Editorial By Najam Sethi

Intense media scrutiny and concern over the fate of "missing persons" in Balochistan at the hands of the Frontier Corps in an environment of fear and loathing amidst a separatist insurgency that is taking a toll of civilians and soldiers has finally pressurized the government and military to take a fresh look at the "problem of Balochistan" and think of ways to "solve" it. The PM has set up a six-pronged framework - administrative, operational, developmental, administrative, legal and political -- for finding the right solution via a six member steering committee comprising three members each from the federal and provincial governments. General Ashfaq Kayani has chipped in by saying that there can be no military solutions to political problems. Is this a genuinely new initiative capable of delivering solutions?

We are not sanguine. Four years ago, President Asif Zardari pledged to solve the problem "inherited from the Musharraf regime". There was some to-ing and fro-ing. Later, a constitutional package of devolution and additional funds to go with it was unveiled for Balochistan. Rehman Malik tried to pacify the leaders of the nationalist movement in exile. But then the government lost sight of the ball in Balochistan as it became increasingly embroiled in bitter battles with the judges, generals, oppositionists, criminals, sectarianists and terrorists. Today, in the run-up to the elections, when the PPP government is besieged on all fronts more than ever before, it is unrealistic to expect any concrete or positive initiatives from them.

There are other reasons for disquiet. The meeting chaired by the PM was attended by the Army Chief, DG-ISI, CM and Governor of Balochistan. But the DG-Military Intelligence and Inspector General-Frontier Corps were conspicuous by their absence, despite the fact that the FC and MI are veritably in the eye of the storm. They are charged with developing and operating an anti-insurgent policy in Balochistan that has become part of the problem rather than the solution. FC Balochistan is 40,000 strong; it is an amalgam of Border Scouts and Militias along the Durand Line with Afghanistan and is led by a serving major general of the Pakistan army who is answerable to GHQ rather than the Interior Ministry; it has been a front line recipient of billions of dollars in training and equipment from the Americans for counter-insurgency operations in FATA since 2007 where it remains a core military strike force. Indeed, the Supreme Court has seen evidence that shows the FC is targeting and arresting suspected Baloch troublemakers and making them "disappear". Qamar Zaman Kaira, the Information Minister, has said that the FC would henceforth report to the CM of Balochistan and confine itself to maintaining law and order only. This is an admission that the FC was until now not reporting to the provincial government and was in fact conducting anti-insurgent operations.

Another dimension of the military solution has not even been mentioned. This is the role of military agencies in creating and propping up several armed non-state actors or Tribal Lashkars of "patriotic" Pakistanis to combat the "treasonable" separatists in Balochistan. These groups are used to identify, target and carry out reprisals against nationalist elements in the remote areas of the southern and coastal parts of the province.

The military has a simplistic view of the problem: the Baloch separatists are misguided, aided and abetted by enemies Afghanistan and India, even America, to attack Pakistan's security agencies, fuel chaos and fear, and create the pre-conditions for dismembering Pakistan; the solution is to crush the insurgents without regard for niceties like due process of law and human rights.

But this strategy isn't working for precisely the same reasons that the American strategy to fight the Taliban isn't working in Afghanistan: the Pakistanis are abetting the Afghan Taliban and thwarting NATO efforts to degrade them for a political compromise; the Afghans and Indians are abetting the Baloch insurgents and encouraging them to reject politically inclusive solutions within Pakistan. They are doing this because Pakistan's secret agencies have fomented jihad in Indian administered Kashmir for two decades and Talibanism in Afghanistan since 1996. It's payback time.

Pakistan's civil-military establishment needs a three-pronged strategy to solve Balochistan. First, it must stop provoking and alienating Afghanistan and India by state-sponsored cross-border terrorism as an element of Pakistan's national security doctrine. This will help negate any "pull" factor provided to the Baloch insurgents by them. Second, it must create a political environment to negate the "push" factor in Balochistan that led to the exile of the leaders of the insurgency in the first place in 2002 following the installation of Military-Mullah regimes in KPK and Balochistan. Third, it must reach out quickly on both fronts so that the opportunity for truth and reconciliation provided by the forthcoming elections later this year is not missed. It's a tall order.

-FridayTimes

June 3, 2012
By:Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

The briefing by Qamar Zaman Kaira at the end of the high level meeting on Balochistan is more remarkable for what it leaves out than what it states. We are told that the army wants a political solution to the Balochistan lawlessness How come there was no word about bringing the killers of Akbar Bugti to book, release of the people picked up by the agencies, end to forced disappearances and dumping of the dead bodies bearing signs of torture? There is nothing about ending the ethnic cleansing of the Hazara community and no measures to rein in the ISI and MI.

Instead of removing the highly unpopular Frontier Corps (FC) to the borders, the meeting has done the opposite. The task of stopping the smuggling of narcotics has been withdrawn and the over 50,000 strong force has been assigned the full-time duty of controlling the civilian areas. During the last many years of FC’s presence in the province, its performance has been marked by criminal negligence and a cynical disregard for the law.

