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Balochistan: no short cuts
By I.A. Rehman
Prime
Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani addressing a press conference at
Chief Minister Secretariat. — APP
The prime
minister’s step-by-step approach to the task of delivering justice
to Balochistan is backed by good sense but it is doubtful if his
government is fully aware of the urgency of its undertaking or the
need for a radical approach.
More than a month ago Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani asked for the drafting
of a constitutional package to meet Balochistan’s needs and demands,
and for the formulation of autonomy proposals by the provincial
assembly. This was believed to be in preparation for an all-parties
conference.
Then Senator Raza Rabbani was charged with producing a composite
study based on his own 15-point package that he had presented some
time ago, the Mushahid Hussain committee proposals, the Benazir
Bhutto committee report and the Balochistan Assembly resolution.
This report is believed to have been examined at a meeting of the
PPP high command with party leaders in Balochistan on Friday last.
Newspaper reports obviously penned by friendly scribes have
mentioned the prime minister’s desire to personally comprehend
Balochistan’s complex issues before the APC takes place, which is
now scheduled for later this month.
While the structure of the exercise is sound it would have received
greater commendation if the substance of the various reports cited
above had been revealed. The reports of the committees set up to
tackle Balochistan’s grievances have not been adequately publicised.
The public has not been taken into confidence about the Balochistan
Assembly’s latest resolution on autonomy, if one has at all been
adopted. However, Mr Raza Rabbani’s 15 points are now in the public
domain. These are:
1. initiation of political dialogue with all stakeholders;
2. release of political persons against whom cases are not pending;
3. expediting the recovery of missing persons;
4. a judicial inquiry into the recent murder of three Baloch
leaders;5. rationalisation of the royalty formula and adoption of a
uniform rate for all provinces;
6. rationalisation of the prerogative of the federal government to
increases excise duty and placing it in the divisible pool;
7. restructuring of laws and roles related to the civil armed forces
in the province;
8. halting the construction of new cantonments in the province until
the fears of the local population are addressed;
9. announcement of the NFC Award in which population is not the
prime criterion and in which size, revenue generation and
backwardness should also be taken into consideration;
10. removal of checkpoints in the light of the provincial assembly
resolution;
11. implementation of the resolutions of the provincial assembly;
12. withdrawal of forces from Sui;
13. defining the quantum of provincial autonomy the government is
willing to concede;
14. levies to be brought in place of police, and;
15. mega projects to be initiated with the cooperation of the people
of the province and their due share assured.
Some more proposals might have been added to the list but even these
15 points can help start a positive discourse, their author’s
cautiousness and his apparent desire to avoid spelling out concrete
measures notwithstanding. The need to restructure laws related to
civil armed forces and define their role is pointed out but the
substance of reform is not described. The federal government is
advised to define the quantum of provincial autonomy it is willing
to concede whereas today it is necessary to present in detail the
quantum of provincial autonomy the federation must concede.
It should not be difficult to realise that con
cessions within the existing federal framework that could have
possibly satisfied Balochistan’s aspirations a few decades ago
cannot bear fruit today. As Senator Hasil Bizenjo put it recently,
two forces are operating in Balochistan: one of these is prepared to
accept a significant advance towards autonomy within the
constitution, while the other one does not accept the constitution
itself. If Islamabad wishes to defeat the latter force it must
obviously win over the former with a package considerably more
radical than any proposals advanced so far.
As it is the federal government’s success in attracting all
political forces to its APC cannot be taken for granted. Even the
nationalists who could be persuaded to join have called for the
fulfilment of two conditions: one, an end to military operations and
rehabilitation of affected people and, two, recovery of missing
persons (thousands of people including 124 women, according to Mr
Akhtar Mengal).
These demands have been before the government for more than a year.
Official spokesmen say nothing about the former issue and as regards
the latter they have started parroting Gen Musharraf’s excuses that
the missing persons have joined the jihadis. This amounts to adding
insult to injury.
It is time Islamabad realised that the only way to satisfy the
Baloch people on the issue of disappearances is to set up a
high-level commission with powers to investigate cases of
disappearance, examine witnesses and summon any state functionary
who has had anything to do with these matters. Mere statements by
government representatives, unverifiable and uncorroborated by
independently gathered evidence, cannot assuage Balochistan’s pain
and anger.
Further, Islamabad should have a strategy to meet the situation in
case the APC idea does not work. Obviously it will be expected to
reveal its own plans for winning the hearts and minds of the Baloch.
A necessary condition for the success of these plans will be a
substantial revision of the federal arrangement.
Fortunately, there is no dearth of ideas in this area. The many
proposals debated over the past few years include: removal or at
least a drastic revision of the concurrent list, increase in the
powers of the Senate, effective provincial control over natural
resources, revision of the NFC award basis, end to land-grabbing
under any guise, power to raise security forces, freedom to organise
foreign trade, and due provincial say in an active council of common
interest, et al.
Even bold constitutional reforms may not work if the trust deficit
is not addressed. Balochistan has been bullied, humiliated and
cheated so often that it cannot be blamed for a total lack of
confidence in Islamabad. Strong affirmative action by the centre to
demonstrate that Balochistan has the same status and privileges as
any other federating unit could perhaps help it grow out of its
persecution syndrome. That will take time and there are no short
cuts. Stories of foreign intervention, which may not be entirely
untrue, will not help.
Writing to Ms Benazir Bhutto from his death cell, Mr Bhutto had
cited the spilling of blood as the obstacle to the revival of
Balochistan’s confidence in the centre. Instead of removing this
obstacle, successive governments have extracted from Balochistan
more sacrifices in blood and tears — the senseless liquidation of
Nawab Akbar Bugti, the mysterious killing of Balach Marri, the
brutal murder of three Baloch leaders, and torture of illegally
detained students, to mention just a few prominent cases. Only an
unbroken record of goodwill over a considerable period will convince
the people of Balochistan that such incidents will not recur.
DAWN: Thursday, 11 Jun, 2009 |
