This land is my land
27/03/2007
Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur
Josef Stalin, being briefed about the influence that the Pope wields, asked, ?How many divisions does he have?? He measured strength in terms of divisions, and rightly so. Here too the decisive factor is the number of divisions one can boast of. Force gives legality to illegal acts that destroy historical rights.
The cold disregard for the historical rights of the people of Balochistan over their lands has always been a source of conflict. With the passage of time, this disregard has assumed a more menacing form and is encompassing more areas. Appropriation has also taken on an ominous mode, threats and force being used quite substantially to do the people out of their primary basis of identity.
A new wave of illegal appropriations has prompted the usually supine Treasury benches to speak up. The Balochistan Assembly on March 19 unanimously passed a resolution against the ?illegal occupation of private land by the Pakistan Air Force? in various parts of the province.
Azizullah Khan reported in The Post that ?MMA?s Provincial Minister Abdur Rahim Bazai moved the resolution in the Assembly with Speaker Jamal Shah Kakar in the chair. The minister said the PAF authorities were trying to hold thousands of acres of land of the Bazai tribe in Aghbarg area near Quetta. He said it was the property of Bazai tribesmen for long. Similarly, the security forces were trying to hold the land in Sarag Hurgai, Chashma Chorzai, Hana, Orak, eastern and western by-pass lands. He pointed out that the forces were also trying to arrest the real owners of the land. The Speaker asked the members to raise hands if they supported the resolution and most of the MMA ministers and opposition members raised their hands in favour of the resolution and it was accepted.
Another daily added: ?The resolution demanded the PAF stop occupying Pashtuns? land illegally.?
The above resolution, though laudable because such illegalities should never be allowed to pass unchallenged, however came as a surprise because the Treasury benches have suddenly found voice to condemn illegal occupation of lands by the PAF, while at injustices like the army operations in Marri-Bugti areas, forced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, illegal detentions, the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti and his companions, the unbridled exploitation of the province?s resources and construction of cantonments in Kohlu, Dera Bugti and Wadh, appropriation of Hingol Park, etc, they had chosen to remain silent spectators.
The specific mention of ?Pashtun lands? also made me wonder if this is an attempt to drive a wedge between the Baloch and Pashtun population of Balochistan. Is it an inspired attempt to sabotage the amity between the inhabitants of Balochistan? It is certainly an ill-advised approach and a dangerous policy to follow. You cannot be selective in your condemnation of injustices. If it is unjust to usurp Pashtun land, what makes usurpation of Baloch land kosher? If there is selective amnesia when the Baloch suffer and conscientious defence of Pashtun rights only, it will set a dangerous trend. The opposition members should be more vigilant.
The Jam along with the Jellies of PML was in Gwadar welcoming his mentor ?The General?. I wonder if this resolution could have been moved if he were there and if he would have voted in its favour. I suppose not, because biting the hand that feeds you is considered impolite.
The Generalissimo while in Gwadar thundered: ?Do not create hurdles in the development work. I warn you that you will be eliminated.? He added, ?I warn them to surrender otherwise they will be eliminated and they will not be allowed to exist any more. These ?miscreants? are minimal in number and we will deal with them. If they want to fight then I know to fight more than them.? Quite unbecoming of a person who claims ?enlightened moderation? as a guiding principle.
The recent swoop on the lands by the forces is certainly not a new phenomenon. In July 2006, a screaming headline in a national daily had said, ?PAF swoops on Hingol National Park?. The report said: ?The government is all set to slice land off the Hingol National Park, the country?s largest, as the Pakistan Air Force and another defence-related organization eye the prized real estate near the estuary whose value is likely to increase phenomenally once the Gwadar port starts functioning. Sources in the Balochistan revenue department told the paper that while the PAF has asked for around 80,000 acres, including 23,000 acres in the national park, SUPARCO?s demand is for eight mauzas.?
?The PAF is asking for land from the Hingol National Park because it got away with acquiring land from the Maslakh wildlife sanctuary in the Pishin district.? ?This sanctuary was established in 1968 to protect the chinkara and urial. According to the IUCN, all flagship wildlife species have now been eliminated from the area,? says Tahir Rasheed of an NGO involved in habitat and species conservation projects.
The next day, a statement issued by the Director of PR, PAF, Air Commodore Sarfraz Ahmad Khan, says: ?PAF has put up a proposal to the Government of Balochistan for acquisition of a piece of land to establish weapons trial range for the JF-17 project.? About 30 percent of the area proposed by the PAF falls in the limits of the National Park.?
?In the Senate, according to Mr. Izhar Amrohvi, the opposition members have also filed a motion on reports that the government wanted to slice land off the Hingol National Park, the country?s largest, as defence-related organizations were eying the prized real estate.?
The Hingol National Park is a veritable treasure trove of bio-diversity and historical and cultural landmarks. It is situated on the Makran Coast, some 190 kilometres west of Karachi and covers Lasbela, Awaran and Gwadar districts of Balochistan and with 619,043 hectares, is regarded as the largest park in the region. The park has huge historical and archeological features including Hinglaj/Nani Mandir pilgrimage site, passage of Alexander the Great, graves of Mohammad bin Qasim?s soldiers, spectacular mountain formations Princes of Hope and Chandragup Mud Volcano. Besides, it has great landscapes including marine areas, beaches, coastal dunes and plains, salt flats, sand and clay stone mountains, clay mountains, riverine areas, desert, mud volcanoes and mud vents and inland sand dunes.
Several species of international and national value are found there, such as the green and Olive Ridley Turtle, Dalmatian and Spot-billed Pelicans, Sociable Lapwing, Eastern Imperial and Pallas Fish Eagle, white-backed vultures, marsh crocodiles, spiny-tail lizards, Sindh Ibex, Afghan Urial, Chinkara Gazelle, leopard, caracal, hyena, honey badger, Afghan Hedgehog, Pangolin and Plumbeous Dolphin.
The use of Hingol Park as a weapon testing range for the JF 17 project will leave it devastated like the Maslakh wildlife sanctuary. (Ironically, maslakh means a slaughterhouse in Persian.) Expecting compassion and concern for wildlife and history from those who care not a whit for people is asking for a bit too much.
Laws made to accommodate the wishes of those who hold power do not necessarily make them legal. There may be laws that guide the state regarding land use, but if these laws infringe on the historical rights of the people, they cannot be considered lawful. There is a need to resist all illegal appropriations made under different pretexts. Every inch of areas mentioned in the present resolution and areas appropriated before need to be challenged.
It is unjust, illegal and immoral to usurp land. Arresting the owners who have historical rights is adding insult to injury, but then here what really matters is the number of divisions and battalions at your disposal and not historical rights. Here force has precedence over all moral, legal, historical and common rights.
If the state makes force the basis of its legality over the century?s old historical rights, then willy nilly people too will be constrained to seek solutions according to the mode in which problems are imposed on them. If force is given precedence over historical rights, you cannot blame the people for adopting similar methods for the resolution of the problems that are created on the basis of force.
When the historical fact, ?This land is my land? becomes a fable, when injustices and illegalities abound, it is dishonourable for a people to remain oblivious of the consequences and to swagger around as if nothing is amiss.
The writer has been associated with the Baloch national struggle |
