Breath of fresh air from Balochistan
The selection of Dr Abdul Malik Baloch as Chief Minister of Balochistan augurs well for the province. It is for the first time that a province long mismanaged by tribal chiefs with little sense of human values is going to be led by a professional and a middle class politician well-versed in parliamentary politics. Dr Malik’s National Party, which is based mainly in the non-tribal Mekran Division, is categorised as a Baloch nationalist party with a progressive outlook and preference for mainstream politics. Along with other Baloch nationalist organizations, the NP had also boycotted the 2008 elections as these were held under a military ruler.
Dr Malik is required to perform a historic but highly testing task. To begin with he has to ensure the rule of law in the province. For over a decade Balochistan has passed through a painful nightmare. There have been unending reports of kidnappings of political activists and the subsequent dumping of their dead bodies. According to Akhtar Mengal 279 people have gone missing, over 100 fell to target killings and 50 bodies dumped during the two months of the caretaker government’s tenure alone. Dr Malik is not only expected to put an end to disappearances but also to rehabilitate thousands of Marri and Bugti tribesmen who have been displaced by military operations or FC actions in Kohlu and Dera Bugti. Another arduous task before him is to negotiate with the misled Baloch leaders who have taken up arms against the state. As he heads a progressive party which aims at improving the lot of the common man, many expect him to remove the economic suffering of the people. To top it all as CM of the province enjoying good relations with the PkMAP, he has to work for the welfare of the Pushtuns too besides other smaller communities living in the province. Dr Malik has promised to practice good governance. To begin with he wants to have a small cabinet and wants to show zero tolerance for corruption.
Balochistan has been subjected to neglect and misrule for decades. The long suffering the people of the province have gone through cannot be alleviated by the provincial government alone. The military establishment has to realise that the new government provides the best, if not the last, chance of national reconciliation and therefore needs to be extended full cooperation. The federal government also has to be steadfast in its support to the new administration in Quetta.
While one appreciates Nawaz Sharif’s preference for a clean middle class Baloch politician over the chief of his own PML-N, one had expected a similar approach from him in apportioning the key government and parliamentary offices in Islamabad. It is saddening to find most of the key posts going to male legislators from Punjab and that too mostly from Lahore.
