Steps in the right direction to resolve Balochistan crisis

There should be a will on part of all stakeholders at the helm of affairs to address the challenges squarely, proving the facts that collective wisdom can help overcome even the most ticklish issues.

The upshot of the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gilani, to have brainstorming session on situation in Balochistan raised hopes for practical steps towards implementation of the much-needed actions for resolution of the conflict in the province.

One will be surprised why the government took so much time in convening a meeting of all stakeholders, when the situation in Balochistan had been deteriorating for a long time.

The high-level meeting took host of decisions that are nothing new as different committees and commissions also arrived at the same conclusion in the past as part of the strategy to address the problem.

However, there were serious issues of implementation mainly because all stakeholders were not on board on all matters.

The demand that FC should either be withdrawn or its control be given to the provincial the government has been the bone of contention between the civilian leaders and military leadership.

However, Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani along with DG ISI showed his consent to the suggestion to give powers to the Chief Minister Balochistan.

Now the critics would not find any justification to raise fingers towards Islamabad if something goes wrong as the CM would be making the shots in this regard.

The decision to initiate dialogue, albeit in a phased manner, with all Baloch leaders is the need of the hour but it all depends when some practical move is made for the purpose.

There are some stray elements who are working on foreign agendas and they need to be dealt with iron hand but an overwhelming majority of Baloch people are patriotic and peaceful and therefore, would surely welcome the dialogue.

This is because people of Balochistan are the ultimate victims of the deteriorating situation leading to shrinking job opportunities because of near halt to economic activities and closure of industries and businesses and threats to life and property. This all is because of the law and order situation.

Decisions have been taken and now the onus is on the Chief Minister to prove that he is worthy of the office he holds and implementation process would be a litmus test for him.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jun 2 2012. Filed under National, Opinion, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.