THE disillusionment of Balochistan National Party chief Akhtar Mengal should give all democratically inclined Pakistanis cause for concern. Talking to the media at his Kot Wadh residence last Saturday, Mr Mengal expressed considerable disappointment over what he sees as the capture of the electoral process by non-political powers. “Neither politics nor democracy is intact in the country,” he is reported to have said. Resenting the fact that past political alliances abandoned their commitments to Balochistan once they achieved their short-term goals, Mr Mengal pointed out that where the Baloch people were simply asking for development, basic facilities and constitutional rights, they are now agitating against unconstitutional actions and fundamental rights violations as well. While Mr Mengal may be seen by some as just one politician among many, the fact that he is one of the few Baloch nationalists who have invested deeply in mainstream politics and participated actively in the democratic process cannot and should not be disregarded. Indeed, his opinion is a canary in the coalmine, an indicator of how well-meaning citizens of the province view their relationship with the state. It would, therefore, be a grave error to ignore his apprehensions.

As the situation in Balochistan grows more fraught, the state needs to recalibrate its strategies and seek out all possible means of containing the unrest. One of the most obvious and prudent ways to do so is to cede more space to local political representatives so that they can raise their constituents’ concerns in parliament and address their needs with the resources that have been made available by the state. Unfortunately, the Balochistan Assembly is not seen as being representative of its constituents, and there have been frequent complaints that politicians from the province are not fairly elected to parliament. This concern was also aired by Mr Mengal on Saturday. In the absence of ‘real’ representatives, it is understandable why the citizens of Balochistan have grown increasingly alienated from the state. Though Mr Mengal has resigned from the National Assembly, it is necessary to keep him and other representatives of the people engaged in the political process. The people of Balochistan have as much right to shape provincial policies as the citizens of other provinces. This right should be restored as a priority. The rest will gradually fall in place.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2025