While ‘great game’ of wrangling power in this part of the world is being witnessed, all the political parties are united on the agenda of resolving Balochistan issue through dialogues, development and reforms. For example, President Zardari pledged to turn over a new chapter of mutual respect in the province; PM Gilani declared that the government is prepared to hold talks with “dissident Baloch brethren”; PTI chairman Imran Khan, terming the Balochistan issue to be of “grave concern”, has plans to talk to Baloch leaders – even those in exile; PML(N) chief Nawaz Sharif had also vehemently favoured the option of dialogue with the exiled leaders of Balochistan. All agree that only the fulfilment of genuine rights and redressal of long standing grievances can discontinue the blood bath in the resource-rich province, creating room and capacity for the dialogue process.
Nonetheless, all this rhetoric has been severely criticised by the Baloch due to want of its implementation. Till now, only some work has been done on 34 of the 61 proposals in the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan-2009.
A sincere and patriotic effort has been recently voiced by the Democracy Assessment Group on the basis of important points raised by various stakeholders during extensive discussions on the factors determining unrest in Balochistan. The salient of the recommendations are: a) invite the heads of all opposition parties, Baloch militant groups to help formulate a reconciliation strategy strengthened by consensus; b) Civil/military intelligence agencies operate strictly under officially-declared policy; c) development projects should be completed on an accelerated basis, priority be given to Gwadar-Ratodero road and the Reko-Diq project; d) Code of conduct for the FC/Police/Levies be given to govern their dealings; e) Elected provincial government should ensure effective governance; f) The matter of the missing persons requires to be addressed on a high priority basis.
All the Marri, Mengal, Magsi, Bugti, Raisani, Zehri and other tribes should be engaged in the consultations and the armed struggle should be terminated. Baloch Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo believed that youth in Balochistan could still be taken on board to resolve the issues in the restive province. As the Baloch people are no more a ‘tribal society’, therefore, empowering local Baloch will provide confidence; otherwise there is no reason to believe that the tense political situation in Balochistan will not deteriorate further.
MOHSIN ALI KHAN
Islamabad