ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY

The All Parties Conference (APC) on Balochistan proposed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is likely to be a nonstarter, as Baloch nationalist leaders are not willing to sit on the negotiating table with the federal government to resolve tensions in the restive province.
Gilani on February 15, announced to convene an APC on Balochistan in the near future. The proposal came in response to severe criticism by the opposition parties and media against the government’s “indifference” towards the growing unrest in the province despite a recent US congressional hearing on Balochistan. Talking to journalists last Wednesday, Gilani said the proposed APC on Balochistan would be held “as soon as possible”.
Although the prime minister has not yet started formal contacts with various political parties to finalise the APC’s date and agenda, Baloch nationalist parties, which remain important stakeholders, bear sceptical views about the government’s overture and are likely to turn down the invitation.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Talal Bugti, president of the Jamhuri Watan Party and son of slain Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, said it was impossible for “real Baloch leaders” to attend the APC convened by the government. “The prime minister is living in fool’s paradise … no Baloch leader either living in Pakistan or abroad can attend such a moot until our people’s abductions and targeted killings come to an end,” he added. Bugti said that troops must be withdrawn from the province and the role of spy agencies should be curtailed to make the environment conducive for talks in order to find a permanent solution for the Balochistan imbroglio.
Senator Muhammad Humayon Khan Mandokhel, an independent senator from Balochistan, said the proposed APC would prove a nonstarter, as the government had lost credibility among the Baloch people. “Due to huge trust deficit with the government, Baloch nationalist parties will not participate in the proposed APC,” Mandokhel said, adding that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led coalition government had not taken any concrete steps in the last four years to win the confidence of disgruntled Baloch leaders.
He said the government could not even implement more than 30 percent of the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package. “No mega development projects were launched in the province and promised negotiations with angry Baloch leaders were also not held by the government,” he said. He said the federal government wanted to restore peace in the province through the use of force, which was counterproductive. “People are being abducted everyday and the government has also failed to curb the incidents of targeted killing,” he said, adding that the absence of Baloch nationalist parties from the APC would mar its scope and fruitfulness.
Senator Abdul Rahim Khan Mandokhel of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) said he had not been contacted by the government or the prime minister over the proposed APC, adding that he would decide his participation after being contacted in this regard.