Who said what?
Note: The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad in collaboration with Actionaid, Pakistan organized a seminar titled: ‘Balochistan Rights– Package-2009: Impact on Baloch Nationalism’, at Islamabad Hotel, Islamabad on November 29, 2011. PML-N lawmaker and former governor of Balochistan, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Abdul Quadir Baloch, Senator Dr Abdul Malik Baloch of National Party, Balochistan, PPP Senator Taj Haider, Dr. Aasim Sajjad Akhtar of National Institute of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Mr. Anwar Sajidi, chief editor, daily Intekhab, Quetta, Mr. Talha Masood, manager human resource, Organization for the Development of Youth, Quetta, and Mr. Sultan Ahmed, program coordinator, Health and Rural Development Organization (HARD), Khuzdar, were among the speakers at the occasion.
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Abdul Quadir Baloch
Addressing the participants Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Abdul Quadir Baloch said ‘The roots of Baloch nationalism lie in partition of British India. He underscored that the imposition of state authority over Khan of Kalat in 1948 through bullet sowed the seeds of disillusionment among Balochis towards the federation.’ He noted ‘It is travesty of fairness if one blames only Baloch Sardars for the backwardness of Balochistan, as at present there are 17 members in national assembly from Balochistan and only one of them is Baloch Sardar. Alluding to an interesting fact, he said that 71 out of 74 Baloch Sardars were with former President Musharraf, and despite that he failed to deliver in Balochistan, and ended up creating more mess. ‘lt is sardari mindset and not Sardars, that is impeding the progress of common people in Balochistan and this trend is wrecking havoc throughout the country’, he stressed. He proposed that someone from academia, civil society or media should come forward and conduct an investigative study to ascertain the causes and factors, ‘which kept Balochis out of national arena and forced them to take up arms against the federation.’ ‘Balochis want to be treated on parity basis like other Pakistanis and want control over their land and resources’, he accentuated. Balochistan has lots of resources but others are snatching these resources from Balochis, and in return from 1974 up to 2004, the PSDP fund allocation for Balochistan was only four billion rupees. He observed that ‘political role of military is a dilemma’ for Pakistan. He demanded for a commission to investigate the military operation launched as the pretext of Dr. Shazia case. He mentioned that currently there is no military operation but secret services– operation going on in the province. He lamented that military operation in 2006 killed an old man (Akbar Bugti) who was never against Pakistan, and today people in Balochistan are against Pakistan as a result of this military operation.
Senator Taj Haider
Highlighting the pivotal cause of Balochis discontentment towards the federation, PPP leader and Senator Taj Haider said ‘there is always problem with a relationship except the one based on love and trust.’ He pointed out that the only option the PPP government had was to go for reconciliation, rather than confronting the disgruntled Baloch people. He underlined that currently the issue between the federation and the province is of distrust. He said Balochis were always accommodative in their conduct and approach towards the federation: the approval of 1973 Constitution and the role of Baloch Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo in making it possible is instructive fact. He underscored that the creation of law and order situation in the province and ‘subsequent deployment of heavy security contingents is being done out of ulterior motives and vested interests.’ Senator Haider highlighted: ‘the political realization is essential for addressing Balochistan issue.’ He noted that no economic package can be alternative for political blunders, and therefore the state should initiate political reconciliation process in Balochistan and all the stakeholders should be taken on board. He proposed that the government of Pakistan should adopt legal measures to address the fears of Baloch people, like mass migration of non-Balochis towards Balochistan. He said that it can be achieved only during democratic set up and we all should support the continuation of democratic set up in Pakistan. There is always a transition phase between absolute dictatorship and total democracy, it can never be achieved overnight, we should make it possible. We have two options reconciliation or confrontation, political reconciliation should be preferred over politics of confrontation and today political reconciliation is leading the democracy forward and we are gaining ground. Future of Balochistan should be taken care of and we should do legislation to protect the identity and demographic structure of Balochis. ‘With the passage of time we can make possible the implementation of AHBP and pessimism will not take us anywhere’, he concluded.
Dr Abdul Malik Baloch
Shunning the politics of packages, Senator Dr Abdul Malik Baloch of National Party, Balochistan said ‘Balochis are worried about their identity, and they don–t want economic packages’. He said that the state should reread history before imposing its will on Balochis: they were never part of British India. He said that we will never be a part of ‘Khecheri (obscure) nationalism’ while we want to uphold and preserve our own ethno-national identity. He blamed the state for looting and plundering of Baloch resources, and trying to make Baloch nation like the aborigines in Australia and Red Indians in America. He stated that former President Musharraf tried to put Gawadar under federal control, 125 property schemes were launched in 25 days in the area and the land was sold out within days. He observed that this colonial model of governance and it not going to work in 21st century. ‘Balochis resisted Martial Laws and bore the brunt for not subduing before the military dictators’, he narrated. Government leased out the province to Sardars and tribal chiefs and hence all the governance issues in Balochistan are the product of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Security agencies have the aim to eliminate all the Baloch youth like Sri Lanka did against Tamils, he further noted that there exist separatists in every part of world, as the Irish and the Scottish nations under UK, but they are being dealt as per democratic rules of engagement and that is dialogue, rather than the elimination strategy being used against the Balochis, government should initiate dialogue with nationalist forces.
