Balochistan cries out for attention

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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The situation is escalating as we speak as all the leaders of Balochistan from Jamali to Mengal are coming to an agreement that exploitation of Balochistan cannot continue.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_2-8-2004_pg7_45

COMMENT: Balochistan cries out for attention

By Sarfaraz Ahmed

The killing of five soldiers on Sunday in Khuzdar by “unidentified” people is the most alarming incident since the killing of three Chinese engineers in Gwadar a few months ago. Between these two major terrorist acts, there have been a number of other such incidents including the attack on the Sui airport resulting in the demolition of its two-room building and partial damage to its runway, and routine rocket attacks on Frontier Constabulary posts by unidentified attackers. The killings of Shias this year and last year in Balochistan’s capital Quetta are another case in point.

Sunday’s killings appear to be a reaction to what has been going on in Turbat for about a week — an alleged military operation against terrorists in the most underprivileged province, which is already afflicted by political tension. The nationalist parties of the province have serious reservations on the Gwadar project and the proposed construction of cantonments. They believe the project is aimed at turning the Balochs into a minority and usurpation of the natural resources in that area.

The government needs to evolve a strategy to take Balochis - particularly those expressing a lot of anger over the government policies viz a viz the Gwadar port and three proposed cantonments - into confidence about these projects. Other significant developments took place before what happened in Khuzdar on Sunday, which need mention in order to study the Balochistan situation from a broader perspective.

According to reports, as a result of the decisions taken at a meeting on law and order chaired by President Pervez Musharraf on July 1 in Islamabad, the Balochistan Frontier Constabulary inspector general was directed to establish a Quick Reaction Force in Gwadar with gunship helicopters to enable a quick response against saboteurs and terrorists as part of a security plan for Gwadar.. These government steps have come along with other measures aimed at expediting cantonments at Kohlu, Dera Bugti and Gwadar for which petroleum companies in these areas are reportedly required to contribute Rs 600 million over a period of two years, to secure the oil and gas fields that frequently come under attack from terrorists.

These steps, along with what has been happening in Turbat, have in fact added fuel to fire.

Some 300 kilometres southwest of Quetta, Khuzdar is the second major city of Balochistan where a military cantonment was established in the seventies. But instead of the Pakistan Army, the “Balochistan Liberation Army” holds sway here, taking credit for almost every act of terrorism here and some nationalists have been all praise for such an ‘army’.

Balochis have not forgotten the army action against them by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and the federal government needs take serious note of the situation. Neither has a seemingly impotent Balochistan government nor did Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, (the first premier from this province who could perhaps play the most important and meaningful role in this respect) do anything to help Balochis.

During his 20 months in office, Mr Jamali did little to help contain the simmering tension and the consequent alarming law and order situation in Balochistan. Now, the situation is more complicated than ever.

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Re: Balochistan cries out for attention

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Sadiqaan: *
The situation is escalating as we speak as all the leaders of Balochistan from Jamali to Mengal are coming to an agreement that exploitation of Balochistan cannot continue.

[/QUOTE]

Good, so when are the tribal leaders like Mengal planning to stop exploiting balochis?

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Who can stop this army from running amok in the whole country?

VIEW: Baloch insurgency rekindling —Rashed Rahman

There is no Baloch issue or complaint that cannot be sorted out at the negotiating table. They centre on lack of participation and share for the Baloch at the political and economic levels. Why cannot the poor Baloch be given the same participatory rights in the politics and economic development of their province as the rest of the country enjoys?

The ambush of troops near Khuzdar, about 20 kilometres east of Quetta, in which five soldiers and a civilian died and two others were wounded, is only the latest incident in what appears to be a rekindling of Baloch insurgency. The same group that has claimed responsibility for previous incidents of this nature, the Baloch Liberation Army, has once again declared to Reuters through its spokesman, Azad Baloch, that it carried out the ambush.

To this incident may be added a series of varied attacks over the past few months, including the Gwadar bombing in which three Chinese technicians died, frequent blowing up of gas pipelines and other infrastructure, and the rocketing of Quetta, Sui, and Kohlu in the Marri tribal area. Taken as a whole, this series of attacks and bombings points in the direction of the beginnings of a full-blown guerrilla war breaking out once again in Pakistan’s poorest province.

**The causes of this latest outbreak of guerrilla war are no different from the four previous guerrilla wars fought in Balochistan since independence. They all stem from an acute sense of deprivation that fuels a nationalism that sees little hope of redress of its grievances within the political system in vogue in the country. This latest round may also be considered the unfinished agenda of the 1973-77 guerrilla war in the province, which ended in a stalemate in 1977 after Gen Ziaul Haq thought it expedient to mollify the Baloch rebels to better tackle the bigger political challenge from the overthrown Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Zia’s broken promises of compensation for the losses suffered by the Baloch people during the 1973-77 war, redress of long standing complaints of neglect of the people and exploitation of the province’s resources without any share for the locals, etc, have been the source of simmering resentment for many years. The civilian ‘democratic’ interregnum of 1988-99 too failed to live up to its promise as far as the nationalists were concerned. Some amongst them, it seems, have decided once again that there is no room for them to struggle peacefully within the system, and have re-launched a guerrilla war for their long denied rights.**

