2009,08,03
Things are not getting better in Pakistan's largest and most resource-rich province. In fact, they are getting worse.
When Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who was recently snubbed by the prime minister on the SMS censorship issue, says that he has good news about Balochistan, we should be worried. So far, the People's Party government has been unable to live up to the expectations of either the Baloch people or the settlers there. In fact, it has become part of the problem there.
President Zardari tell us that he can solve the problem because it is a political issue. He assures us that since he is half Baloch himself, he can fully comprehend what the issues are. But so far, apart from the initiative taken by the president in his first months in office, things are not getting better in Pakistan's largest and most resource-rich province. In fact, they are getting worse.
People in towns and cities across Balochistan live in fear of what the future holds for them. Many families, a significant number of them Baloch, have moved to Karachi so that they can live more peaceful lives. There has been a marked number of admissions in Karachi schools of children who were previously studying in Balochistan. People have moved houses and businesses - possibly, this silent migration was behind tensions with the Baloch in Karachi last year.
As tensions rise, the death toll climbs in Balochistan. Several hundred people have been killed over the past couple of years, ostensibly by Baloch nationalists who want to rid the province of outsiders.
We are not sure entirely who killed these innocent people, many of whom did not even know why they were being targeted. People tell of horror stories where buses had been stopped and outsiders identified and shot. Is this what Pakistan is being reduced to? How much of these actions are a genuine expression of anger, and how many are "inspired"?
The settlers are not the only victims. An unknown number of ethnic Baloch people, many of whom possibly have nothing to do with the conflict that has now taken root there, are also missing. We all know what happened when the courts tried to take up this issue. And many Pakistanis don't want to go that route again. But the question is, which route do we take from here.
The feeling of alienation amongst the Baloch has not come overnight. Neither is this the first time the Baloch have complained of being neglected and short- changed. It is an irony that can only happen in Pakistan, that Sui gas reached Murree first and was supplied to Quetta later. Baloch grievances are not addressed and are taken lightly.
Take, for example, the parliamentary committee that was formed to look into the complaints of the people of Balochistan. The members of this committee, which was formed in Gen Musharraf's time, themselves say that their work is not taken seriously. And then we wonder why the Baloch are angry.
There is practically no concept of governance in Balochistan. A chain of successive chief ministers have only complied with what Islamabad has directed them to do. The same is the case with governors and the entire Balochistan government machinery. Any initiative to address the complaints of the Baloch or find local solutions is met with resistance in Islamabad. The fate of Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch, who lasted only six months as governor, is well known. There can be no home grown solutions.
The government in Balochistan has a simple formula - live and let live. In several instances in the past, almost all members of the Balochistan Provincial Assembly were made ministers. These ministers were never held accountable for their actions or spending. As a consequence, the province is almost always broke. But the politicians and ministers - both from the left and the right - have made lots of hay.
The irony of Balochistan is that despite being rich in terms of resources, its government is always facing financial problems. Apart from the gas from which it gets little or no royalty, its others minerals - - like gold and copper - are silently siphoned away while the people of the province remain one of the poorest in Pakistan. But that is half the story - the resources that the province does get are spent on idiotic schemes and for the benefit of the leaders. The people get next to nothing.
To give credit where it is due, President Musharraf was the force behind the coastal highway. It is one of Pakistan's most scenic and strategic roads. And yet, the dream of Gwadar as a coastal dreamland crashed the day he resigned from office. Gwadar is now slowly receding back into oblivion.
It is also an irony, and one which shows how desperate the people are - that the same tribal chieftains who exploit the poor are also now seen as champions of the people. They are leading the struggle against the Centre. Given that their priorities are different from those of the common Baloch man and woman, one can only see where this leads to.
For most Pakistanis, however, the questions are deeper. For how long will we allow the government to mishandle the issues in Balochistan? Why, may we ask, have those who in 2005 criminally assaulted Dr Shazia in Sui not still brought to book? If President Musharraf needs to be brought to book, it should be for interfering with the due process of law by exonerating an army official from the case on television, at a time when investigations were being conducted.
In the same light, why have we not brought to book people who in 2008 buried five women alive for the "crime" of deciding who they should marry? Why has President Zardari not taken action against the provincial minister who was involved in this crime, given that the minister is from the PPP? If nothing else, the president should take a leaf out of Mian Nawaz Sharif's book who sacked a Punjab MPA for credit card fraud.
We want to know what became of the investigation into the killings of Ghulam Muhammad Baloch, Lala Munir Baloch and Sher Muhammad Bugti, three Baloch leaders whose bodies were found in Turbat in April this year. These honourable men were members of a committee formed by the government to investigate the case of missing persons in the province, notably abducted UN worker John Solecki, who was later freed.
Rehman Malik now tells us that India is behind the troubles in Balochistan. This is an insult to the people of the province, because their grievances are genuine. Instead of addressing these problems, Islamabad is once again looking for scapegoats on the one hand and absolving itself of past sins on the other.
By playing the India card, Islamabad wants to kill many birds. First, it wants to prove that India too has been up to mischief. It wants to tell the world that Pakistan is not the only country where terror outfits are bred and tolerated. Islamabad also wants to tell people at home that the troubles in Balochistan are only because of external forces. With this premise, any action that Islamabad may contemplate in the province would have the endorsement of the people.
While India may have some role to play in creating trouble, the problem actually lies with us. We need to wake up to Balochistan. If we do not do this soon, outside forces - and not just India as our leaders claim, will exploit the situation. While our leaders neglect Balochistan, the province is of particular interest to others. For the Taliban, for India and Afghanistan, for Iran as well as China and for America. All for their own reasons. How long can we blame others for what are essentially our own failings?
Email: kamal.siddiqi@thenews.com.pk
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=190049
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