Peshawar: The assassination of 53-year old Professor Nazima Talib, a teacher at the Balochistan University, in Quetta recently by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) once again brought into focus the Baloch groups waging armed struggle against Pakistan's security forces for an independent Balochistan.
It was the first time that a woman, teacher or otherwise, was killed by the Baloch separatists. The deceased was a settler belonging to Karachi and had been teaching at the Balochistan University for years. All settlers, mostly from Punjab but some belonging to Urdu and Pashto-speaking communities from outside Balochistan, have been targetted in recent years by the Baloch separatist groups.
The BLA justified Prof Nazima Talib's assassination as its revenge for the recent killing of two Baloch women in Quetta and Pasni and for the arrest of several Baloch women by Pakistan's security forces and the police. However, moderate Baloch politicians and all mainstream political parties condemned the assassination of a woman who had taught a large number of Baloch and Pashtun men and women in Balochistan. Her death was widely mourned and it was described as against the Baloch tribal traditions in which women, children and the elderly people are never harmed even during a war. However, those traditions have become weak and aren't strictly followed in the brutal battles going on in parts of Balochistan.
Prof Nazima Talib was the fourth senior educationist to have been assassinated in Balochistan in recent months and all were settlers, mostly from Punjab.
The Baloch separatists in particular target the Punjabis because they are from the same ethnic group to which most of the Pakistani soldiers belong. The Baloch nationalists also blame Punjab for exploiting Balochistan's resources, monopolising power and denying rights to the Baloch people. The Punjabi settlers are the primary target of the Baloch separatists as they want to force them to leave Balochistan.
Most teachers from Punjab and other provinces at the Balochistan University have applied for transfer as they are afraid of serving in Balochistan. This has alarmed the government and both teachers and students at the Balochistan University have been protesting and criticising the government for its failure to protect the settlers, particularly those from the teaching community.
