Irony of the situation
Two years and a half after Balochistan got a genuinely elected government led by a nationalist leader, there is little movement forward in removing some the major grievances of the Baloch. The chief minister has conceded his government’s failure in locating the ‘missing’ persons of his province. Dead bodies are still being found though their number has decreased. Despite a number of foreign visits and meetings the government has not succeeded in winning over any of the separatist leaders. Those who have surrendered are generally foot soldiers or fake militants produced by a couple of tribal chiefs aspiring for the chief minister’s post. Unless the provincial government is genuinely empowered and is seen to be taking effective decisions on its own there is little hope of any dissident leader willing to bargain with it.
Meanwhile, Indian intelligence has managed to get hold of Balaach Pardili, an Afghan national, who claims to represent the political wing of Hyrbyair Marri’s BLA in India. Talking to the media Pardili has promised to facilitate Marri’s visit to Delhi in the near future. In a statement to an Indian newspaper Marri has asked India to raise the issue of Balochistan as Pakistan does that of Kashmir. There is however no parallel between Kashmir and Balochistan. Balochistan is Pakistan’s internal issue despite being a running sore which needs urgent attention. Kashmir dispute on the other hand is recognised by the UN which has toyed with the idea of referendum for years. Early this month the annual coordination meeting of the OIC foreign ministers adopted a resolution reaffirming the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people in accordance with the United Nations resolutions.
The establishment needs to realise the urgency of winning over dissident Baloch leaders living abroad or operating from inside the province. It is ironical that at a time when the nationalist leaders are being required to play an effective role in reconciliation there is talk about change of command in Balochistan government to please some of the tribal chiefs.
