What next in Balochistan?

By Zubeida Mustafa


ISLAMABAD knows the art of messing up situations that could be used to its advantage. Take the case of Balochistan. Backward, under-developed and impoverished, Pakistan’s largest province has been reduced to that state by the sardars who have ruled it for ages without doing anything for the uplift of their people.

They themselves received hefty sums from the Pakistan government. All the federal government had to do was to pump in development funds and reach out to the people directly who would then have responded by standing on their own feet and marginalising the feudal leadership.

What did the Pakistan government do instead? It joined hands with the sardars to crush the people. Now that it has fallen out with the sardars, who are not satisfied with what they have been receiving, Islamabad finds itself between the devil and the deep sea. The sardars are angry and the people are alienated. The tribal chiefs have given the people a sense of honour and pride that they cherish and thus cleverly enlisted their support against Islamabad. On the contrary, the federal government has attacked the Baloch where it hurts them most. It has tried to humiliate them and rob them of their self-esteem.

The polarisation is acute and there is total deadlock. Now it is too late for Islamabad to blame the sardars because in the conflict that is taking place the sardars are posing as the champions of the people’s rights for whom they have taken up arms. Since the people are suffering casualties and loss of property and homes at the hands of the Pakistan army, they have turned to the sardars for protection.

Now Pakistan will perforce have to deal with the sardars as representatives of the Baloch people. Attempts to drive a wedge between them have failed in the present circumstances. More dangerous has been Islamabad’s strategy of using force to put down the Baloch and making them toe the federal government’s line. This has alienated them further.

Another unwise move by Islamabad has been to slam the door on a political settlement and insist on adopting a military approach. The Baloch nationalists are described as “miscreants”, “terrorists” and “fararis” who have to be decimated. With the army taking a broad swipe at the Baloch fighters, it is inevitable that “collateral” damage is massive and innocent civilians — men, women and children — are being killed in large numbers.

This is further alienating the people. In the last week or so, the government claimed that nearly 50 “militants” had been killed. But who are the militants? Whether they are members of the Baloch Liberation Army, a shadowy outfit that has no clearly defined command structure, or other militias who make their presence felt through acts of subversion, the fact is that innocent civilians are also being killed. The truth will never be known because the reports are one-sided and emanate from the army sources. Independent reporting speaks of the tragedy of the common man who has been caught in the crossfire.

Now the government is pretending to do what it should have done a long time ago. It has retrieved the report of the Mushahid Hussain parliamentary subcommittee from the dusty shelf to which it was consigned in June 2005 when it was presented to the government. Unfortunately this belated move amounts to conceding too little too late. More than a year later, when so much ill-feeling has been created, the government has reverted to the recommendations made in the report to see what can be done to alleviate the grievances of the Baloch. But probably more than that is needed now.

The president and the prime minister have been reiterating that the recommendations of the subcommittee are being implemented. Mr Shaukat Aziz even said that 30 proposals have already been implemented. He chose not to be specific about which recommendations had been put into effect. Various government functionaries keep reminding us that thousands of jobs have been created and a lot of development work has been undertaken. But have these changed the lives of the people in any way? It would be a useful exercise if the government would let the people, and specifically the Baloch, know serial wise every recommendation and the status of its implementation in detail. This would help clarify the government’s own thinking.

There are some recommendations that touch at the heart of the Baloch grievances and sense of alienation. We need to be informed more about their implementation. These are listed below:

— After rationalisation of gas revenue receipts for Balochistan the district or agency from which gas/oil is being produced should be given at least 15 per cent of the revenue received by the provincial government in this regard.

— Maximum representation should be given to the province on the boards of PPL, OGDC, Sui Southern immediately.

— Five per cent of the total expenditure of an exploration company awarded concession in an area shall be spent on social welfare projects, whereas companies which are successful in striking gas/oil should be bound to spend five per cent of their pre-tax profit on social welfare projects.

— The job quota of 5.4 per cent under the constitution for Balochistan should be strictly implemented in all federal ministries, divisions, corporations and department. — A judicial enquiry be conducted by a high powered judicial commission ... to probe the settlement and allotment of government lands in Gwadar district.

— The NFC award, which has been delayed unnecessarily should be announced giving due consideration to the just viewpoint of the people of Balochistan.

— The unnecessary presence of FC coastguards on the roads in the interior of the province are disliked by the people of Balochistan while also creating hatred since women and children are humiliated at check points. It is recommended that both these agencies should work in their jurisdiction.