Those who are familiar with the history of the 1973-77 insurgency will know that this is a guerrilla war of a different kind, not to be subsumed, as ISPR chief Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan has attempted in describing the Khuzdar incident, under the current catch-all rubric of “terrorism”. It is likely to assume the pattern of a protracted see-saw guerrilla and counter-insurgency campaign of the early 1970s. However, the context in which the insurgency is unfolding today is far more explosive, given the struggles in Afghanistan, Iraq, and even in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

One of the reasons for ex-prime minister Zafarullah Jamali’s ouster was his resistance to any plan to launch a military operation in Balochistan for suppression of the rebellious activity that has broken out. Immediately after Jamali’s ignominious exit, a brigade of regular army troops each was dispatched to Gwadar, the Bugti and Marri tribal areas. This has had the same effect as the red rag to the bull.

Need it be so? There is no issue or complaint the Baloch have that cannot be sorted out at the negotiating table. They centre on lack of participation and share for the Baloch at the political and economic levels. If our much touted ‘genuine’ democracy’s claims are to be taken at face value, why cannot the poor Baloch be given the same participatory rights in the politics and economic development of their province as the rest of the country enjoys?

The heavens would not fall if the nationalist irritations of the Baloch were met with a fair share for the people of the province in their own natural resources and generous help to overcome the legacy of neglect and underdevelopment from the past. It would certainly be far less costly than another bout of guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency, with their concomitant threat to human life and the welfare of not only the Baloch people, but the people of Pakistan as a whole. What can be achieved peacefully need not be denied to the point where the aggrieved feel they have no choice except to go outside the pale and rebel.

The government should reconsider its approach to the problems of Balochistan. It should employ ‘enlightened moderation’ to tackle the decades of neglect and backwardness that have fuelled resentment and rebellion in Balochistan.

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Sab say pahlay Pakistan......and the results start to show up......sab sey pahlay Baluchistan, sab say pahlay Sindh, and more to come...

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Again the same question would have to be posed as to the FATA areas…would Balochistan be willing to cede to the same rule of law as the rest of Pakistan in order that Pakistan could invest more heavily in these areas; i.e. give up tribal and jirga BS?

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I am glad that such leaders have realized that there should be no more exploitation of Balauchis and Balochistan. Frankly speaking these Meers, MEngals, Bugthis and Maris are also part of the problem. These sardars are very powerful in Baluchistan and if they sincerly want their province to take off and develop, I do not think the Federal government would have any objection to that. Unless they change their attitude and provide their own people their much deserved rights, they have no RIGHT whatsoever to complain regarding the state policies.

I am in no way a supporter of what the state does and what has been going on in GAwadar and the way the people of baluchistan have been sidelined according the the reports. But I must say unless these very leaders stand up for their people , no other person would take up their cause.

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Don't blame the leaders or the people of Balochistan when the real problem lies in Islamabad. Why the army wants to build military cantonements in different areas of Balochistan and has already started grabbing land, the only hobby of na-pak army. Last year the provicial assembly of Balochistan had passed a resolution demanding that military cantonment should not be established in Gwadar, Dera Bugti and in other areas of Balochistan and the then chief minister opposed the resolution only then when the dictator threatened him with dismissal of his government. Baloch don't want to be the second class citizens in their own province, as Sindhis are.

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More facts about army’s hunger after land.

NPML-N for ownership rights to Okara farmers

By Our Reporter:

ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: PML-N Central Information Secretary Muhammad Siddique-ul-Farooque has strongly condemned the arrest of Okara journalist Sarwar Mujahid and has demanded his immediate release.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, he said Mujahid’s only crime was raising voice for the rights of Okara Military Farms tenants, and exposing their brutal persecution by the farm authorities and rangers. His arrest is proof of the correctness of recent Human Rights Watch report on the farms, he added.

He said land in question was given to the military on lease, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had granted ownership rights to the tenants after expiry of the lease but Musharraf government had been trying to illegally eject them.

He alleged the military rulers had already institutionalized land grabbing with acquiring large tracts and then distributing them among senior officers and generals at nominal price.

He said it was a known fact that an officer would get a plot for a small amount and then sell it for millions of rupees. Similarly, the military officers get agricultural land at a nominal price and then sell it for millions.

The PML-N leader said the recent 54-page HRW report was correct, and while detailing the atrocities committed against the farmers it had also called for intervention by the United Nations.

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I agree that the smaller provinces are mistreated by the army to achieve their own objectives. But is separation from Pakistan the answer? I saw an interview of Mr Ata ullah Mengal the other day on ARY - he catagorically stated that the Balochis did not agree to joining Pakistan in '47 and they want separation. He also said that the separation campaign was picking up more & more momentum. They would not allow other nations (punjabis etc) to settle in baluchistan (Gwadar).

I cannot see how the Balochis can claim independence for Balochistan when you have large numbers of Balochis living in Punjab & sindh wheras in Balochistan, you have other ethnic groups such as pashtoon & Makranis etc? And where is the wisdom in stopping development in Gwadar when it would bring prosperity to the whole province. And can they really survive without Pakistan?

