However troubled a certain part of the country is, it is still a part of the federation and has equal rights as any other federating unit of the state. This makes Balochistan not only equal to other provinces, but also a focus of what one can call corrective measures in order to bring the province equal to the status that the others enjoy. While most of the governments at the centre have been negligent in addressing the grievances of the Baloch people, almost every one of them have raised a slogan of empowering the Baloch, including the government that concluded its term recently. One can easily see what tangible effects these hollow promises have had on the condition of the people and the province: there are no-go areas in the province, nationalists have an anti-state agenda, forced disappearances, lack of infrastructure, poverty, low literacy rate and many more problems.

Having said that, the visit by the Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso can pave the way for a change, for better. The visit was badly needed as the 2008 general elections were boycotted by most of the political elements, ceding the space to corrupt sardars and carpet baggers of all sorts. Resultantly, the province was misgoverned. The fruits of autonomy couldn’t reach the common man. But that time has passed and it is time to make changes. Mr Khoso’s visit can, and probably will, open new avenues for negotiations between the government and the nationalists, which have already shown interest in participating in the elections being held a month from now, and help them settle on a framework that assures the participation of local political leaders while keeping the corrupt sardars out of the loop.

Peaceful elections in the largest province of the country would be a tough task though if completed successfully, the effects could cause a system wide change to bring in the leadership that truly represents the Baloch people. Mr Khoso assured the Baloch leaders that the federal and the provincial governments would take measures to remove their reservations about security, abolish no go areas and resolve other issues. His encouragement to the nationalists to participate in the election process to be a part of the system and bring a change that they desire was right spot on. But that alone cannot end the miseries of the Baloch people, nor can it help in curbing violence, lawlessness or widespread deprivation of basic necessities. It needs much more than that; it needs the government to walk the talk. Meanwhile, the establishment has to realise that military means to govern the province have caused suffering and strengthened separatists. It is time to provide equal opportunity to nationalists to contest elections as well. The caretakers, on their part, need to ensure that the campaign is peaceful, party workers are not harassed or made to forcibly disappear. This will make the elections in the province truly reprints what the Blaoch people’s interests instead of the interests of a few sardars.

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