The force has simply failed to protect the Hazara community and the religious minorities including Hindus. Hazaras have been butchered during terrorist attacks on their processions while their community leaders and common members have been hunted down like partridges. Several wealthy members of the Hindu community have been kidnapped for ransom. Hardly a sectarian terrorist is ever caught or killed and if this ever happens, it is by sheer mistake. There is a widespread perception in the province that the sectarian terrorists enjoy the protection of those who matter.

The FC has been accused of involvement in abductions. As CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry observed during a hearing in the second week of May, “Prima facie, there is sufficient evidence against the FC of abducting missing persons.” He also reportedly remarked that the FC was involved in more than 80 per cent of the forced disappearances in the province. To shift its control to the chief minister who has not been able to control even his own cabinet makes no sense. The force needs to be withdrawn in toto from the populated areas of Balochistan.

What does Kaira mean when he says that the FC has been placed under the control of the chief minister? The FC has maintained all along that it was working under the civilian government. This is what the present IG FC Maj Gen Obaidullah Khatak told Geo on February 18 this year. Asked by host Salim Safi regarding who had mandated the peacekeeping role to the force, pat came the answer, “Balochistan government.” “We receive orders from the chief minister and carry them out.”

We have been told that the COAS is convinced that Balochistan is a political issue and the military option cannot be a lasting solution. One has yet to see any indication of a change of heart in the army. Gen Kayani continues to maintain that not a single solider of the army is involved in any military operation in the province. Human memory being selective, he chooses to forget that the FC is led by high ranking army officers that include a major general and a brigadier at the top and several colonels, majors and captains leading various units of the force. The matters of policy are decided entirely by the star studded FC high command and operations led by active service officers. Thus, the issue of whether it is the army or the FC conducting the operations in Balochistan is no more than a matter of semantics for the common man.

There was no word in Kaira’s briefing about reining in the ISI and MI despite the Supreme Court having raised the issue at several occasions, the latest on May 23. The CJ told Khushnood Lashari that people were pointing fingers at law enforcement agencies like the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Frontier Corps (FC) for abduction of people and extra judicial killings. It is widely known that the ISI and MI are often involved in kidnappings not only in Balochistan but in other places of the country also, the case of the 11 Adiala jail missing inmates being one example among many. To bring peace to Balochistan, there is a need to make the ISI and MI accountable to the law of the land.

That the committee to initiate talks with the nationalist parties is yet to be nominated indicates the lack of a sense of urgency in the government. The high level meeting was convened only after widespread public protests over Balochistan being treated like another East Pakistan and the Supreme Court warning of the imposition of the state of emergency in Balochistan. This shows that the government is in fact reacting to the situation instead of being really convinced of its paramount importance. Many believe that if the move had been made three years back some five hundred lives could have been saved. The federal government is moving much more seriously on the division of Punjab, with cut off dates and all that, than on resolving the issue of Balochistan. One wonders under the circumstances whether the high level meeting on Balochistan was an election gimmick or a serious move.

The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.

June 4, 2012
By Dr Raja Muhammad Khan
Exclusive Article

In 1948, while addressing Quetta Municipality, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah said that, “you know, I take special interest in Baluchistan because, this province is my special responsibility, therefore I want that it should play its role in Pakistan affairs like other provinces.” Unfortunately, this great leader died in the same year and his vision could not be implemented. Area wise, it is half of Pakistan, but forming 5% of the total population. The leadership, following the Quaid, did not pay worthwhile attention towards the affairs of the province, thus there remained deterioration of the situation with each passing day. There have been grievances of the locals, turned into insurgencies and rebellions in the province, but use of force was considered the only option to quell all, rather addressing the causes.

The successive governments and their functionaries have been dealing with the Baloch issue without consulting the real stakeholders, the people and national acumen. Generally, governments have their own way of doing the things with vested political interests and priorities as per their conveniences’. On the issue of Balochistan, traditionally, there has been single handed and bureaucratic approach adopted by successive governments to resolve the issue without knowing its dynamics. Indeed, there have been no worthwhile efforts at national or provincial level to resolve this complicated issue. It is very encouraging that the literate class of Pakistan has finally realized the significance of national issues and started organizing debate and conference to resolve them. In this connection, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) organized a national conference on Balochistan on May 26, 2012. SCBA has invited the leadership from all political and religious parties in this national conference. The conference entitled, “Balochistan Issue and its Resolution”. The participants of the conference called for “taking on board all segments in the province over all policies and development projects, besides, redressing their genuine demands.”

Indeed, there is a need for the national mobilization to understand and address the national issues of Pakistan in the best national interests of the state of Pakistan. Political parties have their own agendas and evaluate the issues from their own particular perspective. Generally, there is a point scoring and relegation of the other party’s viewpoint. There remains a clear difference between what is said in the meetings and conferences and how the implementation takes place. Therefore, there is requirement for the dedication, clarity of the objectives and over and above the sincerity to resolve the issues, leaving behind the personnel or political party agendas.
At the conclusion, the conference adopted a fifteen-point resolution, demanding an end to the deprivations of the Baloch people and asking for an end to the military operations from the province. Whereas, various leaders from political and religious parties gave their own viewpoints for the resolution of Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik, President of the National Party stressed the need for granting rights to the Baloch people. He said that, “Balochistan is an integral part of Pakistan and we have to find out solution by dialogue with all the stakeholders. This indeed was the most important aspect of the
Balochistan issue, highlighted by a nationalist Baloch.

