EVEN though his tenure as Balochistan’s chief executive is already half over, Sardar Saleh Bhootani’s decision to hold talks with all tribal and political leaders in the province deserves to be welcomed. The caretaker chief minister told the Press Club’s ‘meet the press’ programme that among those he intended to meet were Balochistan’s nationalist leaders, including the ailing Khair Bakhsh Marri, the aim behind the meetings being to improve the law and order situation. As caretaker chief minister, Mr Bhootani’s first duty is to ensure a credible election, for which peace is a primary condition. In this respect, Balochistan’s own position is a little peculiar. In the wake of the crackdown on the Lal Masjid rebels in July, the incidence of suicide bombings, mostly in the north, has increased. But in Balochistan, the problem has been of a different kind. The province has been in the grip of an insurgency for several years. At one time pitched battles between the Bugti militia and security forces destroyed peace in the region. However, since the death of Akbar Bugti in August 2006 the level of insurgency has declined, though attacks on gas, power and railway installations have continued. It is this aspect of the Balochistan situation that also needs Mr Bhootani’s attention
Even though it is the biggest province territorially, Balochistan has not received the treatment it deserves. It has vast mineral resources, including gas, copper and gold, but the commercial exploitation of these resources has not benefited the people. The Baloch also fear that the ‘mega’ projects now underway, including the fast-expanding Gwadar port, could add to social pressures and upset the province’s ethnic character. Besides, many Baloch leaders want not only a revision of the quantum of provincial autonomy; they complain that the autonomy as enshrined in the Constitution has been denied to them. The chief minister must, of course, be aware of the reports prepared by two parliamentary committees a couple of years ago. They made some valuable suggestions, including the need to safeguard the rights of the Baloch people in federal and provincial jobs. However, nothing has been heard about the reports for quite some time, and the recommendations seem to have been put into cold storage.
While these long-term efforts to satisfy Baloch grievances must continue, Mr Bhootani should make the nationalist leaders, especially the younger lot, realise that senseless acts of terrorism are no solution to Balochistan’s problems, and such criminal acts only deprive them of the sympathy of those sections of the people in the other provinces who are on the side of the Baloch people in their struggle to achieve their just rights in a peaceful manner.
http://www.dawn.com/2008/01/16/ed.htm#1 |
