Balochistan slipping away!
By Raoof Hasan
While the menacing spectre of militancy bedevils the entire
country, the unfolding events in Balochistan reflect a hardening of
the nationalist upsurge that may cast a defining spell on the future
of the federation. Already there are reports emanating that the
playing of the national anthem is now fraught with grave danger and
slogans for an independent Balochistan are being freely raised
throughout the province. In fact, those segments of the society that
represent the ultra-nationalist movement in the province, and they
seem to be in dominant numbers, make this a pre-requisite for the
convening of any public function. The movement seems to be
attracting converts in hordes as our leaders, like the proverbial
ostrich, take to hiding their faces in the sand.
In this backdrop, I was amazed to receive a string of e-mails
dealing with the manner of the death of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. It
was insinuated in the communications that the Nawab was not a victim
of target killing. Instead, he fell prey to his own 'misfire'. In
addition to it being a grave distortion of facts, it is patently
cruel to delve into the manner of the elimination of Nawab Bugti
more than three years after the tragedy. An effort to absolve
General Musharraf's dictatorship from the responsibility of his
death is like providing a dose of legitimacy to his illegal, immoral
and unconstitutional rule stretching to almost nine years which
witnessed the breakdown of all state institutions and a personalised
manner of governance the likes of which are not found anywhere even
in the most backward alleys of the world.
What happened on the day Nawab Bugti was murdered by the henchmen of
a dictator is of enormous significance in the context of the current
tide of events in the province. The manner and utter brutality of
the murder provided a graphic demonstration that the government was
not willing to administer the healing touch to the grievances of a
province. Instead, its perpetrators were determined to quell all
opposition to its handling of the seething unrest by employing the
oft tried and tested dictatorial methods that have failed whenever
and wherever they have been used in the past. 'East Pakistan', now
Bangladesh, is a glaring example of the graveyards that this horde
of self-serving individuals is so distinctly qualified to digging.
The Nation:May 09,2009
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