Between the lines, Dr Abdul Malik, has stressed the need for understanding the Baloch issue realistically, rather making political statements. His wordings were loud and absolutely clear. It is a fact that, in the entire history of Pakistan, Baloch people have never been given their basic rights. They are just the Baloch and have been used as tools both by national and provincial leaders. They have been deprived from basic necessities of life. They are Baloch and they are Pakistani, so must be given what the constitution of Pakistan has authorized to grant them.

Indeed, as practiced during the British era, in the tribal society of Balochistan, the sardars acted as agents of the British crown and kept the people under suppression and oppression. They did not allow the basic right to the locals. The locals became habitual of this pattern of living. They even continued these repressive policies after the decolonization and independence. Whenever, an attempt was made to curtail the power of sardars, they would rebel and tried to violate against the federation of Pakistan by mobilizing the suppressed Baloch community. The poor people of Balochistan would not know, as to why they have been asked to take arm for fighting, except that, it is the order of Sardars. It is generation after generation that such a practice is continuing in the Baloch dominated areas of Balochistan province. Today in the rural Balochistan, there are no basic civic facilities for the common Baloch. School and colleges are scant, resultantly; the youth of the province is deprived of the basic education, a necessity for an award society.
There is a lack of hospitals and medical centers in the province; therefore, treatment of the people once they fell ill has been a real issue.

These deprivations are not accidental, but deliberate and planned. After all, all areas of the province have elected representatives, and in case of Baloch MPs, over 90% are ministers too. Then there are senators, MNAs, and Federal Ministers from the Balochistan, all have some responsibilities towards their people and areas. Generally, there has been no dearth of the funds, issued for the province, particularly in last two decades. Then, there was no reason that local development in Balochistan could have been compromised. It was bunch of same sky rocketing politicians, who were making hue and cry in the conference, without questioning, as who is responsible for this backwardness of the people of Balochistan.

Some of the participants of the conference targeted the law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies. The most critical were; PML (N) leader, Main Nawaz Sharif and Asma Jehangir, the former President of SCBA. Both made provocative statements and Main Nawaz went ahead by saying that, Baloch has the right to rebel. He said, “The Baloch have a right to rebel … why shouldn’t they, after all that they have been put through?” The statement indeed, depicts the originator as an obtuse personality, who can do anything for his cheap popularity. Promoting and encouraging violence and rebellion is a felony in itself. Should a leader with national stature do it, is a big question mark? Accusing intelligence agencies and LEAs in Pakistan is the easiest thing. Even a common man on the streets would do it quite conveniently. It has become a fashion for people like Hamid Mir, Asma Jehangir and Mian sahib to critics’ the institutions. No one question these people’s credibility of these accusations and their linkages elsewhere. After all BAL Thackeray, RAW and CIA has no love with Pakistan, who have linkages with people in Pakistan to promote their cause.

As a matter of fact, it has become rhetoric in Pakistan, that ‘agencies are doing this and that’. Nevertheless, no fact-finding body has been designated by the Governments; federal and provincial to know the real hands behind all these acts of killings and disappearances. After all someone should think, who is the real beneficiary of the Baloch killings and disappearances? What advantage intelligence agencies and FC or any other LEA would get from these acts. On the one hand, some leaders, so-called human rights activists and media persons, otherwise quite generously following the global format (script), should not know the global agenda.

Being at the crossroads of the history, we must revisit the Quaid’s vision about the Province and reassess the issue through a nationalistic approach, leaving behind the personnel agendas. We must leave behind the politics of accusations and adopt a new approach’ the people centric approach to resolve the issue. The foremost requirement would be to know, who is doing this all to destabilize Pakistan. Then, there is an immediate need to provide basic facilities to the deprived people of the Balochistan. To start with, basic health and education facilities should get preference.

The writer is an analyst of international relations. Email; drmk_edu@yahoo.com

Raza Khan


Eventually some sanity seems to be prevailing within the government, among the political parties and civil society regarding addressing the Balochistan crisis, at least to the extent of taking some decisions and making certain recommendations.

Recently, the government held a high-level meeting on Balochistan, while one of the leading civil society organizations, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), arranged a national conference on the crisis in the province. The latter preceded the former.

The SCBA conference on Balochistan was extremely important as it was participated in by members of almost all the leading political parties of Pakistan including the nationalist parties of Balochistan, intellectuals and civil society organizations. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif especially took part in the conference. Significantly, the conference came up with a unanimous resolution. The most important point of the resolution is that it calls upon the government and the security forces to stop all military and paramilitary operations while a process of dialogue should take place simultaneously. The Army and Frontier Corps Balochistan personnel should withdraw to cantonments and transfer power to civilian authorities. This is more than sufficient evidence that all the political forces of the country agree that the elected government and provincial assembly do not have real authority in Balochistan.

