PAKISTAN needs a permanent national policy of reconciliation and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Balochistan should be among the first places where it is applied with care and discipline. A strong state is not defined only by its ability to restore order. It is also defined by its ability to prevent public dissatisfaction from becoming confrontational. Pakistan has the institutional and security capacity to defend itself. Yet that power should not become the first response to every protest, grievance or political disagreement. Azad Jammu and Kashmir is emotionally close to Pakistan, but it also has its own political institutions, constitutional arrangements and local sensitivities. Anyone who has visited AJK knows that its people live and work with Pakistanis without feeling separated from them. This closeness should be protected. Balochistan requires a similarly careful approach, although its circumstances are different. Its people have long raised concerns relating to political representation, economic opportunity, development, resource distribution, security and trust in institutions. Many of these grievances deserve a serious response. At the same time, violent groups have exploited public frustration and attacked citizens, workers and security personnel. The state must, therefore, distinguish between peaceful........

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