Editorial: Is He Robert Mugabe?

Editorial: Is He Robert Mugabe?

In his latest exclusive interview with BBC’s Ahmed Raza, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani indicated that he had reached at a dangerous level of denial of facts on the ground in Balochistan province. He ridiculed two internationally reputed organizations, Amnesty International and Transparency International, accusing them of “exaggerating” facts about Pakistan in general and Balochistan in particular. The Chief Minister raised the following points in his interview.

First, Raisani brushed aside the impression that a large number of political workers had ever gone missing. He refused to admit that dozens of political activists’ dead bodies had been recovered in the recent times. He said the situation of the missing persons had been addressed by the government. This was in total contrast to what had been appearing on the front pages of all newspapers published from Quetta that at least fourteen political activists’ dead bodies had been recovered from various districts of Balochistan in a single week.

Second, the chief minister endeavored to clear himself of all responsibilities by saying that most of the missing persons were actually criminals while some others had gone to Dubai and Kabul. With the latter allegation yet to be substantiated, the first assertion merits attention. Does the law of the land validate keeping criminals in a state of ‘enforced disappearance’? According to the law, any criminal, either big or small, has to be produced before a court within 24 hours and granted the right to hire a lawyer to defend himself.

The missing persons in Balochistan have not been put into regular jails or offered a dignified trail. Thus, Raisani, as the elected chief minister of the province, cannot exempt himself from the responsibility of tracing back all the missing persons by simply calling them as small criminals. In fact, his remarks truly hurt the feelings of those families whose beloved ones had gone missing for a long time and then were brutally killed with their dead bodies thrown in isolated places.

Third, he went on to the level of accusing a third and neutral observer of the conflict i.e. Amnesty International which has recently issued a statement expressing concern about the worsening situation in the province. While the Baloch nationalists complain lack of action by Amnesty International in the wake of recent killings of the political workers, the chief minister, ironically, accuses the globally trusted body of ‘exaggerating’ facts. This is a very dangerous behavior adopted by an elected political leader who begins to act like a dictator. Raisani should not disregard the criticism made by international human rights groups. Instead, he has to improve his government’s image and fight with the federal government for not curtailing the influence of the intelligence agencies.

All national and international human rights groups play a pivotal role in straightening democracy in the country. With the Balochistan Assembly remaining almost devoid of a vibrant opposition, all eyes are fixed on the media, human rights groups and the civil society to keep a check on the performance of the government in Quetta.

Fourth, the chief minister indicated that the armed groups in Balochistan maintained their respective websites. As far as we as a media outlet know, no Baloch armed group has an official website. By such remarks, one can conclude that Raisani sees every Baloch website and online news source which are critical of his government’s policies as a “supporter of terrorists”. Hence, he’d endorse a complete blockade or ban on these news sources. His contempt for online news sources of Balochistan also indicates that he directly recommended the ban imposed by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Balochistan’s first online English language newspaper, The Baloch Hal.

There is no solution to Balochistan’s conflict if the chief minister refuses to respect the existing facts about the province. Balochistan is not a regressive African country to be ruled with a dictatorial approach. Media and human rights groups have played a significant role in bringing democracy back to this country. They also contributed enormously to highlight the Balochistan issue.

We urge the provincial government to remain more tolerant towards an independent media and show respect for human rights groups. The policy of encouraging dummy newspapers serving as the mouthpiece of the government and branding the independent media as the “anti-state” outlets must be shunned in the greater interest of Balochistan.

http://www.thebalochhal.com/2010/11/editorial-is-he-robert-mugabe/