All the above-mentioned are genuine demands of the political parties and civil society and it is constructive that they have expressed them collectively.
The SCBA conference also urged upon the political parties to ensure that the next elections in the province should be held transparently and that they should rise above petty political interests to constitute a neutral electoral mechanism. Obviously the future of Balochistan and its relationship with the federation hinges on the next elections. Because in the last elections, Baloch and Pakhtoon nationalist parties of the province as well as the PTI boycotted the elections. Therefore, the present provincial dispensation does not reflect the mandate of the people. If the government and the political parties are able to hold fair and transparent elections in the province it could go a long way in addressing the crisis. The Baloch nationalist parties like the Balochistan National Party (BNP) could be brought back to the assemblies and given a forum to raise their demands. As long as the Baloch nationalists remain out of the assemblies and the national political mainstream the crisis in Balochistan would go on accelerating. Now is a good time for launching genuine peace efforts in Balochistan through the political process. Because, according to the recently held and published International Republican Institute (IRI) survey, the PTI is the most popular political party in Balochistan. This seems doubtful, but if true it is a welcome development, as the PTI is a Pakistani nationalist party and does not have a provincial or parochial agenda.

Although, the IRI survey may not be a complete reflection of the public opinion in Balochistan but at the same time it cannot be dismissed. So when there is a strong support base for a Pakistani nationalist and mainstream party in the province, where a strong secessionist movement is going on, the powers-that-be must not be afraid of allowing full-scale political activities. Nationalist parties must effectively participate or parochial parties will dominate.

The Conference on Balochistan also demanded bringing the killers of Nawab Akbar Bugti to justice in an open trial. This is, indeed, necessary because once the culprits including former President General Pervez Musharraf, are awarded punishment, it would restore the confidence of the Baloch in Pakistani institutions and its judicial apparatus.

The conference, resolved that the nature of Balochistan’a problem is such that it could be resolved only through the process of political dialogue, negotiations and building confidence between the residents of the province and the federal government. Indubitably, this is the only way forward in the province as the state has already exhausted the use of force and without getting any positive results. Instead the crisis has gone from bad to worse, therefore, any additional use of force would be tantamount to further distancing the province from the federation. This needs to be realized by the powers- that-be.

The conference also very rightly resolved that all political prisoners and missing persons, who are in the custody of different state agencies, must be released forthwith and an independent inquiry commission must be appointed and that the victims be given appropriate compensation. Besides it also called upon the need for imparting training to the FC and police personnel regarding the human rights of the residents of Balochistan and their legal jurisdiction in dealing with the miscreants.

In fact, it is due to poor knowledge of the security forces personnel about the legal and constitutional provisions which is why they are unable to fine tune the power they can use against civilians.

Nawaz Sharif while addressing the conference very rightly asked, "Has anybody the courage to put the killers of Bugti on trial? “This is a very genuine and pertinent question but as a former general, COAS and self-appointed president was involved, the answer to Sharif’s question would probably be in the negative. The PTI leader Imran Khan came up with a very sound suggestion for creating among the Baloch a sense of belonging to the state. He said that the issue of Balochistan can be addressed by empowering the people at grassroots level instead of leaving them at the mercy of the politicians. It would have been more appropriate to stress bypassing the handpicked politicians, and relying on the genuine Baloch leadership.

The high-level meeting, which was chaired by the PM on Balochistan, held only a few days after the SCBA conference, passed a unanimous resolution regarding the province. Although this meeting did not achieve anything concrete, but it did decide that forthwith the FC Balochistan would be under the chief minister's control. This in a way is admission that hitherto it has not been under the CM's control, while constitutionally and legally it should have been. This in itself has been a gross violation of the Constitution and the CM must be fully held responsible for it. This was the reason that the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was compelled to state that if the prime minister did nothing about the problems of Balochistan, the Constitution would take its course and the imposition of emergency could be one of the options. One can only hope that a sincere and sustained effort will be made by all relevant parties to bring the alienated Baloch back into the national fold.

-Cuttingedge

By:Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

The man in the street has many expectations from the May elections. Many think the new government might succeed in curbing the type of sectarian attacks that have taken place in Quetta and Karachi. After so many innocent people killed those in power would leave no stone unturned to put an end to the shameful acts. Is there a hope for the minorities then?

Unless there is a change in the mindset of the security establishment and the next government, there is little possibility of respite in the ongoing attacks on minority communities in the foreseeable future.

The security agencies are to be blamed for their abysmal failure to break the terrorist networks who have been active for the last many decades. The two ruling parties at the centre and Punjab have failed to take any decisive action against the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP)/Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) network with Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) group serving as umbrella organisation.

