ACCEPTING mistakes and offering apologies make individuals, nations and states respectable. Obstinacy and arro- gance do just the opposite. But we do not seem to believe in such notions.

Nobody, for instance, has ever apologised for the destruction of the historical record that had been brought to Pakistan by All-India Muslim League (AIML) Delhi office secretary Syed Shamsul Hassan. The paper pertained to the freedom struggle between 1906 and 1947, and Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah is believed to have expressed the desire that he wanted the record to be published 20 years after his death.

The documents were irreparably damaged after 1958 when the central office of the League in Karachi was sealed after the military takeover. The place was later allotted to some government organisation, and the record was dumped on the roof unsheltered. This continued till 1966 by which time most of the papers had been lost to the vagaries of weather. Someone should have owned the mistake and apologised for it. But that was never the case.

Similarly, someone should have apologised for the manner in which the state of Pakistan has treated the people of Balochistan.

The state should acknowledge that the first right over mineral resources, including the land in Gwadar, and employment opportunities belongs to the native Baloch people. This may prove to be a positive start to setting things right.

Malik Tariq Ali
Lahore

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2025