Sunday, February 15, 2009
By Rauf Klasra
ISLAMABAD: Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, chieftain of one of the largest Baloch tribes and the lone opposition member in the Balochistan Assembly, has become so disillusioned with the present sorry state of affairs in his province that he says he is first a Baloch and then a Pakistani.
ìLet everybody know that I am first a Baloch and then a Pakistani,” declared the former federal minister, who was part of the Musharraf government, in an exclusive interview with The News.
The dramatic change in his tone may set alarm bells ringing in Islamabad. Until recently, he was counted among the few tribal chiefs who supported Pakistan’s rule over Balochistan.
Thanks to the way things are being mishandled in his province, Rind has for the first time chosen his ethnic roots over Pakistan’s citizenship. “Listen, I directly hold the Musharraf regime - with which I worked - responsible for the present violence in the province. Despite my pleas and warnings, Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed, which greatly helped the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) to win the public support, as we saw the armed resistance spread from Marri and Bugti areas to the rest of Balochistan.”
Locked in a deadly tribal feud with the Raisanis for the last 25 years in which the father of the present chief minister was killed and Rind’s six-month-old son butchered, the former minister is not allowed to sit in the provincial assembly. ìI know the moment I enter the assembly hall, the Raisanis will get me eliminated.”
Ever since Sardar Raisani became chief minister, Rind has been staying in Dubai and seldom visits Islamabad. For him, things have not improved even under the present political set-up. “What to talk of anything else, I wonít be allowed to enter the Balochistan Assembly to cast my vote in the Senate elections.”
An apparently bitter Rind questioned: “How can you expect to win the loyalty of the Baloch when 70 per cent of the Baloch women have been found missing from their homes - pressure tactics aimed at stopping their near and dear ones from fighting against state agents?”
Picking the Baloch women from their homes and using them as a bargaining chip to force their relatives to surrender is a new trend introduced in the restive province, alleged Rind. He also blamed himself for not resigning from the federal cabinet when Nawab Akbar Bugti was assassinated by security agencies. Rind said that he was a Baloch even before the birth of Pakistan in 1947. The Baloch exist for the last 1400 years and no one can undo their identity and history, he said.
ìYou need to understand that Balochistan, unlike the rest of the three provinces, was a free land when it decided to join the newly-born country.” He accused Musharraf of ignoring his advice in closed-door meetings. “I was never given importance at consultative meetings on Balochistan problems, although I have been telling them not to touch Bugti — the first man (from the province) to meet Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to announce joining Pakistan.”
Rind repeatedly referred to his words of caution to Musharraf that if any harm was done to the aging politician, the resistance would spill over to other areas. He regretted that no one listened to him. Asked why he did not quit the cabinet instead of bitching about issues, he replied: “Yes, I admit that this was my fault. I should have quit in protest.”
He added: “I am at a loss why the people sitting in Islamabad are unwilling to give the provinces autonomy and permanently address thereby the monster of violence. Those in Islamabad recognise Balochistan only to plunder its natural wealth and resources.”
Saying that the Baloch were ruthlessly being mown down, he believed the situation could be improved if the ìPunjab politiciansî and the establishment in Islamabad so desired.
Asked how he regarded the BLA, Rind replied that if the shadowy group did not have the backing of the common Baloch, it would have never gained so much influence. “The way things are being handled in the province, I can tell you a time will soon come when nothing would be left for politicians to do.” He said no one in Islamabad seemed genuinely concerned at the loss of innocent lives in the province, adding the Punjabis living in Balochistan for more than a century were the prime target of the mayhem. He alleged that the provincial government was involved in massive corruption and the money meant for development was being embezzled by politicians. In the name of development, he said, legislators were directly receiving funds that should have been spent through official channels. The present arrangement would make the rich even richer while the poor Baloch would continue to suffer, he observed.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=162655
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