WHILE Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Magsi’s stated intentions of ending hostilities among various feuding elements in the province are welcome, it would be useful to recall that the heady, post-election phase is not yet over. True, in the days following the Feb 18 poll, a reconciliatory approach by the main political parties has brought former rivals together. In Balochistan’s case, the PPP’s apology to the people of the province for state-sponsored excesses perpetrated on them has been particularly poignant. But it would be a mistake to presume that Balochistan’s troubles will disappear overnight with the induction of a new political dispensation, however well intentioned it may be. For one, Governor Magsi’s ceremonial position may impede his reconciliatory measures as it is the assembly that will have legislative powers. Here, friction cannot be ruled out as it is unclear how far the two largest parties — the pro-establishment PML-Q and the PPP — will cooperate with each other in the assembly, given their mutual distrust.
A bigger consideration is the role of the army. Even if the legislators are united in their resolve to improve conditions in the province, can we assume that the military, that has so far called the shots in Balochistan, will take a back seat? Propelled into action by the belief that Balochistan’s nationalist ferment is the work of foreign elements, the army has carried out indiscriminate attacks on the province’s population. Hundreds of activists have simply ‘disappeared’, political leaders have been killed or arrested and armed action has uprooted thousands of families. These and the army’s expanding presence as witnessed in the building of military cantonments and check posts, and its possession of land for commercial purposes, have fuelled resentment. Will the army submit to a new political order that may want to limit its presence in the province? Doubts on this score are justified. After all, the army failed to take its cue from the recommendations of a parliamentary committee on Balochistan in 2005 during the tenure of a pro-military government. One can only hope that army chief Gen Kayani’s apparent resolve to transform his institution into an apolitical and professional force will bear fruit and that the military intelligence will not be allowed a free hand in the province.
For the next government in Balochistan, the task ahead is clear — and gargantuan. Apart from anti-army feelings, there are problems ranging from grinding poverty and the absence of an adequate socio-economic infrastructure to feelings of alienation among the Baloch population. Lack of provincial autonomy has given them little say in the distribution of the wealth that their land generates, while projects like Gwadar Port have created uneasiness. Many Baloch see outside labour being given precedence over local recruits and view such projects as a means of altering the province’s demographic composition. Clearly, words alone will not douse the flames of separatism that still burn. For that, more concrete action is needed. In this regard, sending the army back to the barracks and taking measures to promote provincial autonomy might prove a good starting point.
http://www.dawn.com/2008/03/01/ed.htm |
