Balochistan — The Only Way Forward
By
Sanaullah Baloch
February
10, 2012
The writer was a member of the Senate from
2003-08 and of the National Assembly from 1997-99
The US
Congressional hearing on Balochistan in Washington DC on February 9 should be a
wake-up call for the centre to correct its current policies towards the
province. In the past, the country’s ethnically dominant civil-military
establishment failed to maintain control over East Pakistan through the use of
weapons and we all know what happened as a result of that. Now, most
regrettably, the same disastrous prescription is being applied to Balochistan.
Of course,
the elite of Pakistan — and I include the liberal intellectuals in this — do
not seem to take the possibility of the province going its own way too
seriously. They always seem to take the argument of geography, saying that East
Pakistan was geographically separated from the western wing and since that is
not the case with Balochistan; any separation would be a figment of someone’s
colourful imagination.
In the
relatively short span of six years, due to Islamabad’s hawkish approach, the
demand of the Baloch shifted from one of greater autonomy and self-rule, to
wholesale withdrawal from the federation. Instead of realising that policies
undertaken by Islamabad are to blame for the current impasse, many people
outside of the province tend to shift responsibility to actors within it. This
is a flawed approach and will make an already bad situation even worse.
The current
tension between the people of Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan, especially
the centre, are caused by growing socio-economic insecurities, and by the
systematic discrimination and oppression of the local people of the province by
a centre dominated by the country’s most populous province. The Baloch have,
for many years now, been living a marginalised existence and now see no hope
for improvement. So, from their viewpoint, they are only doing what anyone in
their predicament would do, so that their future generations may have a chance
for living a peaceful and prosperous life.
Many modern
states swiftly address these grievances through political and institutional
restructuring of the system. This is done so that those who live in the region
and are aggrieved, feel that they are part of the mainstream, and what they
think and believe is important as far as the state’s overall agenda and
policies are concerned. However, politically less conscious and ethnically
dominant countries, impose violent and suppressive means to further subjugate
oppressed ethnic groups and people.
An example
of this can be found in Yugoslavia where the dominant Serb elite considered
other ethnic groups as inferior and deprived them politically and economically.
Serbian policy resulted in one of the world’s bloodiest conflicts and ended up
with the dismantling of the former Yugoslavia.
In the case
of Balochistan, the despair present here is a result of a) persistent institutional
oppression; b) never-ending exploitation; c) denial of politico-economic rights
and d) increasing national (Baloch) insecurity in the existing state structure.
All this
indicates a classical colonial relationship between Balochistan and the centre.
The Baloch feel that they are living life at gunpoint, with their daily
existence under threat because of the violence that has been going on in their
province.
They feel
that the centre’s policies aim to control their land for long-term strategic reasons
and that this also has to do with the province’s wealth of natural and mineral
resources. They also think that their historically-moderate social and cultural
fabric is being attacked by forces supported by the establishment and that
their underdevelopment is part of a deliberate policy to keep their region
deprived.
Previously,
protests in the province were ruthlessly suppressed as well. However, this time
around, the establishment has to contend with rapidly changing geo-strategic
realities, the presence of a loud and vibrant social media and a sizeable
Baloch diaspora which is able to rally support overseas.
The only
way forward is for the state to address this issue by taking into account
historical, cultural, economic and political factors.
Source: The
Express Tribune, Lahore
URL: https://newageislam.com/the-war-within-islam/balochistan-—-only-way-forward/d/6677