Breakthrough in talks with Baloch separatists

Following six months of backchannel and covert interactions with estranged Baloch leaders, the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition government has made a significant breakthrough in dialogue with them to help ease the Balochistan unrest, as the executive and armed forces leaders are on the same page on resolving the issue through talks with Baloch leaders, Pakistan Today has reliably learnt.
Background interactions with major players in the federal government revealed that the recent visit by Sardar Akhtar Mengal to Pakistan was “well scripted” and he had taken onboard all other Baloch leaders before leaving Dubai for Pakistan.
A source in the government said Interior Minister Rehman Malik had played an important role in covert messaging with Baloch leaders, while President Asif Ali Zardari had negotiated with the leadership of the armed forces and other important stakeholders to evolve a unanimous strategy to help resolve the decades-old issue. The source said that taking cognisance of the government-Baloch leaders talks, Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) chief Talal Bugti visited Lahore last week and held meetings with major opposition parties to thwart any such negotiations.
“Though he has met the Sharifs in the past, Talal is not accustomed to visiting leaders like Munawwar Hassan and others. This was the heat of Mengal’s visit and covert dialogue which pushed him to visit Lahore and get engaged politically,” the source said.
The source added that a recent statement by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani regarding resolution of the Balochistan issue “within the constitution” was aimed at sending a public message to the exiled Baloch leaders that the military establishment was supportive of a political settlement of the Balochistan unrest and it would not be hostile against Baloch nationalists if they returned to the country.
Defence analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi said Mengal’s visit was well scripted and even his six-point demands were also carefully drafted within the constitutional limits only to benefit the cause of Baloch nationalists. “Mengal has only raised points which support cause of Baloch nationalists. There is no relation of these points with Mujeeb’s six points as he had made demands practically to make East Pakistan a separate state. He had demanded separate currency, separate forces. So, it seems Mengal tried to get media’s attention by comparing his demands to Mujeeb’s demands,” Rizvi told Pakistan Today.
Rizvi said Mengal did not raise the issue of killings of non-Baloch in Balochistan and all his demands remained confined to the demands for Baloch separatists, which hinted that he had carefully drafted all his points prior to his arrival. He said he also had information that dialogue was continuing with the exiled Baloch leadership and a breakthrough might be possible sooner than later. The source said Mengal’s Islamabad visit was not a knee-jerk decision and rather it was a result of covert messaging and backchannel talks of almost six months.
“The Baloch leaders are finally in a mood to reconcile with the new democratic dispensation in Pakistan after they were assured that former president Pervez Musharraf was no more relevant in Pakistani political and military arrangement, as well as the judiciary and media. Moreover all stakeholders are in no mood to accept dictatorship. They are considering joining the political process in the country as staying away from third successive election due in 2013 may make the Baloch nationalist leaders totally irrelevant, as they are on the run,” the source said. The source said traditionally Mengals, Bugtis and Marris have had trust deficit. However, this was a unique opportunity that neither Marri nor Bugti leaders in exile questioned the mandate of Akhtar Mangal and his meetings with political leadership.
“You see neither Harbiyar nor Barhamdagh challenged Mengal’s six-point formula for reconciliation. This is very significant and clearly reflects successful backchannel discussions,” the source asserted.