Ominous signs that call for a comprehensive rethink
Balochistan has been simmering for long, but the resolution moved before the US Congress by Dana Rohrabacher has brought the endemic problem to the fore eliciting a sharp rebuke from Pakistan. It has been variously termed as blatant interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs, an infringement of its sovereignty and a foreign-instigated effort to stir trouble in the restive province. The officiating US ambassador was summoned twice to the Foreign Office and handed formal protest notes. Will that be sufficient to stem the growing agitation in the province?
This resolution followed hot on the heels of the discussion in the US Foreign Affairs Sub-committee on Oversight and Investigation that had accused the Pakistani government of broad human rights abuses against the Baloch. The follow-up move before the Congress stated that the people of Balochistan that are “currently divided between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country, and they should be afforded the opportunity to choose their own status among the community of nations, living in peace and harmony without external coercion”. Information regarding the US demanding listening posts in Balochistan near the Iran border has also been reported which casts ominous shadows on the growing unrest in the province.
The gradual intensification of the belligerent jargon and the expansion of the vicious network remind one of the steps taken by India before launching the assault on what was then East Pakistan. Indira Gandhi, who was the prime minister, had undertaken a whirlwind tour of the world capitals in a bid to internationalise the unrest in the Eastern wing of what was then un-divided Pakistan. She did it successfully which resulted in blunting any possible intervention on the side of Pakistan when the attack finally came leading to the dismemberment of the country. Are we seeing a similar effort in the twin-move in the US? More interestingly, is the unfolding effort a precursor to something bigger about to be unleashed?
First, an intervention of any kind is possible only when there is a vacuum internally as, indeed, there has been in Pakistan’s approach towards its restive province. For long, the people of Balochistan have harboured the feelings of being given a raw deal. Promises made by various governments have yielded little in substance, leaving behind feelings of acute frustration and anger. In the recent past, the Shujaat-Mushahid effort resulted in the brutal murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti. The current government’s “Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan” has only added to the wounds and woes of the people delivering little to nothing on the grandiose promises. In the meanwhile, the ground realities have changed drastically with the federalists gradually being eased out at the altar of the ultra-nationalists who are now demanding the creation of an independent Balochsitan.
What is really depressing is the lack of understanding and urgency with which the government is responding to the situation. This is palpably evident from the recipe that it is offering as a solution: the convening of an All Parties Conference. Doesn’t it understand that the situation in the province has deteriorated beyond what can be handled by convening facile APCs which only reiterate the oft-repeated clichéd solutions like the need to sit together to discuss the issues? In the process, the number of times the effort has been made in the past and the little to nothing that has accrued is forgotten, thus adding insult to seething frustration. The interior minister continues his stereotype indulgence by announcing amnesty for a few people and thinking that he would be able to convince them to come to the negotiations table.
The situation has moved beyond the realm of the traditional recipes. It is time to change the mindsets that have brought the problem to its current impasse. The APCs do not offer a solution neither do grandiose expressions of understanding and support. If the government and other political parties are serious in trying to sort out the mess, they would require a more pro-active and wholesome approach that should address the genuine concerns of the people of the province without any pre-condition and charter a comprehensive remedy for immediate implementation. Just sitting around a table asking them to state their concerns will only add fuel to the fire that is already raging.
People who refuse to see the parallel in the existing situation in Balochistan and the former East Pakistan before the Indian attack was launched are being guilty of wilful error. Not only do we have a serious problem at hand, it is becoming graver with the passage of time while we are being fed the lollipops that Balochistan is not East Pakistan. Well, Balochistan may not be East Pakistan, but it can become East Pakistan if we don’t stop in our tracks and seriously review our mindset and approach towards the Baloch people who have long nurtured the feelings of grief and estrangement.
The problem has gone beyond the realm of polemics. It requires a serious and genuine rethink that should specifically aim at ameliorating the genuine concerns of the people of the province. They should not be expected to meet us on our turf, as they will not. We should be ready and willing to meet them on their turf. If they are not willing to come down from, so to say, the mountains and talk to us, we should not hesitate to walk up and talk to them. Just putting the blame on foreign powers’ intervention is not going to help the cause of Pakistan.
For long, we have played with the fate of this country and its people. That time is really up. There is only time left for making up for the sins that we have committed. It is time to take a step backwards and ponder as further on, there is a steep fall, and we are neither equipped nor trained to handle that.
The writer is a political analyst and a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He can be reached at [email protected]