— ... the Levies should be trained on the pattern of the police and provided with the requisite logistics. (At present the Levies control the “B” areas which present 95 per cent of the land mass and where crime is better controlled while the police control “A” areas).

— A special task force may be constituted by the federal government ... to ensure implementation of these recommendations within 90 days.

These are sensitive issues and many, if implemented, would serve to restore the confidence of the Baloch. It may also be recalled that another subcommittee under Waseem Sajjad was to study the issue of autonomy. There were some stray reports about the work it was doing — including the slashing down of the Concurrent List in the Constitution — but nothing came to light.

But before the implementation process is undertaken, Islamabad will have to bring the Baloch leadership to the negotiating table. That is possible only if the government holds out an olive branch to the Baloch nationalists. This calls for an end to the war of words followed by a truce, even if a temporary one. The initiative will have to come from Islamabad as it is the senior partner in this process. Branding the Baloch terrorists — even though they have been targeting strategic installations and not humans — has not helped.

The prime minister declared the other day that amnesty can be given to the Baloch. Why not? The president has reiterated a similar stance. This is not a message of reconciliation which is the need of the hour. The loss of East Pakistan in 1971 was a tragedy that could have been avoided only if the military leadership of the time had displayed some political instincts. Pakistan is not ready for a re-enactment of that drama in the context of Balochistan.

The Balochistan crisis

The ongoing conflict in Balochistan has spiralled into one of the worst crises this country has ever faced, but the judicial crisis appears to have eclipsed all other issues in Pakistan, and even a critical issue like Balochistan has been put on the backburner. The past few days have seen a rise in violence all over the province. Seven bomb explosions shook Quetta on Monday and the next day saw the death of four people and several injuries during a shootout. There are different versions of who the victims were, but according to the chief of the Jamhoori Watan Party, Talal Akbar Bugti, the intelligence agency personnel killed four Bugti tribesmen in an ambush. According to another version, the men killed in the clash were militants. Whatever the truth may be, this incident along with a raid by the Frontier Corps at Talal Bugti’s house and other violent acts across Balochistan send out ominous signals about the country’s future.

Pakistan was already going through a troubled phase when the political and judicial crises have further plunged the country into deeper chaos. At a time like this, the establishment’s stubbornness to continue its military operation in Balochistan does not bode well for the federation. The opposition has also ignored the worsening situation in Balochistan. The National Party chief Hayee Baloch has criticised the multi-party conference for not including the Balochistan issue in its agenda. In a statement, he said that an extraordinary situation was prevailing in Balochistan owing to the military operation, thus the opposition’s indifference was unjustified.

Balochistan is the richest province in terms of natural resources including gas and minerals, yet the government has denied due benefits to the local population. The Saindak project is one example where the federal government has not been able to evolve the participation of the local population in the project. To add fuel to the fire, there are reports of fraudulent land schemes in Gwadar. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has warned the general public against making investments in 18 private housing schemes that have been declared ‘fake’ by the Gwadar Development Authority. Gwadar itself is a vexatious issue and has aggravated the tension between the Centre and the Baloch people at large, who view it as a scheme to settle people from other provinces in that port city and resultantly deprive the local population of the benefits accruing as a result of utilisation of their land and resources. The federal government has not acted wisely by not trying to allay the apprehensions and misgivings of the Baloch. If anything, it ended up in creating more bad blood when Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz handed over jobs to the non-Baloch on the occasion of his visit to Gwadar sometime back. There are also reports of land acquisition by non-Baloch, which may now subside following the NAB warning.

Shrugging off all the criticism directed at the Centre, President Musharraf in his recent so-called ‘public meeting’ at Sui put the blame on the sardars of Balochistan for the province’s backwardness. The president even showed the gumption of taking aim at the Bugtis, which could not have gone down too well with the Bugti tribe in view of the highly questionable manner in which Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed by the federal government. To ignore Baloch grievances would put at risk the integrity of the federation. The Centre must pay heed to the disquiet ruling Balochistan.

__________________
Time is like a river.
You cannot touch the same water twice,
because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
Enjoy every moment of life.

I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.

Balochistan: a chance for peace and development

By Syed Fazl-e-Haider

The ongoing development process must bring a positive change in socioeconomic and political milieu of Balochistan. If the people still feel socially alienated, economically frustrated and politically discriminated, then merely infrastructure development cannot appease their feelings. The development should be in accordance with the local needs and demands.

