QUETTA: A top-down approach to resolve Balochistan’s lingering problems has borne little fruit and now it’s time to devise a bottom-up strategy, said Senator Syed Saeed Ahmed Hashmi, the founder of the ruling Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).

In this regard, an empowered local government system could resolve the issues facing Balochistan’s people, he said while speaking to journalists on Sunday, adding that there was a dire need to bring about a fundamental change in the political vision.

Mr Hashmi said the age-old practice of assigning a few sardars, nawabs and elders to take care of citizens’ issues should change because the ground realities were not the same as before. The tribal system, which used to be strong in the past, had weakened, as it had failed to resolve the burning issues faced by the masses, he said.

Advocates empowering local bodies to make difference at grassroots level

He said the government should strengthen local body institutions by devolving financial and administrative powers at grassroots level. “It’s time to give maximum financial and administrative powers to the representatives of local bodies and strengthen this system as has been done in all developed countries of the world,” Senator Hashmi said.

The BAP leader said issues faced by the masses, whose majority comprised poor or the lower middle class, were different from rich people’s issues. If local bodies’ institutions were given financial and administrative powers, most of these issues would be resolved by elected representatives of local governments, as people could easily approach them to get their issues resolved, he said.

Mr Hashmi, who represented Balochistan in the Senate thrice and served as the provincial minister for law and parliamentary affairs, said the government could restore law and order in the province by developing the Levies Force on modern lines, as its members could easily and more efficiently identify internal enemies.

“We can get better results and restore peace and tranquillity in the province by linking the Levies Force with local bodies’ institutions,” he said.

The BAP leader said the country’s progress and development were linked to Balochistan’s progress and prosperity. He said it was necessary to restore the trust of the disgruntled youths and the downtrodden people instead of using the state power and machinery, and the masses should be involved in the power-sharing so that they felt a sense of ownership.

“The issues can’t be resolved through the use of force, as it has never brought about any positive result in several countries of the world,” Senator Hashmi said.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2022