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WEEKLY
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| Winning back Balochistan |
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The problem of Balochistan had been festering since long. The problem had not arisen out of a single cause. Many deep-rooted causes had been responsible for it. Ignoring the multi-faceted nature of the problem, solution in the past had been based on rather superficial diagnosis of the situation. The time now is most opportune to seek a durable solution that is underpinned by the aspirations of the local people -- both the elite and the non-elites.
It is common knowledge that there are many stakeholders in the current situation. Of course, the ruling party has to be the main driver of any package to be offered to the people. But there are other stakeholders who cannot be ignored. These include the opposition parties, the local sardars, tribal chiefs and most of all the people of the province. Their inputs into any new package will be of utmost importance for the solution to bring durable peace and development in the province. A package exclusively based on injecting financial resources will not sell.
In my view the main strategic intent of this package must be based on changing the governance system that had led to an intense sense of deprivation and alienation as far as participation in central political power was concerned. Long innings of dictatorial rule in the country had created the present feelings of alienation in the people of the province. Therefore, the first measure to be made integral part of the current solution has to be to say goodbye to the GHQ model of governance. A decentralised governance system based on empowerment of all provinces must be the key principle of any new package.
Second, and more important, the package should not ignore the abject poverty from which the ordinary people of the province suffer. Simply empowering the ruling classes of the province with no hope for the poor will not prove enduring. Hence, I would like to suggest that a national debate should be encouraged on the package before it is formally announced. Diversity of inputs into framing the Balochistan package will offer an innovative solution since conventional approaches have failed in the past and will prove to be fruitless even now.
Dr Zafar Qureshi
FCC University, Lahore
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ISSN 1563-9479 