Dr Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
Dr Aasim Sajjad Akhtar of National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Qauid-i-Azam University said that the talk of economic packages does not make sense in the absence of political rights. He observed that the issue there is not developmental, it is purely political, and even the announcement of hundreds of Balochistan Rights– Packages will not make any difference on the ground in the ill-fated province, if the issues of provincial autonomy, control over resources and administrative freedom are not sorted out. Balochistan is a province where one can see how ‘One state institution is working with impunity in the province and it is regrettable that it is continuing even when there is democratic government in Pakistan’, he lamented. Regarding the recent ‘Imran Khan phenomenon’, he said that the new political contenders with slogans of ‘change’ are also not going to change anything on ground.
Underling the priority issues in Balochistan, he said education is major issue in the province. The role of media role is also important. Dissecting the nature of ongoing conflict in Balochistan, he said ‘There is going on an asymmetrical conflict in Balochistan, on the one side there is state apparatus and on the other hand there are poor and helpless Baloch nationalists.’ If we claim we are a modern state than we should stop behaving like a colonial entity, since there is no room for colonial minds in 21st century.
Mr. Anwar Sajidi
Mr. Anwar Sajidi, editor-in-chief,Daily Intekhab, Quetta said that the federal agencies are governing Balochistan as a sensitive security zone and there is no concept of civilian supremacy in the province. He said ‘the wave of discontentment among Baloch youth runs very high and from southern Quetta to Gwadar there is no one willing to fly Pakistani flag.’ He said unchecked influx of foreign immigrants into Balochistan is threatening the identity of Baloch people and the government should check it. And it is the Establishment that is playing out in Balochistan to alter the demographic structure of the province; there are Afghans, people from central Asia and other neighboring states being settled there.
Mr. Talha Masood
Mr. Talha Masood of the Organization for the Development of Youth, Quetta underlined that Baloch youth has no prospects and Balochistan Rights– Package has failed miserably to make any difference at the grass roots level. It is the political injustice that pushes people towards the edge and then they react with their own ‘weapons of choice.’ Addressing the educational issues he said we need universities more than we need packages. There are two universities in Balochistan and people who want to go for higher education, have to travel long way to reach university. Regarding Rights– Package he said that the package is being called ‘Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Ministran (ministers)’ in the province, and 5000 teachers were appointed according to AHBP, but they are not getting salary on time and there is no future for them.
Mr. Sultan Ahmed
Moreover, disparaging the Balochistan Rights– Package for its failure to address the cultural rights of Balochis, Mr. Sultan Ahmed, program coordinator, Human and Rural Development Organization (HARD) Khuzdar observed that the package did not touch upon the issue of cultural rights of Balochis and it shows the apathy of state towards the protection of identity on Balochis. The ratio of mismanagement is very high in the future ‘food basket’ of Pakistan as compared to all other provinces. It is the policy failure because of which mistrust is getting widened in the general masses, who are already under the clutches of economic difficulties. Media is also responsible, as it is said that each and every single matter can be seen in papers today, except the Balochistan issue. No development can take root in any place without education, as the youth gets disengaged from their goal. They must be guided towards their well defined goals through career counseling institutions.
A government official
Under AHBP, 120 billion rupees will be transferred to the provincial government for developmental projects in next 10 to 12 years by the federal government. Out of which 10 billion in every year, two billion for next five years on provincial government discretion; one billion for IDPs of Dera Bugti, one billion for flood affectees of December 2010. Despite the transfer of these funds, there is deadlock on provincial government side and we have no reports of the plight of these transferred funds. If we continue transfer funds and spree of killing continues then the money given becomes useless, so we should rethink about the state of affairs in the province.
Participants
Participants at the seminar were wary of the government motives behind the announcement and implementation of Balochistan Rights– Package, since the package has despondently failed to address the long held grievances of Balochis. At the same time, they were critical of the government failure to check the ongoing ‘kill and dump’ operation across Balochistan, where mutilated and torched bodies of missing persons are being recovered from road sides on daily basis. They underscored the need for adopting political solution to address the political issue of Baloch nationalism and the announcement of economic packages is nothing but an exercise in buying more time.
Mr. Imtiaz Gul
In his concluding remarks, executive director, CRSS, Mr. Imtiaz Gul observed that no economic package, but the people themselves can make the difference and change the situation on ground. He said that it is time for the people to stand up for their rights and take their destinies in their own hands.