BALOCHISTAN has mercifully been lifted from the backburner and placed on the government’s agenda. On Monday Chief Minister Raisani announced the withdrawal of all cases registered against BNP leader Akhtar Mengal that should help somewhat ease tension in the province. A day earlier the People’s Party co-chairman had announced that he will convene an all-party conference on Balochistan within ten days. The aim of the moot is said to be to “address the grievances” of the Baloch and “bring them into the national mainstream”. Given the turmoil in Pakistan’s largest province since 2004 and the popular unrest that has kept Balochistan in an unsettled state for several decades, an attempt to hold a dialogue is most timely and should be welcome. Therefore one hopes that all political parties and other stakeholders in the Balochistan question will respond positively to Mr Asif Ali Zardari’s initiative.
In this context, it is encouraging that the PML-Q has held out the assurance that it will welcome the APC which can succeed only if all parties participate and agreement on various issues is reached with their consensus. One may recall that recognising the importance of peace in Balochistan the PML-Q had set up a parliamentary committee in 2005 that had visited the province, talked to various leaders and prepared a report listing its recommendations. The failure to implement them — they could only be done with the cooperation of the army — led to the collapse of this initiative. One only hopes that the political leadership that is wisely attempting to bring peace to this conflict-stricken region will this time take the army on board. At present, some of the major grievances of the Baloch — mysterious disappearances of political activists and increasing level of militarisation — can be effectively resolved only if the army which is more or less in control in the province also cooperates and goes along with the decisions taken by the APC. There may be initially some hurdles given the hard line taken by the Baloch nationalists. The olive branch notwithstanding, in the weeks following the February elections the number of incidents of violence and sabotage has not declined. The nationalists have now made their participation in the APC conditional on the halting of military operations and the return of the armed forces to their barracks. One hopes that the nationalists will give the new political leadership a chance and reciprocate its gesture.
The long-term underlying cause of the unrest in Balochistan is of a political and economic nature and has equally grave implications. Excluding a section of the people from the decision-making process is a sure way of sidelining and alienating it. We should have learnt this from our experience in East Pakistan. It is not unexpected that the Baloch feel discriminated against and deprived of the benefits of their own resources. The differences can be easily sorted out at the negotiating table, given goodwill and integrity. Some constitutional changes envisaging greater provincial autonomy would also be called for. These should now be taken seriously if the hearts and minds of the Baloch are to be won and Pakistan is to survive as a vibrant federation.
http://www.dawn.com/2008/04/23/ed.htm |