Peace and development are critically linked. A peaceful environment is a prerequisite for economic development of any region. The development denotes change; a change in people's social behaviour, political approach and economic growth. It is actually the peace that gives a boost to development activity and it is not the development that brings peace and prosperity in a society. One should however distinguish between peace and silence. Peace does not prevail in a society where the people feel discriminated, alienated and frustrated. The feelings of alienation and frustration however may cause a state of silence to prevail in the society.

The poor state of affairs in the province came to the limelight after the political crisis continued to deepen during last two years and a military operation was launched in Bugti and Mari tribal areas in December 2005. Military solution to the Balochistan crisis is not viable, says a research report on "Balochistan crisis" presented at the recently held ninth sustainable development conference. The report suggests that drastic administrative and infrastructural reforms should be carried out in the province, followed by more powers and autonomy to all provinces. The report recommends constitution of a commission comprising civilian experts in development, psychology, sociology, political science and regional strategy with a task to reassess the situation in Balochistan on the basis of demands of nationalist forces, academicians and senior Baloch bureaucrats.

A roundtable dialogue on "Accommodating differences through federalism" was recently arranged by US-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) in collaboration with strengthening participatory organisation (SPO). The participants included major political parties, constitutional experts, civil society and government representatives, who called for halting military operation and initiating a constructive dialogue with genuine representatives of Balochistan to resolve the ongoing conflict in the province. They also underlined the need for a participatory federation providing constitutional guarantees for social, cultural and economic rights to the people without any discrimination.

Balochistan, the poorest province of the country, has a predominantly rural population, which is thinly distributed over vast and difficult terrain. The remote rural areas of the province still present the picture of medieval Age. The health indicators are poorer than any other province. The developments of natural and human resources are inseparably linked; hence the social and economic development must go together. A comprehensive human development policy for the province must focus on social sectors like education, health and women empowerment.

A process of socioeconomic development is presently underway in Balochistan amid social chaos and political instability. According to the official sources, the development projects worth more than Rs2 trillion are under execution in the province. While Mekran coastal highway and Mirani Dam in Mekran have been completed and inaugurated last year, Saindak copper project was reactivated in 2003 and production has been started from it. The Gwadar seaport has been handed over to Singaporean firm for operation and it will be made functional by next month. The first phase of Kachhi canal will be completed by 2008. Sabakzai dam would be completed by June this year. The Rs8 billion Quetta water-supply, and environmental improvement project (QWSEIP) will be completed by June 2008.

Moreover, 43 small canals are being built in the province and PC-I about Pat Feeder, Hair Din and Kirthar Canal have been prepared. Feasibility report about Ajram Dam would be ready by June this year. The consultants have also been appointed for dams in Hingol, Nolang, Silkeji, Tanke, Zorati and Winder. The work on Chagai water project is underway at a cost of Rs560 million. The preliminaries have been completed for fishery, forests and livestock sector with foreign assistance.

So far as social sector is concerned, the present government though late, has made serious effort for its development. For example, first IT University at Quetta, conversion of Bolan and Uthal textile mills buildings into technology institutes are a move in the right direction. Under the 9th five-year plan, the government is committed to provide Rs200 million for setting up Gwadar Institute of Technology (GIT) aimed at strengthening entrepreneurship by establishing linkages between the institute and the industries of Gwadar port. Balochistan Education Foundation in collaboration with World Bank has planned to establish 200 community schools in the province. There is also a plan for setting up 100 private primary schools. While funds have been released for 3 new cadet colleges in the province, PC-I for cadet colleges at Noshki, Gwadar, Kohlu and Sibi have been prepared.

Several mining projects are currently underway in Balochistan for exploring copper, lead and zinc as well as oil and gas. The officials claim that Gwadar deep seaport would be a hub for the export of mining products from Balochistan and government is building a network of roads and highways inorder to facilitate trade there. The international mining companies operating in the province have reportedly sought adequate security cover from Islamabad to complete their projects. Over $1 billion copper projects are presently in execution stage in Chagai district of Balochistan. The issue of security however gets priority for any development strategy to work in Balochistan.

