BALUCHISTAN – STRAIGHT TALK

BALUCHISTAN – STRAIGHT TALK
(K. Hussan Zia)
Hardly a day goes by when newspapers do not carry one or two articles about the situation in Baluchistan. Invariably the theme centres on perceived injustices done to the province by the so-called ‘Establishment’. The implication is that somehow it is the work of Punjabis. The latter are neither monolithic nor do they have an organisation or purpose in doing harm to anyone. What injustice the Punjabis have done specifically to the Baluchis or Baluchistan is never spelt out.
There appears to be a conscious effort to create hatred and division. In the words of Professor Paul Joseph Goebbels, ‘If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it people will eventually come to believe it’. It is like playing with fire in Baluchistan . There have been cases of burning of the national flag, not allowing the national anthem to be played in schools and violence against non-Baluchis. There is a pressing need to address the situation and correct some of the misconceptions in the minds of unsuspecting and gullible people.
It is claimed that the Khan of Kalat wanted the state to become independent but was needlessly and forcibly made to accede to Pakistan in 1947. There may be a difference of opinion but the action was not intended to harm the Baluchis as a whole. It is not possible to turn back the clock. Since then duly elected representatives of Baluchis have on three separate occasions participated in the formulation and signed on the Constitution of Pakistan. This has to be weighed against the desire and ambition of an un-elected and autocratic hereditary ruler.
The Constitution is binding on all the federating provinces. It confers the same rights on Baluchis as everyone else. These are not open to unilateral interpretation. Any differences have to be resolved through mutual consultation and, if necessary, by referring to the courts. Going to war against the State is not an option. Any resort to violence has serious consequences, as every Sikh in India knows. More than two hundred and forty thousand of them were executed in extra-judicial killings by the police in East Punjab in the struggle for Khalistan (see papers 13th June 2000). God forbid it should ever come to that in Pakistan .
There are elements in Baluchistan that have been carrying out acts of sabotage and violence for a long time which is terrorism by any definition, even if George Bush did not agree with it. He had his own plans that are not exactly sanguine for Pakistan, as he explained in conversation with Prime Minister Tony Blair on 30th January 2003 (see Lawless World, by Philippe Sands). Insurgents in Baluchistan have joined hands with the enemies of Pakistan . The claim that that they were obliged to do so because their demands were not met is untenable. Nonetheless, it would be wrong to tar all of the Baluch people with the same brush. By and large they are among the most honourable in Pakistan .
The State of Pakistan is duty bound to protect the lives and property of innocent citizens. The on-going action is not against Baluchistan but to save it from anarchy and chaos. If the army has used inappropriate or excessive force it must be properly investigated and dealt with accordingly. The situation is not of the army’s making for which the miscreants must bear full responsibility. Blowing up gas and power lines, trains, buses and murdering innocent people are very serious crimes that cannot be ignored, much less condoned. As long as there is a threat of violence the security forces have to act to protect the people.
There are accusations that Baluchistan has not received its fair share of the country’s resources. This is quantifiable on per capita basis. If a discrepancy exists it can be easily rectified. The lagging state of development in the province is a different issue. Apart from allocation of resources it has to do with the starting base, inhospitable conditions to support concentrations of population, absence of skilled labour and managerial talent, lack of institutions, inadequate infrastructure, insecurity, etc. Much of it is the work of nature itself or falls squarely within the purview of the provincial administration. It cannot all be blamed on Pakistan much less so on the Punjabis.
There are many limitations and no short-cuts to development. As a stark reminder, two textile mills were set up in Quetta in the early seventies that never worked due to lack of skilled labour and difficulties in transportation of raw materials and finished products. Most of Baluchistan 's shortfalls can be traced to lack of widespread quality education. This is also a provincial responsibility. Reportedly many, if not most, tribal sardars have resisted the establishment of educational institutions for reasons of their own.
Other elements hindering development in Baluchistan are internal and of a social and political nature. The tribes are administered by the sardars whose decisions are binding and final. They dispense arbitrary justice based on the ancient brutal custom of trial by ordeal. Ordinary people play no part in governance. There are serious allegations of mismanagement of resources and misuse of development funds against the sardars. The anachronistic institution needs to be brought in line with changed circumstances.
The demand for handing over control of Baluchistan ’s mineral resources to the province needs to be considered with due care and caution. This can only happen within the confines of the Constitution. Going beyond these will open up the proverbial Pandora’s Box with other provinces calling for similar treatment in respect of their resources. Carrying it too far will amount to making a mockery of the federation.
Increasingly, ill-considered threats of independence have been bandied about. Baluchistan needs Pakistan to meet her needs for food and water, apart from other things. It is also ethnically diverse with substantial concentrations of Pashtoons and others. Baluchis themselves have more than eighty different tribes with a history of deep and often hostile divisions. There are more Baluchis living in Punjab and Sind than there are in Baluchistan . This makes the claim for a separate ethnic state, based on arbitrary boundaries drawn by the British, dubious at best.
The demand for the withdrawal of security forces and release of detained insurgents is premature. This can only happen after writ of the State has been firmly established and there is assurance of peace. Given the stated aims and objectives of the insurgents and the alliances forged by them with hostile foreign powers any such move has to be deferred for an indefinite period. The people of Baluchistan would do well to remember the fate of Shias in the south and Kurds in the north of Iraq at the end of the first Gulf War and how badly things can go wrong in such situations.
There is an urgent need to re-evaluate the role of the army in domestic situations. The propensity to throw in the troops at the first sign of trouble must be resisted at all costs. The armed forces are not designed or equipped for prolonged operations in civil environment. They should only be inducted as a last resort in aid to civil power and not used to replace it. Many of the current woes in Baluchistan and elsewhere can be traced to the degradation and enfeeblement of the civil service which is the primary instrument for maintenance of peace and security.
Any problem in Baluchistan affects all of Pakistan and must be addressed in this light. Peace will return only when level heads prevail and the ruinous path of violence and involvement with Pakistan’s adversaries is abandoned. All responsible people need to disown the terrorists and their acts. Unless this is done, mistrust and suspicion will prevail and any hope for peace and reconciliation will be rendered unrealistic. There is too much at stake and much work to be done, with no time to spare.
(The writer is author of ‘Muslims and the West: A Muslim Perspective’ and ‘Pakistan: Roots, Perspective and Genesis’).