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Balochistan boiling
By
Burhanuddin Hasan
While on the one hand, Pakistan Army is fighting a full-fledged war
against the emboldened militants in the tribal areas which they had
almost overrun due to the government's lazy response, the
Balochistan province, on the other hand is boiling over to the point
of eruption due to the neglect and indifference of the successive
governments to the genuine demands of Balochi's for autonomy in
their internal affairs.
We meted out the same treatment to East Pakistan and lost it 25
years. Balochistan will be next in line, if we did not learn any
lesson from history.
Here I would like to remind the readers of an episode in the history
of Balochistan.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto visited Quetta for the first time as the head of
the state in 1972. Since I covered this visit for PTV I am an
eyewitness to the widespread agitation and violent disturbances
against the federal government as Mr Bhutto landed at the Quetta
Airport amid tight military security. The people were raising
slogans against the government in the streets of the city.
Quetta was in turmoil because the coalition government of NAP-JUI
was in constant confrontation with the federal government for what
it considered the anti-Balochistan policies of the prime minister
who wanted to abolish the sardari system in the province.
NAP leader, Khan Abdul Wali Khan had also arrived in Quetta and was
given a rousing welcome by the people in contrast to the cold and
rather hostile reception accorded to Prime Minister Bhutto under the
army bayonets. Director Public Relations of the Balochistan
government requested me that Khan Abdul Wali Khan's arrival should
also be covered for TV news. When I expressed my inability to do so,
he said, in that case the Balochistan government would not be
responsible for the safety of the lives of the PTV team.
The Nation: May 21, 2009
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