After being booted out of the post
The Balochistan government’s performance in the last five years can be described in a single word: pathetic. The manner, though, in which it has been run is full of so much drama and farce that it is hard to explain in an easy way. The absentee former chief minister, who was disgracefully booted out of his post by the federal government, has sent in his resignation from the UAE. He was perhaps a unique case of all the planted politicians in a way that he never tried to learn the ropes of politics or at least present a semblance of electoral democracy by living and working among those who he ruled over.
Most of his time was spent in the federal capital or Gulf states, mainly enjoying luxury rides and hunting rare birds. And yet he claimed he was wrongfully dethroned. With a feudal mindset, he ran the province as his fiefdom, often absent yet so demanding. The law and order situation further lends credence to his government being an incompetent dispensation. However, it is Reko Diq copper and gold mines project that takes the veil off their twisted use of the word democracy. Posing as the elected members of provincial parliament, they have worked in unison in manipulating deals, getting kickbacks, embezzling huge amounts of funds in the name of development funds, or other grants. With virtually no one in the opposition in Balochistan Assembly, all the MPAs worked as a figurative pack of wolves.
Now the man who was chiefly, if not entirely, responsible for all this farce has tendered his resignation to JUI-F and BNP leaders in the Balochistan Assembly in an attempt to defuse the tension and help in a smooth democratic transition. JUI-F has already given a three-point agenda to the PPP-led coalition government for a democratic transition. The PPP and its allies have, however, rejected the proposal though after the resignation one might think that they are considering giving it a shot.
Whether the PPP does decide to go ahead with the JUI-F’s proposal or brings along one of its own, either way it has to end Governor’s rule and restore democratic setup in the province. JUI-F’s Secretary General Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri’s claim on Tuesday that the Raisani-led coalition government would be restored within a week, hints at a backdoor understanding between the provincial and federal governments. It is up to the federal government now to tread the waters carefully and install a democratic setup before the elections.
