Mohammad Jamil
For some time, Pakistan government has been laying emphasis on the development of Balochistan and has taken practical steps in this direction. Centrifugal forces and nationalists that have not weaned from the poison of sham nationalism aspire for independence, and focus of Pakistan’s enemies’ is on destabilising the country, as after the completion of Gwadar deep-sea port Balochistan will become the trading hub and energy corridor, which will further enhance Pakistan’s strategic importance. On website American Chronicle, Dr Shamsaddin, in a brief write-up on June 13 under the caption ‘Liberate Balochistan’, has tried to stir debate on Balochistan. He is a historian and political scientist and author of 12 books and thousands of articles, as per his profile displayed on the internet. He wrote: “Baloch of the Diaspora organised a manifestation in Canada (Toronto Manifestation) in order to attract attention of the world towards abhorrent human rights’ violations that are daily taking place in various parts of the divided Balochistan, especially in Pakistan and Iran.”
This is a prelude, and then he has produced a text of the press release or what he said a comprehensive feature, summarising the plight of multi-divided and tyrannised Balochistan issued by Aziz Baloch captioned as ‘Vancouver Rally Report’. Aziz Baloch referred to the repression and oppression on the people of Balochistan starting from the 1973 military operation, claiming that 5,000 Baloch were killed. He accused the Pakistan army of killing Nawab Akbar Bugti and Balach Marri. He then condemned detonation of nuclear devices on May 28, 1998, claiming that it destroyed the region and the region is faced with the worst draught. He went on to narrate that there have been five military operations under General Pervez Musharraf’s watch causing death and destruction in Balochistan.
After Akbar Bugti was killed, Baloch leader Sardar Khair Buksh Marri in an interview had described his killing as a target killing. He had expressed concern and fear for the life of his son Balach Marri, because the government had the ‘mistaken notion’ that Marri was the epicentre of all anti-state and terrorist activities. Balach Marri was an ‘icon of resistance’. He called it an untimely ‘mode of resistance’ and criticised Akbar Bugti for not having adopted it in the early days. There is a perception that Marris have taken their revenge, because when Bhutto launched anti-insurgency operations in the 1970s, Akbar Bugti was the Chief Minister of Balochistan. He had waged a bloody war against Marris and Mengals, who had declared Bugti as a traitor to the cause of Baloch independence. According to press reports, Akbar Bugti was killed when he had left his area and was ensconced in Marri area, as Marris had undertaken to protect him. As regards Balach Marri, he was killed in Afghanistan in mysterious circumstances; even anti-Pakistan forces could have done it to stir crisis in Balochistan. Hence, Pakistan government or army cannot be blamed for his death.
The people of Balochistan had waged struggle ever since the British left in 1947. There could have been justification for their protest and struggle when they were under strong centre and unitary form of government in the 1950s, but when One-Unit was done away with and complete provincial status was restored in 1969, the struggle should have ended. However, the long dormant crisis of Balochistan erupted into a brutal confrontation with the centre in 1973, when late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto tried to establish educational institutions and construction of roads in Balochistan. Late Bhutto was of the view that Baloch sardars were the main obstacle to the progress of the province. The insurgency, however, lasted for four years from 1973 to 1977.
Musharraf government and then subsequent governments that came into being after 2002 elections seemed to have realised the fact that the only way to eliminate the sense of alienation among the smaller provinces and to guarantee the unity and stability of the country was to ensure equitable development. This is, indeed, the only way that people of the four federating units with their languages, customs and traditions could find true participation and expression through unity in diversity. Not that other provinces were much developed at the time of partition of the subcontinent, the fact remains that Balochistan was completely neglected during the British Raj. After the creation of Pakistan, it continued to suffer due to the lopsided policies of successive governments.
It was unfortunate that the central government and Baloch sardars were on collision course. The logical conclusion of course was death and destruction on both sides. For the last four years, miscreants had been active and many a time damaged gas pipeline in Bugti area causing huge losses on replacements and repairs. Once rockets were fired during President Musharraf’s rally in Kohlu, which was, indeed, a provocative act. More than three years ago, a bi-partisan parliamentary committee was formed to resolve the issue, but members of the opposition did not participate in the proceedings on one pretext or other. The opposition, instead of participating in the dialogue to make a positive contribution wished to draw political mileage from the conflict. President Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Secretary General Mushahid Hussain had quite a few rounds of negotiations with Akbar Bugti but to no avail.
The fact, however, remains that sardars are as much stubborn and arrogant as any government can be. One could see them on TV channels taking pride in challenging the writ of the state. During the last few years, terrorists’ activities have increased causing loss of life and property. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had accepted the responsibility for landmine blasts, killing of the Chinese engineers and bomb explosions at various places in Balochistan. It is also true that various governments in the past balked at the implementation of provisions of provincial autonomy enshrined in the Constitution, thus strengthening the centrifugal forces, and providing them opportunity for fanning provincial disharmony. Similarly, matters of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Concurrent List and Council of Common Interests (CCI) were not addressed for years. This is the time that the government and the nationalists should have a dialogue for the welfare of the people of Balochistan, as confrontation and violence can only exacerbate death and destruction.
The writer is a freelance columnist
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