KARACHI, Nov 9: Baloch nationalist forces are preparing for a new round of a political battle after a brief lull caused by the assassination of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti on Aug 26 last.
The Balochistan National Party and National Party had announced their plans to launch their political campaigns to build up pressure on the government to withdraw army from the troubled province and to release the detained people being currently held in different parts of the province.
Rallies and demonstrations condemning the ongoing military operation in Balochistan and for release of arrested or missing Baloch activists are being held by different organizations with nationalist leanings in every district headquarters of the troubled province and in some parts of Sindh, including Karachi.
The supporters of Balochistan National Party, headed by Sardar Akhtar Mengal, are busy in preparations of their long march plan which they called it Lashkar-i-Balochistan long march from Gwadar to Quetta.
The march will begin on Dec 1 to protest against the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the ongoing military operation, construction of cantonments, cancellation of mega projects and illegal detention of Baloch activists.
The Baloch nationalists have already disassociated themselves from any government-sponsored jirga or so-called convention and described all such congregations as anti-Baloch people move which aim to divert the attention of people from Balochistan issue.
They also ruled out any possibility of holding talks with the present government. Even soft-spoken Khan of Kalat Mir Suleiman Dawood was not in favour of dialogue, particularly after the murder of Nawab Bugti. The Khan was of the view that the situation had gone beyond the possibility of dialogue and that it was not in anyone’s control.
Khan had also opposed the government’s plan of holding an official jirga to endorse its actions in Balochistan, saying the jirgas were held under a tribal system, not under the patronage of the government.
He was of the view that the rulers were holding the so-called jirga or political congregation after being perturbed by the grand Baloch tribal jirga held under his chairmanship in Kalat and Quetta.
Khan accused the rulers of trying to mislead people by offering incentives to tribal notables in the name of development funds.
Prominent nationalist leaders, including Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, were of the view that the door of dialogue had been closed by the government itself when it launched its military operation in Balochistan.
They accused the government of killing thousands of innocent people, resorting to illegal arrests and kidnapping of political activists.
This situation had created frustration among people who no longer believe in the authority of the government which has made no secret of its intentions of targeting the Baloch sardars who are in fact the political leaders of the Baloch people.
They argued that had the government been sincere in finding a political solution to the problems of Balochistan, it would have taken some positive steps to ease the state of confrontation by withdrawing armed forces from the troubled areas, releasing the people who have been illegally detained.
The Baloch nationalists argued that the rulers were not interested in the uplift of Baloch people and they wanted to capture their natural resources. They pointed to a recent statement of a government spokesman claiming that all obstructions to the discovery of new gas resources had been removed.
With current climate of polarisation persisting, the Balochistan issue too appears to be getting more complicated and the battle-lines are also getting more pronounced and not disappearing, a senior Baloch activist remarked.
According to him, unless immediate work on the political track is initiated in the province, the situation will only get worse. He said there were reports of continued attacks in Dera Bugti and in Kohlu.
He went on to say that Balochistan does not call for a tit-for-tat action by the State. Admittedly the latest round of violence has begun in sequel of reaction after the murder of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.
He maintained that the situation calls for a rapid re-think of how to tackle this latest round of a crisis that has long been brewing. He pointed out that there is now widespread unrest among the Balochs because of deprivation and sense of being repeatedly wronged by the Centre.The senior Baloch activist argued that the Balochs and the sardars have scores to settle; but that will be an evolutionary process; not a quasi-revolutionary one patronised by a state which itself is party to another kind of conflict in Balochistan.
He was of the view that opening too many fronts is never wise in any situation, least of all in politics and especially if you claim to be engaged in the politics of change and reform.
In order to solve the Baloch problem. the Centre has to be made credible, the messenger advocating the reform process has to be credible and conciliatory. Battling is no political strategy, even if ‘truth’ and ‘national good’ is your ammunition and patriotism your battle gear. All this ammunition and battle gear in this context is now suspect.
He stressed the need to focus on taking practical steps to address the concerns of the Baloch over the many issues raised in the Parliamentary Committee’s report, including the NFC award, royalty for gas, the management of PPL, the new cantonments, the concurrent list.
In fact, he argued the sense of victimisation continues and the affirmative action taken by the Centre on the allocation of development funds etc has not translated into goodwill for Islamabad. It is so because these positives steps have not been backed by positive politics.
Politics of engagement needs to be accompanied by additional steps that would address the concerns of those citizens of Pakistan who have been disillusioned and embittered because of the past mistakes committed by the Centre — dominated by both civilians and the military.
The politics of engagement must also extend to the broader issue of putting a credible system in place, one that uphold the constitution and the rule of law.
The National Party leader, Dr Hayee Baloch has rightly stressed that we must accept the supremacy of parliament and restoring the independence of the judiciary.