The nationalist parties criticise the federal government for ignoring the people and the Baloch leadership and not taking them into confidence while it signed accords with various international firms. The nationalists say that the Reko Dik mineral project and the Gwadar port project are of great importance for Balochistan after Sui-gas and Saindak projects but the government has along been ignoring the people of the province and their leadership in this regard. They call the federal government's decision of transferring the management of Gwadar port to the Singapore Port Authority as an infringement of rights of the Baloch people. They have demanded that all agreements signed by the federal government with international firms for exploitation of mineral and other resources of Balochistan be presented in the Senate and the Balochistan Assembly.

The development amid political instability will not be sustainable. A political solution to the crisis is inevitable. Government may invite and consult all the tribal notables of the province to solve the current crisis. The Jirga heads must be encouraged for their peacekeeping tasks. Jirga system however needs to be modified, institutionalised and legalised. There must be no supreme interest to the fore for the government than establishing an environment of peace and harmony throughout the province.

The development process under the shadows of military garrisons seems like an operation being undertaken at gunpoint. The army garrisons cannot secure any project, but it is the local stakeholders that can ensure real security for the smooth execution of the ongoing mega projects and other development schemes planned for the province. Drastic administrative measures should be taken for enhancing human security indicators in the province. Steps should be taken for reviving the National Finance Commission and the Council of Common Interests and limiting the federal government's share in revenue to what was mutually agreed between the provinces and the centre in the past.

__________________
Time is like a river.
You cannot touch the same water twice,
because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
Enjoy every moment of life.

I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.

Meeting Baloch grievances

Monday,June 18, 2007

TEN months after Nawab Akbar Bugti’s death in the military operation in Bhambore hills, the militancy in Balochistan shows no signs of abating. The Governor’s warning and the round-up of suspects on Friday are just two indications of the kind of situation prevailing in Balochistan. Evidently, after a brief period of demoralisation following Mr Bugti’s death, the militants have regained confidence and are showing renewed vigour. Speaking to newsmen on Friday, Chief Minister Mir Jam Mohammad Yousuf warned of a crackdown “on elements behind Thursday’s night attack”. He was referring to the death of 10 soldiers in a deadly ambush in the Zarghoon area, for which the Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility. So far 28 persons have been detained and more are likely to be arrested as three investigation teams get to work to trace out the militants behind the deadly attack. This is part of what the chief minister called “a comprehensive plan” formulated to flush out the extremists. He also claimed that the attack was launched at the behest of those political elements “who have been hurling threats” of this nature. Unfortunately, over the last several years this kind of approach has not helped matters.

Since the full-blown insurgency began in March 2005 in the Bugti area, the government has relied mostly on force to seek a solution to what is basically a political problem stemming from Balochistan’s economic backwardness. Even though mostly a desert, the province is not without its economic assets, foremost being minerals, including gas, copper and gold. Besides, there are fisheries resources and a tourism potential that has so far remained unexploited. Agriculture remains primitive, there are hardly any industries, the rate of literacy is low and the middle class is small. Besides, no government has made any serious efforts to break the hold of sardars, who have a vested interest in the continuation of the socio-economic status quo characterised by a monopolisation of economic and political power by feudals, who keep their own people in serfdom. Mr Bhutto abolished the sardari system, but the Zia government restored it. The result is that Balochistan’s cause is championed by sardars, who often compromise with the government for personal gains or fight among themselves to settle scores. Balochistan has a string of small fishing ports — Sonmiani, Ormara, Jivani and Gwadar — but it has taken successive governments nearly 60 years to finally think of turning Gwadar into a major harbour. However, the Baloch fear that they may be denied their share of jobs in Gwadar’s development, adding to their sense of grievance at a time when the presence of hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees in their midst has created demographic pressures on Baloch society.

A relevant question here is the quantum of provincial autonomy as enshrined in the Constitution. The Baloch want a revision of the relevant clauses to give the province greater autonomy. Besides, they allege that even the existing quantum of provincial autonomy is denied to them. Some time back, two parliamentary committees met a cross-section of Baloch politicians and made some useful recommendations. However, nothing has been heard about the proposals for a long time, and progress seems to have come to a halt, confirming some Baloch leaders in their view that all political options have been denied to them and they have no choice but to take up arms.

__________________
Time is like a river.
You cannot touch the same water twice,
because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
Enjoy every moment of life.

I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.

