Side effect

It is said time and again that in politics perception is more important than reality. Once people start believing in a fact, whether it is the whole truth or not, for them it becomes the greatest truth. This argument is sometimes used by political pundits against an oppressed people seeking their rights or to explain an electorate voting on a certain pattern which does not suit the custodians of status quo, the omnipotent Pakistani establishment in our case. Their representative analysts, commentators, and the duty bearers themselves who fail to satisfy the rights holders, often say that due to a lack or absence of correct information, false propaganda and overestimation of their capacities, the rights holders are misled. This may be true on some occasions. But in case of Balochistan, the perception of the Baloch people that they are denied their legitimate rights to resources, economic opportunities and life with dignity is an absolute truth.

Highly deplorable is not just the successive military or police interventions at the behest of the federation in the name of restoring law and order, beginning from the Kalat operation in 1948 to the present one, or the killings of Marri, Bugti and Mengal tribesmen or their elders, or the disappearances of nationalist political activists. What is even more alarming and reprehensible is that the alienation of the whole of Balochistan, all institutions and stakeholders, from the future decisions made about its territory, resources and infrastructure development has reached its peak. Again, no lessons are learnt by the powers that be. Will they ever? Even the current PPP-led provincial government has little possibility to check the excessive intervention from Islamabad.

Gwadar has been a case in point. While the project is more hyped up than the actual potential it offers, its development must continue, with no one but the Balochistan government making the final decisions independently. What Balochistan offers to both Pakistani and foreign entrepreneurs in the real sense is substantial reserves of chromium, copper, silver and gold, besides coal, gas and some petroleum. Many international concerns are moving in, but an enabling environment is yet to be created. Could that environment be created if for decades we not only ran factories but cooked chapattis and chicken in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad on natural gas from Balochistan, while people in Quetta, Dera Bugti and Bolan had insufficient or no gas supply?

It is terribly condescending to say that if Islamabad reforms itself and apologises to Balochistan, it will succeed in winning over their hearts and minds. Apologies won't be enough. The Baloch are equal citizens and should be treated as such. Industrialisation with full participation of the local population, a larger share for the province in the form of royalty and dividends obtained from mining and excavations, and investment in education, health and fundamental municipal services can transform Balochistan. All should happen on the terms of the local population. If a chance is given to the sons and daughters of Balochistan to lead a modern, civilised life under a functioning democratic political order, the Sardars will quickly become obsolete. As I have written before in these columns, it is now the protégé of those who had captured power in West Pakistan as early as in 1947 (the Unionist-ICS nexus) that give legitimacy and lifeline to the oppressive Sardari system in the true tradition of their colonial masters. Therefore, only blaming the Sardars for underdevelopment is partial. Out of the 70-odd Sardars, only three rebelled against the government. What development has been achieved in the areas of the loyal ones? The famous judge from the erstwhile East Pakistan, Justice Abdus Sattar, met poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz in London some time after the debacle of 1971. Faiz recited his famous ghazal written for Bengalis, which has a line, "khoon ke dhabbey dhulein-gey kitni barsaton ke baad?" (How many rains it will take to wash away the bloodstains?) Justice Sattar said, "Faiz Sahib, khoon ke dhabbey barsaton se nahin dhula-kartey." (Rains can't wash away bloodstains).



The writer is an Islamabad-based poet and rights campaigner. Email: harris@spopk.org