To the Point – Exploiting Balochistan
Thursday, February 9th, 2012 4:39:39 by Syed Hassan Bokhari
To the Point – Exploiting Balochistan
Balochistan has always been something national politicians always worry about seeing the distressing situation that has prevailed in the Pakistani province since separation from united India in 1947.
No doubt, the Balochi people have always been a part of Pakistan in spirit and still are, but are being pushed to their limits, obviously sparking outrage from within the community of the most neglected in our country.
Now, the issue has reached the United States Congress, where members of the House of Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations heard human rights activists and others about the current situation in the province.
Looking at how America reacted to the situation by taking the stance of supporting an independent Balochistan, does it not show that the US is rather exploiting the issue instead of solving it.
Pakistan is not the only country which has faced such issues. Most recently, Canada is still facing internal pressure for separating the province of Quebec as the French want their independence as well, but it certainly is not the solution as it is not the
majority of the people saying so.
What the difference in Balochistan is that the people have been oppressed by their own feudal lords for many, many years and until that oppression does not finish, the people will not be free to think and speak on their own.
Like in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, Balochistan is also very different from other provinces due to the limitation of human rights and the backwardness of the thinking of the powerful in control there.
According to the Government of Pakistan, as there are natural resources in abundance and the province is extremely rich is terms of potential tourists attractions like Gawadar and such, anti-state elements continue to brainwash the people and change their
views in regards to their own country.
But on the other end, it is not hard to see that the people of Balochistan have been denied their basic rights for many years.
All state institutions will need to focus on empowering the Balochi people instead of supporting the feudal lords along with dissolving that system of rule and enforce more government control over the province.
Those powers, including national institutions, must be made accountable to what is going on in Balochistan and make their work in the province transparent for all to see. Implementing decisions through proper referendums is the only way to go at the moment.
Facilities available to the people of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa must be made available to Balochi’s as well, showing them that they are also a part of Pakistan, their Pakistan.
Tags: Balochistan, Exploiting, To The Point
Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=12208
Posted by Syed Hassan Bokhari
on Feb 9 2012. Filed under Editorial, Latest News, National, Opinion, Pakistan.
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In regard to Balochistan, the hypocrisy of the Pakistan government, its rulers, and the media is amazing!
There are tribal systems all over the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has been ruled by a monarchy initially dominated by one tribe, but later extended wisely to other tribes through inter-marriages. Libya was ruled by Gaddhafi’s tribe; so was Yemen under former President Saleh. Yet no one speak of tribal leaders in the Middle East trying to thwart development in their region. It is only in Balochistan that the central government persists in demonizing tribal leaders including the late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, an Oxford-educated nationalist leader, who was killed in 2006 on orders of then President Musharraf.
The insurgency in Balochistan was fueled by neglect and mistreatment of the Balochi people by the Punjabi-Mohajir axis that dominated Pakistan right from its birth.
The first issue was that the province was not getting a fair share of revenues from the vast natural resources in the province, such as the Sui gas. The rulers in Pakistan cited lack of education and backwardness among Balochis and, therefore, in their view are incapable of controlling the natural resources in their own land. Moreover, they rationalized that tribal leaders, like Bugti and Marri, were corrupt; they were pocketing all the money and depriving their own people. Such an allegation i.e. deprivation of their own tribe, has never been levied against tribal leaders in the Middle East or anywhere in the world, even though corruption is the norm.
Badar Alam, who is considered to an eminent journalist in Pakistan, stated in an article titled, “Balochistan eternal crisis” published in Dawn in July 2011 stated that “the champions of political and economic freedom should also understand that autonomy under the existing social indicators in the province will be meaningless for most Baloch people.” Badar Alam insinuated that the people of Balochistan are incapable of ruling their own land and lack the proper qualifications to control resources due to their social backwardness and lack of education. The ruling class in Pakistan looks on Baluchis with disdain and contempt as did the British on Asian Indians and white Afrikaners on blacks in South Africa. This racist outlook resulted in the secession of East Pakistan.
The second issue was the demographic engineering of the Balochistan province. Balochistan is scarcely populated; only 4 million Balochis reside in a province that consists of the largest geographical area in Pakistan. To ensure that Balochis are marginalized (become a minority like the Sindhis in Karachi), the central government in Pakistan, relocated large number of non-Balochis to Balochistan. After the Balochis figured out the objective of the central government, they started to attack non-Balochis (Punjabis and Mohajirs) who were working on mega-projects in the province. Predictably, the Pakistan government has accused Baloch insurgents of targeted killings and thwarting development in the province by destroying infrastructure (such as pipelines).
The third issue is the targeted killings of Baloch students, intellectuals, and leaders (sardars/chieftains) widely reported in the media nowadays and documented by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in 2011. On one hand, the government laments lack of education among Balochis. On the other hand, the government is slowly killing off the educated class of Balochis.
It is no wonder that sooner or later, some third parties will notice the shenanigans in Balochistan and try to take advantage of the situation.
@Syed Karim… Very well written!