Reposted from The Express Tribune | March 16, 2011 | Story

by Shezad Baloch

A friend of mine left Quetta for his hometown in Turbat recently without informing anyone.

After reaching home, he re-established contact with the lot of us. Upon being asked as to why he would just get up and leave without telling any of us, he simply said it was for security purposes.

After reaching home, he re-established contact with the lot of us. Upon being asked as to why he would just get up and leave without telling any of us, he simply said it was for security purposes.

According to him, many of his friends in the past had been whisked away from their homes in Turbat, Gwadar and Panjgur and are currently listed as "˜missing persons'. He clearly did not want a similar fate. And rightly so, I might add.

Given the volatile situation in the province, with kidnappings on the rise and subsequent killings, how can anyone be expected to feel anything other than completely insecure?

The same friend cited an incident about one of his friends who was kidnapped on December 28 last year while he was on his way home. His body was later found along with that of the Baloch Students Organisation leader Qambar Chakar's, near a seasonal river in Kech district. The deceased was a sub-editor at a monthly Baloch magazine Darwanth.

Today, a deep-rooted sense of uncertainty prevails within every individual in Balochistan, regardless of their profession or political affiliation.

As of last July, as many as 100 bullet-riddled bodies of missing persons have been uncovered in desolate areas throughout the province. The whereabouts of a number of missing are still unknown.

Federal as well as provincial governments, along with the judiciary, have yet to resolve the lingering issue.

Whatever the reasons may be for the kidnappings or the killings, the responsibility of it all lies with the government, the law enforcers and the judiciary. We are counting on them to restore peace in the severely unstable region.