As the agencies nurtured the sectarian terrorist networks in the 1990’s and even later, numerous operatives and officers of the security agencies were themselves bitten by the sectarian bug. It is an open secret that the communal terrorists have numerous sympathisers in these agencies. Instead of hunting down the terrorists they provide them inside information as well as protection. Can anyone imagine that Usman Saifullah Kurd, the architect of this year’s Quetta massacres, could have escaped from the high security Quetta Cantonment jail in 2008 without inside support? Combined with the general lowering of the standards of professionalism in these agencies on account of their misuse for political purposes, one has little confidence in their ability to deliver in days to come.

Irrespective of the positions taken by the PML-N and PPP leadership, extremist thinking prevails in the ranks of both the parties to varying extents. Quite a few middle ranking leaders are under the influence of the anti-minority clerics. Some justify suicide bombing if it is conducted in Afghanistan or Israel. Others seriously believe that Hindus and Christians conspire against Pakistan and the Shias are not genuine Muslims.

Both the PML-N and PPP have aligned at different times with religious parties whose seminaries nurture sectarian thinking and produce violent anti-Shia and anti-Ahmadi activists. The alliances, it is usually maintained are necessary to sustain democracy. The leadership of these parties lacks the vision or the courage to educate their cadre. There is little possibility of these parties changing the policy in days to come.

The political leadership invariably loses nerve whenever it comes to facing up to the mobs collected by rabble rousing extremists. It develops cold feet whenever decisive action is required to put an end to the crimes committed in the name of religion. The PML-N did not do anything to rein in those who had issued anti-Taseer edicts and had justified his killing. Had the clerics leading the campaign been taken to the courts and the handful of people they had brought on the streets dealt with firmly, bigger protest marches could have been stopped in the tracks. The PML-N had two reasons to let the mischief continue: a strong dislike for Taseer and a sharing of conviction with the extremist regarding the blasphemy law.

The PPP’s response was at best lukewarm. The party did not want to get unpopular by seeming to defend its governor. A section of the party was in fact unwilling to defend Taseer as it shared the extremist thinking. The interior minister was as ineffective in Punjab as he was in Karachi. The outspoken Taseer was left to fend for himself. The PPP was contented by adding another name to its pantheon of martyrs.

Both parties tend to use extremists to advance their political aims. The nomination by the PML-N of Prof Sajid Mir as a Senator was meant to send signals of solidarity to the extremists. Sajid Mir is the head of Jamiat Ahle Hadith (JAH), a Salafi network having ties with Saudi extremists financing the SSP/LeJ/ASWJ. He is also a prominent campaigner against the Ahmadis.

The PPP is by no means deficient in acts of appeasement of the sort. Pir of Bharchundi Sharif Mian Abdul Haq alias Mian Mithoo was last year the central figure in the “conversions” of several young Hindu girls which led to widespread protests by the minority community in Sindh. Hundreds of Hindus subsequently migrated to India. Mian Mithoo does not belong to any extremist outfit but is a PPP MNA from Ghotki.

Both the PML-N and PPP have sought the support of ASWJ/Lej/ASWJ in Punjab bye-elections, the first openly, the second somewhat discretely. There is thus only a difference of style rather than substance in the views of the two mainstream parties regarding how to use the extremist outfits during the elections. The ASWJ chief stood side by side in the open vehicle as Rana Sanaullah campaigned for PML-N during bye elections in Jhang. The ASWJ took credit for the victory of the party’s candidate. The PPP candidates too do not hesitate to seek SSP/Lej/ASWJ support in elections whenever required.

The way Ahmadi community has been systematically persecuted in Punjab during the last five years opens a window into the thinking of the PML-N leadership. In May 2010, sectarian terrorists killed about 100 Ahmadis who were offering prayers in two separate places. The Punjab chief minister, who rushes to console rape victims or those overtaken by natural calamities along with a battery of photographers and reporters, did not care to visit the injured Ahmadis for fear of annoying his extremist allies.

Thanks to the PML-N’s collusion with the SSP/LeJ/ ASWJ during the five years of its tenure, there has been a systematic persecution of the Ahmadi community all over Punjab. Numerous members of the group have been killed. Ahmadi graveyards have been desecrated.

The Christian community in Punjab has suffered most under the PML-N government. In 2009, a mob was allowed to torch 75 Christian houses in Gojra. The next year five Christian homes were burnt in Manga Mandi.

Many in the PML-N credit the party’s placatory attitude towards the terrorist networks with securing Punjab against terrorist attacks. Didn’t the graph of the terrorist attacks come down after Mian Shahbaz’s appeal to spare the province ruled by his party? Few take into consideration the damage done to the rest of the country through the understanding. The SSP/LeJ/ASWJ network was allowed to operate from the province as quid pro quo. The offices of the ASWJ were not closed. It is from safe havens in Punjab that the sectarian terrorists operate in other provinces.

Unless there is a keen awareness among the voters that none with extremist inclinations is to be elected, the country would continue to bleed.

