Balochistan:
Crisis & Conflict
The
largest province of Pakistan, commanding some 43%
of the country's territory but a mere 6 % of its
population, with the richest natural resources yet
with the lowest per capita income is now in the
focus of national attention.
The rocket attacks of tribesmen on the natural gas
installations at Sui in Balochistan have deprived
millions of people across the country of their major
source of cooking and heating particularly at a
time when the country is in the grip of a severe
winter. The disruption of the supply of gas to power,
fertilizer and industrial plants has been causing,
according to officials, a loss of millions of dollars
daily in revenue since the attacks in early January.
It would take another week or so for the repair
of the plant and resumption of full supply. The
strongman of Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf had,
in a knee-jerk reaction of a soldier, threatened
the tribesmen and their potentate sardars of a severe
military crackdown: "You wont know what hit you".
Such an action might have temporarily calmed down
the situation, as it had during the military action
of 1970s under the orders of the-then Prime Minister
Z.A.Bhutto. But, it would have, like in the past,
aggravated further the underlying causes of the
crisis and conflict. Fortunately, saner councils
have prevailed this time and at two separate meetings
- one presided over by the President and the other
by the Prime Minister - it has been decided to avoid
the use of force and to tackle the problem politically.
It has also been decided to post well-equipped security
contingents at all the gas installations at Sui,
Pirkoh and Loti. Why this was not done earlier is
open to question. The Committee of the Parliament
set up months back to thoroughly examine the long-standing
grievances of Balochistan is also reported to have
almost finalized its recommendations. The report
would be presented shortly to the government. One
hopes it would also be made public. The recent attacks
on Sui installations, according to Nawab Akbar Bugti,
were triggered by the gang rape on the evening of
January 2 of a lady doctor of the local hospital
by an army Captain and three of his soldiers. The
local police was not allowed to meet the victim
and take her statement for a report.
On the other hand, the concerned army officer, Capt.
Emad, was allowed the facility of giving a lengthy
statement on PTV Prime (I heard this myself) presenting
his side of the story adding credibility to rumors
that authorities were protecting the accused as
he was a man in uniform. On the other hand, the
ugly incident has perhaps been blown up, as alleged
by some officials, to ignite the tribesmen's wrath,
and create a situation of crisis. Whatever the case,
the problem of Balochistan is now attracting much
media attention.
The commercial and strategic significance of the
Gwadar port, the network of planned and under construction
roads, the vast mineral resources of the province,
new dams and canals being built, and its location
straddling the projected gas pipelines from Iran,
have generated further apprehensions among the Balochistan
people as to their share in all these activities.
They fear that Punjab would usurp all benefits accruing
from the mega developmental projects. A perennial
grievance of the Balochi sardars has been that the
wealth of their province is being transferred to
the already better off majority province of Punjab
and that the armed might of the country is being
utilized to protect this exploitation. In the words
of Nawab Bugti, "They think that natural resources
are national assets, and we think that they are
Baloch assets, and whoever wants to use them must
do so through us, not by direct possession."
That is where lies the conflict of interest. The
sardars want a larger slice of revenue. Whether
it is in public or private interest, is open to
question. Open to question also is the meager percentage
of the natural gas revenues allotted to the province.
From the perspective of the illiterate (over 75%),
poverty-stricken (55% below poverty line) Balochis,
they would keep rotting in the present sub-human
conditions unless the grueling hold over them of
the sardars is broken and their children are enabled
to go to schools and technical institutes to acquire
skills to earn living wages.
The job opportunities opening up with the $2 billion
high profile projects will be beyond their reach
unless they are provided with requisite education
and skills. One has yet to be informed of a single
sardar who has dedicated his efforts to bringing
educational facilities to his followers. For, education
promotes independent thinking and weakens their
hold. Unfortunately, government authorities too
have for half a century remained indifferent to
this urgent need. The sardars have instead been
stirring the emotions of the tribes to such an extent
that they would rather destroy the gas pipelines
than let the supply continue to other parts of the
country, particularly Punjab. Incidents of violence
are therefore the highest in the province. That
scares away potential investors.
To ensure security to the high-cost ongoing projects
of Gwadar, highways, mineral extraction, building
of dams and canals, federal authorities want to
set up cantonments at Gwadar, Dera Bugti, and Kohlu
apart from enhancing the facilities at the existing
garrisons at Quetta and Khuzdar. The sardars have
been resisting this; hence the conflict of interest
and the instigation of crises. Administratively,
Balochistan is a nightmare. Eighty per cent of the
province was demarcated by the British as tribal
territory to be administered by sardars. Only the
remaining 20 per cent comes under civilian administration.
The sardars have adroitly dealt with regime after
regime at the center to maintain this system. The
wind of change blowing now through the province
portends a reduction in their clout, and a more
logical system. With the tacit blessings and financial
support of the sardars, three militant groups have
come up: the Baloch Liberation Army, the Baloch
National Army, and the People's Liberation Army.
They are said to have 50 to 150 training camps and
are alleged to have been responsible for 650 bomb
blasts last year.
If an army action was taken as threatened by Gen.
Musharraf, these militants would have caused some
serious headaches to the military commanders. For
want of local support, the commanders wouldn't have
fared any better than the American commanders in
Iraq. It was a wise decision indeed to seek a solution
of the problem politically. With Gwadar slated to
be the gateway to central Asia and the outlet for
the goods produced in Xinxiang (Sinkiang) and adjoining
Chinese territories, the future of Pakistan is linked
to the future and progress of Balochistan. Pakistan's
policy makers would be well advised to let logic
and saner councils prevail over instincts and, above
all, the temptations of paranoiac arrogance. arifhussaini@hotmail.com
January 19, 2005