Baloch in distress

SENATOR SANAULLAH BALOCH

The disaster in Balochistan has killed hundreds, swept through millions of people's homes, destroying infrastructure, livelihoods and plunged the region into high levels of flooded water. The catastrophic situation in Balochistan is not due to natural outburst, it's a man made disaster, outcome of one of the mega developments, "Mirani dam", applauded by military junta.
The damage is widespread, situation is distressing and disappointing. More then two Million population in the region has been effected, however around 1 million have become homeless and lost their basic agro-economic infrastructure due to the back flow of the newly constructed Mirani Dam.
Engineering inefficiency has caused this one of the worst tragedy of Balochistan's history; engineers and planner have designed the dam reservoir for 244-ft water level. However, the water level in Mirani Dam as on June 28, 2007 reached to 271 feet and submerged the second largest populace region of Balochistan. The worst-affected area is Turbat and surrounded population of Mirani Dam, where townships have been inundated or washed away by flash floods and embankment breaches in rivers. While, hill torrents triggered by torrential rain wreaked havoc in Jhal Magsi, Khuzdar, Chagai, Naushki, Washuk and in Mashkail regions in province.
The Government is in a state of denial of this human catastrophe that struck large population of Balochistan. The provincial Government went on to deny human casualties and the extent of the disaster. This goes on till the State's ignorance, lack of planning, inefficiency and unwillingness to immediately react to the disaster. The State has always used Balochistan for flying to do rallies with artificial representatives to give psychological boost to the Government's unproductive and flawed development agenda.
Several hundred deaths and missing cases have been reported so far in the area, and consequently mal-nourishment, diseases, lack of drinking water as wells have been filled with flood water and humid conditions will increase in death tolls. The recent floods, political instability, military and militant hostilities against each other, incredible provincial government have plunged the province in appalling condition.
Balochistan has not yet recovered from Ethiopian-like drought, which sustained for four years during1999 to 2003. Military operation in resource rich eastern districts of the province started in 2005, which has resulted in displacement of two hundred thousand populations of Dera Bugti and Kolu district, colossal loss of livestock and livelihood. The new flood crisis will have serious impact on socio-economic condition of poverty stricken Baloch region. Since the period of the current Government, the top officials with Ministers lined up have always announced aggressive plans to go ahead with mega developments such as dams, without considering aspects of planning, feasibility, and its short and long term effects on the people and region at large, whether it is Balochistan or Sindh.
Without local participation, knowledge and risk identification, developments bring disaster and same happened with oppressed people of Balochistan, where NESPAK, a Lahore based consultancy group prepared a controversial plan to build an estimated Rs 6 billion Mirani Dam in Kech district to supply future water needs for Gwadar. Upshot of Mirani Dam, completed by Descon Engineering Limited, a construction firm own by former federal minister of the present regime and inaugurated on November 16, 2006 by President Musharraf as resulted in the loss of Rs 40 billion to the inhabitants of the region. However, flawed plan and hasty construction of the dam has also caused destruction of the basic social and economic infrastructure.
According to a news report "The National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK), time and again, exploited the project in its favour by collecting tens of millions of rupees from the Balochistan exchequer under the pretext of collecting technical data and conducting surveys. It got Rs120 million for updating the data more than once. Similarly, it earned more money from time to time by offering its services to update the feasibility study during various governments."
Mega dams have always been discouraged by renowned experts of this field, and building Mirani Dam at the cost of local two million Baloch people is not only ignorance but a mega crime itself. The Dam has left a large number of people displaced and homeless during its construction, Rs1.5 billion compensation for displaced people has not reached the deserving people. On June 1, 2007, hundreds of people affected by the Mirani Dam project staged a demonstration in Turbat town against delay in payment of compensation. Police intervened and used tear gas to disperse the protesters and arrested 28 people.
Delay in provision of Rs 741 million funds, demanded by WAPDA in May 2007, for the compensation of land, housing, infrastructure and other required facilities to the adversely affected population of the project clearly indicate the federal government's ignorance towards the people of the province and Turbat district. Out of the total of 17,982 acres of land, the affected people of 7,669 acres have partially been paid compensation, whereas the affected people of the remaining area, which is 10,313 acres, are yet to be compensated.
Since the start of the project heavily guarded NESPAK and construction team was reluctant to share the outlines of social and economic impact and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) of the dam with the locals.
The entire dam development process lacked participatory approach and fundamentals of risk management. Social, economic and environmental implications of the dam have never been discussed nor disclosed with the locals, maps of the flood prone areas were not prepared and neither shared with community which are basics of any mega flood related project. Today, it is the poorest of the poor in a poverty struck region who have to bear the greatest loss of insane mega development. Development in Balochistan has always been imposed by the centre and implemented by aliens. The province is governed by secretaries posted on the will and wish of Islamabad to accomplish their own version of development-exploitation schemes.
Top officials in the province lack basic knowledge, understanding and skills to deal efficiently and act humanly when it comes to the issues of human development. Vulnerability analysis like identification of the population at risk in and around Mirani Dam and settlements in the flood plains were completely ignored during the construction process. No useful information like flood risk mapping and communication tools were disseminated by any government agency to create awareness among the inhabitants about probable maximum floods and rescue strategies.
Flood risk mapping is one of the keys to flood risk management and should be readily available to the public as well as to emergency response agencies. Mapping defines the areas at risk. Maps become the common element in terms of identification of flood-prone areas, identifying the risk to individuals and lending institutions, preparation of emergency response plans, and design of flood protections and flood proofing measures.
When it comes to the killings and proscription of political elements in Balochistan, military regime is using best available technological resources. However, central government never bothered to use supportive technologies to reduce and minimise human risk through forecasting droughts and floods.
Dealing wisely with Balochistan's disaster, needs daring political and policy decisions. The following political and policy steps could help to restore Baloch people trust on government initiatives.
1. The central government should immediately end hostilities and military operation against Baloch nationalists; those have been rightly raising their concerns against flawed mega development project.
2. NESPAK and responsible individuals must be punished accordingly to restore the Baloch people trust on government, otherwise bitterness will increase among locals against central government development plans.
3. Balochistan flood affected population should be taken seriously and immediate state response should be given to the homeless people.
4. While provision of Housing, developing infrastructure, providing basic livelihood stuff, revitalising their livestock and improving communication resources government must divert mega funds and work should be undertaken by a committee of non-partisan under supervision of Supreme Court Judge.
5. Instead of sending frontier core and army troops in region to carry out relief efforts, there is need that local unemployed engineers, sub engineers, and degree holders in social sciences must be employed and trained in flood plain management. This act will enhance locals trust on development and increase their understanding on flood related issues.
Policy decision includes:
1. Procedures need to be formulated to avoid future flood damages, delineation and mapping of flood-prone areas to reduce damages and socio-economic losses.
2. Severity of flooding could be reduced and awareness on flooding can be disseminated through using of modern climatological forecasting system.
3. Number of supportive technologies like geographical information system, mapping, visualisation techniques are available to experts to communicate real time forecast and warnings to the people.
4. Detailed preparedness and response plan must be prepared and shared with all concerned agencies. Federal government should take a lead in bringing concerned agencies together, but should delegate planning of the details and programmes to the provincial and local levels.
5. There is timely need to improve relief capabilities of Provinces and local regions, those directly responsible to the people, and regions must be given direct role in operation of for\ecasting centres.
Email: balochbnp@gmail.com