The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk

March 15, 2013 . 0

Nawab Aslam Raisani is back in the saddle to run the terror-torn Balochistan as its chief executive after spending two months in the powerless wilderness. Exactly 60 days ago when the Hazara (Shia) community refused to bury their dead targeted in a sectarian attack and insisted that the capital Quetta be handed over to the army, they were persuaded to be content with Governor’s Rule; for, it was argued, under Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi they would have no more complaint. Unfortunately, despite granting greater power and freedom of action to the FC, he failed to stop a recurrence of tragedy to the Hazaras, though, perhaps, he was successful in bringing down the general level of targeted killings, abductions and insurgency. During his tenure, the FC managed to haul up quite a number of militants and capture a large cache of arms and ammunition and raw material for bomb-making. As his mandate expired on Wednesday without Parliament granting any extension to his rule, not even for three days when the provincial assembly would have stood dissolved, the unrepentant prodigal Raisani assumed power again as the province’s Chief Minister.

While Nawab Raisani must be feeling redeemed, the ordinary beleaguered Baloch, who had experienced enough of the ordeal of deadly attacks and haunting scare during his rule, would be dismayed and utterly at a loss to know why the powers that be should have put him back into power, even for a few days. The Chief Minister’s lack of comprehension of the lost writ of state in the face of raging militancy was, without exaggeration, of biblical proportions. He took things casually, spending most of his time in Islamabad or abroad in the countries of his choice unconcerned with the chaotic situation in the province that he was to be ruling. Thus, when removed from power, he was outraged and tried to make little of the murders and disappearances that were taking place as a daily routine.

Raisani’s glory comes from the dirty politics of the governing coalition both at the centre and in the province. With the blood-soaked bodies of Raisani’s rule staring the nation in the face and without caring to point out any redeeming factor for his reinstatement to the public, Federal Religious Affairs Minister Khurshid Shah is reported to have worked hard to bring around the anti-Raisani group in Balochistan to let him resume power. Perhaps, he thought that the people should know it was the season of caretaker setups and unless different political parties and factions, including both pro- and anti-Raisani camps, were on the same page, there might be some difficulty in selecting a candidate for the caretaker chief ministership who could be of use to the parties in power. The turmoil in Balochistan, the general concern over it and the ruling political leadership’s sense of self-respect and dignity figured nowhere in the equation. All was sacrificed at the altar of the lust for power!

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...ntant-prodigal

Posted on March 27, 2013

Balochistan National Party-M chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal who also heads his Mengal tribe did not show any flexibility nor did he show interest in the democratic process which was unfolding in a big way in view of the next parliamentary elections. What he did on arrival at Karachi on Monday was the reiteration of his six-point formula that he unveiled as panacea for all the ills of the volatile Balochistan province in the Supreme Court during his last visit to the homeland. However, he says those points were rejected in a way that could be described as thrown "in our face". As for his six-point formula, he had demanded that all covert and overt military operations against Balochs should be suspended; all missing persons should be produced before courts; all proxy death squads should be disbanded; Baloch political parties should be allowed to function and resume their political activities without interference from intelligence agencies; persons responsible for inhuman torture, killing and dumping of bodies of Baloch political leaders and activists should be brought to justice and measures taken for the rehabilitation of thousands of displaced Baloch people living in an appalling condition.

Although, Akhtar Mengal desires to be part of the electoral process as he knows that he can hold sway over divided political forces of the province; yet he will simply not take this a public stance because of the pressure from the forces who are riding high upon the American and Indian scheme for our biggest, area wise, but sparsely populated province which is rich in natural resources.

In a way Akhtar Mengal is hostage to the whims of these forces. This was why he was all praise for the militants who had announced a boycott of the coming elections. Still he has called a meeting of his party to take a formal decision. The outcome of this party meeting is not difficult to predict.
If Mengal does not know of what prices a nation has to pay for living on insinuations of foreign powers, he must now understand that the foreign powers wanting him to pull down the sky, they would throw him and the likes of him to wolves once their agenda is executed. No nation has survived on others' muscle power; the only way to walk with head high is the strength from within. The forces now patronizing him have their eyes fixed on the province's resources and, above all, the port at Gwadar that is the corridor to the land-locked Central Asia which promises huge windfalls once the port goes into full operation mode.

Nevertheless, no-one can deny how step-motherly Balochistan has been treated in the past. This is also a hard fact that military regimes in particular have wronged the people living there. But this does not mean that the province should be seceded for the aliens to benefit from. The solution must be seen within the constitutional scheme; the BNP must be part of the electoral process and get itself in the position to fight for the rights of the people of the province.

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/article/213902/

March 27, 2013

Sajjad Shaukat

Continued subversive acts in the province of Balochistan, arranged by the anti-Pakistan forces coincide with malicious propaganda against the country and its security agencies.

In this regard, the main aim of India, US and Israel is to internationalize the Balochistan issue in accordance with their secret agenda. In this respect, in connivance with the Baloch separatist leaders who have taken refuge in Swizerland, Sweden, US, London and some other western countries, external hostile elements use media, various NGOs and human rights organizations for false propaganda against Pak Army and country’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) including Frontier Corps (FC) in relation to the extrajudicial killings and disappeared persons. As part of their campaign, secret agencies like Indian RAW, American CIA and Israeli Mosad which are well-penetrated in these foreign entities also arrange demonstrations and protests abroad to distort Pakistan’s image.

