ONE of the two Parliamentary subcommittees on Balochistan which was due to present its recommendations in three months has finally released them after seven months. The other, assigned to recommend constitutional changes to broaden provincial autonomy, is still pondering them.
The good thing about the exercise is that an attempt has been made to tackle the long standing complaints of Balochistan. The proposals have however to be discussed in Parliament and implemented by the government, so hurdles cannot be ruled out. The inordinate delay in readying the proposals and dark hints thrown by Ch Shujaat Hussain that the committee faced opposition from certain circles strengthen the perception that the implementation may not be smooth.
The only concrete thing that emerges from the recommendations is a Rs 10 billion package. The rest are promises and suggestions that seem fine on paper, but only time will tell if they are fully implemented. The development package has been neatly divided among particular projects like provision of lifesaving drugs and anti-venom vaccines for hospitals and development of Sui, Gwadar and Quetta.
Whether those for whom the package is meant agree with the committee’s priorities remains to be seen. It has been assured that the 5.4 percent quota in federal government jobs will be implemented, a promise which would be widely welcomed.
However the quota has always existed in one for or another, with the present percentage determined in 1998, but it has never been implemented honestly due to the machinations of a vested interest, that have ranged from issuing fake domicile certificates and keeping vacancies secret and appointing outsiders on jobs on the plea that no local candidate was available.
All this, despite solemn promises by successive regimes, would make many Baloch keep their fingers crossed. The promise to spend gas and petroleum royalty on areas from where they are extracted is fine. So is providing the people of Balochistan representation on the Boards of Directors of OGDC and Sui Southern, and restricting the jurisdiction of the Coastguards and the FC to border areas.
A three-member committee has been appointed to get these recommendations implemented. But most recommendations, particularly those about development funds, ultimately have to implemented by the provincial administration. The way the Jam government is already divided on the issue of sharing development funds and perks and privileges provides little confidence about how the financial package will be implemented.
The Baloch opposition’s boycott of committee proceedings along with the PPP indicates they are not willing to own the package. They have challenged the committee’s competence, accused it of ignoring the basic issue of autonomy and called the recommendations cosmetic.
Keeping in view the statements issued by important Baloch leaders, they may describe what has been offered as too little, too late. Ch Shujaat had promised a reform package beyond the dreams of the people of Balochistan. It remains to be seen if what has been announced comes up to the expectations roused by this promise.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/june-2005/25/editorials1.php |