http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/july-2007/5/columns3.php

__________________
Time is like a river.
You cannot touch the same water twice,
because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
Enjoy every moment of life.

I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.

Baloch nationalists’ dilemma

By Jamil Ahmed

ELECTIONS appear to be round the corner as the incumbent — though powerless — assemblies are about to complete their term.

Political parties in Balochistan have started consultations to decide on suitable candidates and chalk out their election strategy. The situation in the province is, however, different from the rest of the country.

Faced with a military operation, the Baloch nationalists face a dilemma. The educated youth is radicalised and along with the defunct Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) they reject parliamentary politics, considering it to be an utter waste of time.

The Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) and the National Party are the major nationalist parties which had participated in the 2002 general elections. The BNP (Awami), which had contested the polls, also claims to be a nationalist political entity but it is not recognised as such by the people. It is perceived to be close to the establishment.Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, who is a respected figure amongst Baloch youth and nationalist forces, has no political party of his own and has announced that he will not be a part of the election process. Serious criminal cases have been registered against Nawab Marri’s sons, with the exception of Nawabzada Jangez Marri, on charges of inciting a low level insurgency in Balochistan. Police have approached Interpol to get them arrested. Jangez Marri, the eldest son of Nawab Marri, is politically affiliated with the PML-Q. His participation in the elections cannot be ruled out.

The JWP, which had emerged as a political force on the Balochistan scene in 1990, has been split into two after the assassination of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in a military action in August 2006.