Besides rallies in some western countries, in 2012, a demonstration was held outside the United Nations in Genva on the occasion of the 19th Session of UN Human Rights Council to condemn the human rights violations in Balochistan. The demonstrators accused Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies of extrajudicial killings. Apparently, the demonstration was organized and led by Mehran Baloch, Balochistan’s representative at the UN and Noordin Mengal, but, in fact, it was arranged by the anti-Pakistan NGOs, human rights groups and Indo-Israeli lobbies with American covert help.

For these sinister aims, London has become hub of anti-Balochistan collusion and activities, where the self-exiled leaders of separatist Baloch groups have been living in highly expensive flat. Sources suggest that they have been found to be holding secret meetings with the Indian diplomats. These Baloch separatist leaders have very costly vehicles and regularly visit US, Dubai and Oman. They get anti-Pakistan propaganda material printed in London and use different channels to distribute it in various parts of Balochistan. They obtain tickets for their frequent foreign visits from an Indian travel agent in London, who reportedly receives payments from the Indian High Commission. Indirectly, Indian RAW sends money for all their financial expenses.

However, on July 31, 2011, with the assistance of external elements, a rally was organized by Baloch Human Rights Council in UK, in front of the US Embassy in London, which raised false accusations such as inhuman torture and extrajudicial murder of the Baloch intellectuals by the Pakistani security agencies, while blaming ISI for the disappeared persons.

On August 3, 2011, the former ISPR spokesman, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, while rejecting human rights groups’ reports about Balochistan as a conspiracy against Pakistan, called for probing the funding of these organizations as this could be traced back to those forces which want to destabilize Pakistan.
Meanwhile, again, Baloch activists staged a demonstration in London in front of US Embassy on March 4, 2012 to express their gratitude to three American Congressmen, Dana Rohrabacher, Louie Gohmert and Steve King who tabled a bill before the US Congress in February, calling for the right of self-determination for Balochistan, while raising similar allegations against Pakistan’s security institutes. American government distanced itself from these Congressmen, but the move had clandestine support of some US officials. The resolution has encouraged Baloch separatist groups who are now actively lobbying the lawmakers of the European Parliament for a similar move.
Now, it has become usual practice in London. And under the leadership of Hyrbyair Marri, and especially with Indian support including other external elements, anti-state Baloch militant groups such as Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), Balochistan Republican Army (BRA), and other similar outfits will launch a protest demonstration against Pakistan on March 30, 2013 at 10 Downing Street, London. But this time, as part of propaganda, the scheme intends to draw maximum attention of the international media to allegedly show that Pakistani state atrocities in Balochistan continue unabated, and Islamabad has occupied Balochistan. The protest rally will move from the Pakistani Embassy to the 10 Downing Street. New Delhi has secretly instructed to the Indians to participate in the rally along with anti-Pakistan banners and placards. The protesters will again blame our country’s security agencies for the missing persons, dumped dead bodies, extrajudicial killings etc. in Balochistan.

Recently, Supreme Court, federal and provincial governments have been taking serious notice of the aggravated law and order situation of Balochistan, particularly with reference to the disappeared people. In this backdrop, question arises as to why situation of Balochistan is deteriorating, and where are the missing persons of the province?

The facts behind human rights violations such as extrajudicial killings, dumped bodies, the missing persons and aggravated law and order situation of the province is that militant groups like BLA, BLF, BRA and Jundollah (God’s soldiers) which have been fighting for secession of Balochistan gets arms and ammunition from CIA and RAW.

Their militants kidnapped and massacred many innocent people who include teachers, professors, lawyers, Shias and the security personnel in the province. Many persons in Balochistan have also been killed in suicide attacks and bomb blasts, planted by these foreign-backed outfits.

On a number of occasions, these insurgents groups claimed responsibility for their criminal activities. In the past few years, they kidnapped and killed many Chinese and Iranian nationals in Pakistan. Besides targeting Punjabis and other ethnic minorities in the province, they also arranged subversive acts in the Iranian Sistan-Baluchistan. In this respect, Tehran had directly named CIA for funding of terrorist attacks.

A majority of the disappeared individuals are also in the detention centres (Farrari Camps) which are being run by Baloch feudal lords (Sardars). With the assistance of US-led India and Israel, these Sardars are fighting for their so-called prestige, status and influence, and want to continue old system of feudalism in the province.

It is mentionable that Pakistan’s civil and military leadership has repeatedly disclosed that militants along with huge cache of arms are being sent to Balochistan from Afghanistan. In the recent past, Rehman Malik pointed out that during his trip to Afghanistan, he emphasised upon President Hamid Karzai to close Baloch training camps. In that background, Brahmdagh Bugti and some other Baloch so-called nationalists left Afghanistan and went to some western countries. In his latest statement, Rehman Malik revealed that there are links among BLA, Jundollah, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan which have been weakening Pakistan and Balochistan.

