Editorial: A Mighty Rebel

The resignation of PPP’s Balochistan President Senator Lashkari Raisani may lead to tumultuous politics in foreseeable future. While quitting the top party office, Lashkari, who is the younger brother of Chief Minister Aslam Raisani, accused ministers from his own party of being involved in breach of discipline and rampant corruption.

In retrospect, PPP’s central secretary information Fauzia Wahab added to junior Raisani’s agony with a pinch of public humiliation by stating in the media that Raisani had already been deprived of his responsibilities by the party top brass because of his “poor performance” and efforts to fan infighting within the ruling party.

Lashkari’s resignation failed to garner much attention in the media because of his inconsistent political views. He had made similar announcements twice last year to give up his party position but withdrew the decision shortly by insisting that his party workers had enjoined him to reconsider the move. The situation this time, however, is a bit more serious. It seems currently differences on both the side are much deeper.The central leadership of the ruling PPP did not waste much time in disgracing Raisani publicly by saying that he had already been removed from his position even before the resignation was announced. On the other hand, Senator Raisani lambasted the federal and provincial governments for not meeting the public expectations.

In a press conference held at Sarawan House, which is Raisani’s personal residence and, ironically, the provincial Secretariat of PPP, Lashkari appeared double-minded. It was almost confirmed that the was very disillusioned with the performance of the PPP government in Balochistan but, at the same time, he looked alerted at Fauzia’s harsh statement in the Press. Thus, the jest of the his press conference was like he wanted to say that his anger was only directed at the provincial government in return of which he should not be punished by being kicking out from the party.

Replying to journalists’ questions, Lashkari sounded very humble. He said in a sarcastic note that he was thankful to Fauzia for removing him from the PPP but demanded a charge-sheet to be produced before ousting him.

” The PPP should have issued a charge-sheet if there were any allegations against me,” he said. He clarified that the time to quit the PPP had not approached yet but did not rule out the possibility of giving “Fauzia and her likes” a chance to distribute sweets over his exit from the PPP. Regarding the fate of his seat in the Senate, Raisani said he would be willing to relinquish the membership of the upper house of the parliament if a demand was made from the Bilawal House, PPP”s central Secretariat.

Explaining the reasons for his resignation, Raisani said he had lost confidence in Balochistan’s coalition government in terms of its ability to resolve the current turmoil in the province. If the government, he recommended, lacked the mandate to settle Balochistan’s political and administrative problems then it should fight with Islamabad for more powers.
“It is unfortunate that the Balochistan crisis has further deepened during the PPP’s rule. The coalition government failed to make any progress. Political process has been overshadowed by a wave of terror,” he said, “people have become disappointed and the biggest victims of these affairs are the general masses.”

Lashkari’s resignation, if not taken back, is going to be a big set-back to the ruling PPP in Balochistan. The Raisani family has made remarkable contributions in popularizing a the PPP for the last four decades in Balochistan. Because of the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s decision to oust Balochistan’s first elected government and launch a military operation in Balochistan, PPP has always remained a very unpopular party in Balochistan.Late Ghause Baksh Raisani, Balochistan’s ex-governor and the father of Lashkari Raisani, was a prominent PPP leader in Balochistan. Ever since becoming the president of the party, Lashkari Raisani worked tirelessly to establish PPP offices at district and thesil levels across Balochistan.

Currently, the PPP government has become enormously unpopular because of being viewed perceived as corrupt and inept. If there is some respect for the present government, it is not because the PPP leads the coalition government. The little respect left for the PPP is because of the tribal status of Nawab Aslam Raisani, Lashkari’s elder brother.

It is hard to predict how the future of the PPP would look like in Balochistan without the Raisanis. If Chief Minister Nawab Raisani decides to stand with his younger brother, who in fact played a pivotal role in paving the way for the senior Raisani to become the chief minister, the ruling party will crumble and face extraordinary infighting. Otherwise, if senior Raisani continues to support the ministers whom the junior Raisani has called corrupt and inept, the former will only add to Lashkari’s popularity by making him a real hero.
Lashkari’s expression of mistrust in the PPP government gives currency to the opt-repeated stance of those who say Musharraf has gone but PPP continues to celebrate and practice former dictator’s policies. Only time will tell if Lashkari will join the ranks of leaders like late Nawab Akbar Bugti and Balach Marri who once joined the parliament but returned disappointed and hopeless.

http://www.thebalochhal.com/2010/11/editorial-a-mighty-rebel/