While rumours have been flying thick and fast about how some prospectors have been targeting land in Gwadar, Pakistan’s El Dorado, we now have a letter by a federal minister demanding that all allotments of state-owned land in Gwadar made over the past two years be cancelled. Ms Zubaida Jalal, federal minister for social welfare and special education, who belongs to Kam Kutch in Gwadar, has written to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz that during her recent visit to her constituency, a large number of people had complained about irregular sale and allotment of state land in the district. Ms Jalal has requested Mr Aziz to order the provincial government to cancel all allotments especially in the Zabad Dun, Karvat and Chatani Bal areas. Following the letter, Mr Aziz is reported to have ordered an investigation and directed the Balochistan chief minister, Jam Yousaf, to apprise him officially of what is going on.
This is a good step and we are happy that the federal government has decided to monitor the situation in Gwadar. The project is already very controversial, particularly among Baloch nationalists who have accused Islamabad of developing the area against the interests of the province. Reports also suggest that some people from outside Balochistan have tried to take advantage of their contacts in the right places and have commandeered huge chunks of land for sale at highly profitable prices. Many parties are planning mega housing schemes to rake in a lot of dough. Some of this activity is legitimate and can be justified on the basis of the market but two factors are crucial to this situation. The first relates to the sensibilities of the people of Balochistan. The province has remained on the political periphery of the country and has had less than ideal relations with the federal government. Gwadar, going by federal government claims, is very important for Pakistan’s progress. If we were to juxtapose its importance with the way the Baloch look at it in particular and mistrust the federal government in general, it becomes imperative that any step Islamabad might plan to take must take into account the feelings of the people of Balochistan. Ms Jalal’s letter says that she has taken up the issue at the highest level because the people (of Balochistan) no longer trust the district and provincial administrations or the federal agencies working in Gwadar. Any policy regarding Gwadar cannot avoid taking cognisance of the feelings of the local people.
The second aspect of market dynamics also relates to the first issue. There are unlikely to be too many investors from within Balochistan to take advantage of the Gwadar project. Nonetheless, given the political ramifications, the federal government has to ensure that greater resources and capital at the disposal of outsiders do not result in a situation where the local people begin to look at the whole project as unfolding entirely for the benefit of outsiders and to their disadvantage. Modalities must be worked out, therefore, to involve the people of Balochistan in ongoing projects, private or public, so that they feel that they own the project and can derive direct and indirect, short- and long-term benefits from it.
Additionally, the government must also prevent the formation of monopolies and cartels that invariably come into play in this country, less on the basis of fair competition and more because of political connections. We are pleased that Ms Jalal has taken up this issue and we hope that there will be an effective and fair follow-up on what she has revealed.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_21-6-2005_pg3_1 |
