the area. Governor Bizenjo charged that the rebellion was actually inspired by the government as a pretext to discredit N.A.P. leadership before it could marshal opposition to Bhutto's proposed new constitution.