One faction of the party is headed by Nawabzada Brahmdagh Khan Bugti, the grandson of late Nawab Bugti, who is now leading the armed resistance. This group has announced that it will not take part in elections. The other group led by Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti, the son of Nawab Bugti, is not only inclined to participate in general elections but has also declared that the party would continue its struggle within the constitutional framework.

The united JWP under its founder Nawab Bugti had bagged more seats in the 1990 general elections than any other political party. But it could not form a government in the province because of the strong stand taken by Nawab Bugti when he was the chief minister of the province during Benazir Bhutto’s first term as prime minister. He had firmly stood for the rights of the Baloch, which had annoyed the establishment. The number of seats the party won steadily declined in the 1993, 1997 and the 2002 general elections.

The JWP won only four general seats in the provincial assembly and one reserved seat (for women) in 2002. Its showing inn the National Assembly was worse, with only one seat to its credit. After Nawab Bugti’s death, the JWP has been under tremendous pressure. Its members proceeded to vote for General Pervez Musharraf in the recent presidential elections.

Hence the chances of Talal Bugti’s faction winning any seat in the upcoming elections — even from Dera Bugti — are bleak. Large-scale migration has taken place from the area on account of the military operation while the opponents of Nawab Bugti are enjoying the full support of the government and its powerful agencies.

The BNP (Mengal)’s central committee decided in August to take part in the elections. Its members had resigned from the assemblies in protest against the killing of Nawab Bugti. It had been believed then that it would bid adieu to the electoral process forever and that had made the party popular with the hard-line nationalists and Baloch youth. But its popularity rating will fall with the central committee’s decision to participate in the elections.

Its patron-in-chief, veteran Baloch nationalist leader Sardar Attaullah Mengal, recently said, ‘I am convinced that the Baloch cannot achieve their objectives through parliamentary politics but if they leave the field of elections open then the rulers in Islamabad will get their own agents elected and showcase them to declare that no Baloch problem exists,’ he said. ‘The Baloch should continue their struggle on all fronts,’ he exhorted.

Though the BNP is not involved in an armed struggle it faces the brunt of the government’s wrath following its announcement of a long march from Gwadar to Quetta against the killing of Nawab Bugti and Gwadar’s mega projects. Not only has its president, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, been behind bars since last November, a large number of its leaders and workers, too, were arrested, to be released after three months under court orders. The inflexible attitude of the government towards the BNP shows that an unannounced ban has been imposed on the party because it has not been allowed to hold any political rally for the last one year.

The government and its powerful agencies are supporting Senator Mir Muhammad Naseer Mengal, the federal state minister for petroleum and natural resources, in the Khuzdar area, the JWP stronghold. The senator is a staunch rival of the party in Dera Bugti.

The National Party has so far not faced any challenge from the government. However, the BNP (Awami), an ally of the ruling PML, enjoys the support of the government in Mekran and other parts of the province which are the strongholds of the National Party.

The defunct BLA has urged Baloch nationalist forces to keep themselves away from the poll process, as, according to the banned outfit, participation would harm the Baloch nationalist struggle. All Baloch nationalist parties have not paid serious heed to this advice. They are in trouble because of the military operation, the opposition of the Baloch youth to elections and the support of the government for their opponents.

Keeping in view this situation, some political observers are of the view that Baloch nationalist parties would never find a level playing field in the next elections. There are far too many hurdles of the government’s making.Understanding the gravity of the situation, the Baloch nationalists are now stressing the need for an electoral alliance. Former governor of Balochistan, Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch, is now trying to rally the Baloch nationalists around one electoral alliance. He met Sardar Ataullah Mengal and leaders of the National Party with this aim.

Sardar Ataullah Mengal has admitted that the former governor met him and urged the nationalist forces to contest elections jointly. ‘Baloch nationalists should contest elections from a single platform and show the world that they are the real representatives of the Baloch by obtaining over 50 per cent votes,’ he said.

The National Party has constituted a six-member committee, headed by Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, to form an electoral alliance with other political parties, particularly those with nationalist leanings. It is to be seen whether the nationalist parties will actually go in for an election alliance. Without an electoral arrangement they could find themselves in deep waters in the next elections.



http://www.dawn.com/2007/10/29/op.htm

__________________
Time is like a river.
You cannot touch the same water twice,
because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
Enjoy every moment of life.

I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.