Silencing Balochistan
By Syed Kamran Hashmi
Westfield, IN
Does your head spin when Pakistan performs so poorly in the league of nations with all its natural resources: Gold mines, copper reserves, iron ore and natural gas? Does a shiver creep up your spine when you notice that our geographical location can translate into an ideal international trade route generating revenue? But for some reason, it has acclaimed itself as the epicenter of political instability and international terrorism. Does it churn your stomach when our access to warm waters stretched over hundreds of miles does not help us reduce to the trade deficit? Rather it sparks interethnic conflicts.
Not insignificant by any standards, with these treasures at our disposal, we deserve to be the most developed country in the region, not an unstable one, the one pulled down by corruption, incompetence or terrorism, and definitely not the one compared with Somalia, Congo or Sierra Leone. And our largest city, Karachi, the country’s financial hub has to pit itself against Singapore, Dubai, Seoul or Hong Kong not with Kabul, Mogadishu or Sana. Even countries who won independence after us have left Pakistan far behind in education, economy and modernization. Above all India, our arch rival, keeps on seizing victories in trade whereas we tend to lose on every front. Do we think these countries do not face corruption as a threat, their people exhibit more patriotism or their cultural divisions promote constructive debate? Disturbing, isn’t it? Since on an individual level all human beings, including Pakistanis carry equal intelligence. That explains why when we get a chance to go abroad, we stay in the same league as Westerners, never behind. Notwithstanding that, the question is why do we fail collectively.
Sure politicians can be blamed for our poor performance. Their corruption and dishonesty have contributed to our collapse, no doubt about it. But tell me: are Indian politicians less corrupt than ours? Have you not looked at the intricacies of their political structure? They have to compromise on their honesty to win the elections in such a complicated system. And as the stakes grow higher, the compromise gets larger and larger.
Yeah, I know we have to include the utter failure of our education system in securing our future. Instead of being uniform across the nation, our system produces servants (slaves) in the government (public) schools who now exist as an endangered species, their numbers reducing, their buildings converted as stables and dairy farms, their staff spending more time at home or serving another employer and their students busy in everything else except academics. While, the same system sculpts masters (the rulers) in the private schools, some of whom are so expensive that they charge hundreds of US dollars every month in tuition fees. In between the two extremes-the public and the American schools-lay every blend, every model and every color: schools built within a residential house invoicing few hundred every month to private chains with thousands of rupees in tuition fees. Trust me, the quality of education varies with their price, the higher the rate the better is the education, and here yes, every cent counts. Simply put, if there were “Fifty shades of Grey” for E. L. James, there are fifteen hundred shades of private schools in Pakistan each serving, above everything else, one objective: mint money for the owner.
Many of us think it is the slow Islamization of Pakistan introduced and reinforced by General Ziaul- Haq. Their heart throbs as they watch the nation adopt increasingly conservative values. They call it slow talibanization of Pakistan. People like Imran Khan believe it is nothing but lack of justice, prevalence of corruption, and absence of accountability that drags us behind. Then, there are others who believe it is terrorism alone which bears the most responsibility. In short their exits a long list of items which can be attributed as the reason for our inability to break the shackles. But I think, in this list what may be missed and which may in fact be the most important factor, is the lack of trust between the citizens and its security apparatus. If people think that their lives are endangered by the forces who are supposed to protect them, then I guess no society can function or move forward, no matter how gifted are its people and how magnificent are its resources. A similar situation arose after the assassination of Sabeen Mehmood, a social justice activist who was arranging a seminar on the elusive Army action in Baluchistan. Although, I find it hard to believe the notion that she was silenced by the agencies because of her audacity to initiate the discussion in a public forum on the situation in the largest province of Pakistan. Acting on impulse, I just cannot fathom - may be I am too naive - that any wing of our own military would take such a drastic step for a small organization and a relatively unknown individual. How many people had heard of Sabeen Mehmood before her assassination? None to very few, but her death has made her an esteemed martyr. And the cause for which she had to give up her life instead of dying with her has set off a new wave of defiance. More people are talking about Baluchistan than before. They may not be loud and prominent but their message is clear, a message of anger and resentment.
Is that really a good strategy? Trust me, silencing people through force and coercion fails to pay off in the long run, although you may reap some short-term benefits. It creates a gap of mistrust and suspicion between the people and their forces; a gap that has grown wider every year. It needs to be bridged for Pakistan to best utilize its resources. Without which, no treasure is strong enough to pull us out of the self-created quagmire.
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