Especially, on July 23, 2008, Brahmdagh Bugti told the BBC that they had the right to accept foreign aid and arms from anywhere including India. During the above mentioned session of the UN in Geneva, Baloch so-called leaders Mehran Baloch, Dr Allah Nazar Baloch and Hyrbyair Marri, while interacting with foreign media and addressing meetings stated that for the independence of Balochistan, they would also welcome help from India. Like Americans, they also opposed Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project. Notably, by rejecting US growing pressure and defying the threat of sanctions, on March 11, this year, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari inaugurated the gas pipeline project with Iran.

Particularly, Balochistan’s mineral resources and geo-strategic location with deep Gwadar seaport, connecting rest of the world with Central Asia have further irked the eyes of the US and India because China has already invested billion of dollars to develop this seaport. It is due to multiple strategic designs that the US which signed a nuclear deal with India in 2008 seeks to dismember both Pakistan and Iran. In this connection, foreign supporters of Baloch separatists have accelerated acts of sabotage in the province through their affiliated-militants, as recently Pakistan has handed over the control of Gwader seaport to China.

Therefore, propaganda campaign against Islamabad has also been intensified by the external entities. In this context, nefarious arrangements for the pre-planned rally which will be executed on March 30, 2013, is being made on larger scale by anti-Pakistan forces, especially India.

Nonetheless, in response to the Baloch separatists’ protest, the best way is that patriot Pakistanis; living in London must arrange a similar rally on the same day with pro-Pakistan cards, banners and national flags so as to display to the media that we are all united to castigate the foreign conspiracy against Balochistan.

It is notable that a Gallup survey of the UK official body, DFID, conducted on July 20, 2012, disclosed that the vast majority of the Baloch people oppose the idea of an independent Balochistan. This survey has proved that some external entities have been conducting subversive acts in the province by supporting the minority elements, and are inciting the other Bloch persons for independence of Balochistan.

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/article/213906/

It goes to the discredit of Pakistan’ ruling elite, both political and military, to have driven the people of Balochistan to desperation, and forcing some to seek independence. To keep the small population of the province, now nearing 15 million, contented should have posed little problem, all the more so in view of the abundant natural and mineral resources of the province. The Baloch are known for being confident and open-minded. Those settled in Punjab and Sindh are well integrated and have significant representation in the assemblies. The genuine demand for autonomy and equal rights by the people of Balochistan was suppressed by successive military and civilian rulers with authoritarian mindsets while the province has been subjected to several military operations since 1947. The forced disappearances of Baloch activists that started during the Musharraf regime continued without interruption under the PPP administration. What is more scores of political activists were tortured to death and their bodies dumped in the open. After the killing of Akbar Bugti, a section of the Baloch turned into extremists and indulged in equally reprehensible reprisals that included attacks on installations of national importance, killing of innocent people from other provinces and of the security personnel. Sectarian terrorists meanwhile turned Quetta into the killing fields of the Hazara community.

The Baloch nationalist parties remain under immense pressure from the insurgents who want them to work for an independent Balochistan. The decision by Akhtar Mengal to return and take part in elections is thus a highly courageous move. The key to peace in Balochistan lies in holding of peaceful and transparent elections. This requires a level playing field for all contestants in the province. Any attempt by the agencies to get incompetent leaders of their liking foisted on the province through political engineering, as was done in 2002 and 2008, would strengthen separatists and terrorists.

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan. It has the country’s second deep sea port. The crucial Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline will also pass through the province. The people of Balochistan deserve better treatment than has been meted out to them. BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal demands measures that alone can make the elections credible. The Supreme Court, the Caretaker Prime Minister and the Election Commission need to jointly exert themselves to ensure that military operations against the Baloch are suspended, missing persons are produced before the court, proxy death squads are disbanded, Baloch political parties are allowed to function without interference from the intelligence agencies, persons responsible for torture, killing and dumping of bodies are brought to justice and measures are taken to rehabilitate the displaced Baloch living in appalling conditions. Unless the measures are taken the pitch would remain queered for the nationalist parties which would bring to question the legitimacy of the elected assembly.

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/editorials/

March 29, 2013 0



Balochistan National Party (BNP) Chief Akhtar Mengal has announced that his party would actively take part in the forthcoming general elections. This is a welcome departure from the stand he had taken soon after his arrival from London that like Kashmiris, the Baloch also deserve to get the right to self-determination. The decision to participate in the election was taken at a meeting of BNP chaired by him in Karachi on Wednesday. In his media interaction after the meeting he said that the criterion to judge that good days were ahead for Balochistan is that the electoral process took place in full freedom and fairness and in a transparent manner.

Sardar Mengal further said that he was a political person and had no enmity with anyone. His decision to be part of the election process and upon winning election to take oath under the constitution of Pakistan is, indeed, a happy sign. His stand clarifies the earlier position he had taken about the right of self-determination One hopes he is able to persuade angry Baloch nationalists to join the mainstream politics. If voted to power, one expects, he would live up to the people’s expectations. The government, on its part, must ensure level playing field to all political parties, including Baloch nationalist.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-ne...al-talks-sense