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When Islam starts to weaken, and justice goes away, nationalism springs up.

If we are Muslims first, we are one,

if we are Pakistanis first , than we are not united since "Pakistani" is no ethnicity.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by shawaiz: *
Don't blame the leaders or the people of Balochistan when the real problem lies in Islamabad. Why the army wants to build military cantonements in different areas of Balochistan
[/QUOTE]

The area has a lot of strategic value to many players including USA, China, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, and India. Any number of these countries are hoping to build cantonments in the region.

It is upto you to decide which army will be better for you in the long run. Sorry ABPA (Anything but Pak army) argument will not win. The last thing we all want to see is Baluchistan turning into another Somalia ruled by thugs like Aideed.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Islamabad: *
When Islam starts to weaken, and justice goes away, nationalism springs up.

If we are Muslims first, we are one,

if we are Pakistanis first , than we are not united since "Pakistani" is no ethnicity.
[/QUOTE]

Bud. Let's keep the religion out of this issue. It will not work I guarantee you.

Balochistan is at a serious stage right now. It is a large province with relatively small population. They genuinely fear getting overwhelmed by "outsiders". It leaves them pretty much with two options. Either resist change or join the forward progress.

Resisting the change will create anarchy in the region that will allow India, Iran, Russia, Afghan tribal, and USA play their own game. Each major tribe will get money from one of these players and then kill fellow Balochis or Pashtuns. This is what we see in Afghanistan right now.

The option is to join the forward march. Participate in the development and become Hong Kong or Dubai.

Karachi had the same two options back in the 80's. They resisted change. Feared getting overwhelmed by outsiders. Formed a nationalist party (MQM) and the result was shear anarchy. Ultimately Punjabis, Baluchis, and Pashtuns left Karachi and went back to Quetta, Peshawar, or Lahore. But the genie was out of the bottle, and it started sucking Muhajir blood, their cars, and their kids.

Balochis have to see if they want to be another Afghanistan, or a UAE. Choice is theirs.

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Pakistanis and their mantra of >>strategic depth<< and >>strategic values<<. How many times should we fall into the same trap. In the whole 80s we fought America's proxy war against soviets in Afghanistan and the then dictator had told us that the main target of soviets forces was to capture the warm waters of the Arabian sea, now another dictator is fighting America's aother war within our own country. Whether you like to hear it or not, the main problem is the Army and this country will remian in mess until these idiots go back into their barracks and let the country run by the civilians. Negotiations between political parties is the only solution, Army's involvement will only escalate the problem.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by shawaiz: *
Pakistanis and their mantra of >>strategic depth<< and >>strategic values<<. How many times should we fall into the same trap.

[/QUOTE]

So Russia just wanted to enjoy Afghan Anaars!

Man! These Commie lefties will go to great lengths to support Russian masters. Russia killed 2 million+ Afghan and Paks and lost 14,000 of its soldiers precisely for Afghan strategic values. You want to burry your head in the sand, that's fine with me.

Balochistan is important to the world not for the apples and grapes for Chaman! It simply lies on the shortest route to export CIS oil and Gas. Leftie Mengal is trying to help his Russian masters by creating chaos in Balochistan. For his few $$$, he is selling all the Balochis out.

[QUOTE]

In the whole 80s we fought America's proxy war against soviets in Afghanistan and the then dictator had told us that the main target of soviets forces was to capture the warm waters of the Arabian sea, now another dictator is fighting America's aother war within our own country.

[/QUOTE]

Oink BL and Lefties want to create lawlessness in Pakistan at every cost. Oink BL knows that Balochistan and Afghanistan can reduce the value of Saudi Arabia. Can you imagine the days when Bedus from Saudi will be looking for work in Quetta? Won’t you need to see Dubai Araabs looking for work in Gawadar? Balochis will be issuing 7 day visas to the same Bedouins who now love to disrespect Balochis.

Only if Balochi youth could realize the value of peace and prosperity in their motherland!

[QUOTE]

Whether you like to hear it or not, the main problem is the Army and this country will remian in mess until these idiots go back into their barracks and let the country run by the civilians. Negotiations between political parties is the only solution, Army's involvement will only escalate the problem.
[/QUOTE]

Army is not made up of angels. But they do work to stabilize the country. Leftie politicians like Bhutto and Mujeeb have always created chaos in the country. If they are left to their intrigues, Pakistan will sure become Somalia or Afghanistan.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Khattana: *
I agree that the smaller provinces are mistreated by the army to achieve their own objectives. But is separation from Pakistan the answer? I saw an interview of Mr Ata ullah Mengal the other day on ARY - he catagorically stated that the Balochis did not agree to joining Pakistan in '47 and they want separation. He also said that the separation campaign was picking up more & more momentum. They would not allow other nations (punjabis etc) to settle in baluchistan (Gwadar).

I cannot see how the Balochis can claim independence for Balochistan when you have large numbers of Balochis living in Punjab & sindh wheras in Balochistan, you have other ethnic groups such as pashtoon & Makranis etc? And where is the wisdom in stopping development in Gwadar when it would bring prosperity to the whole province. And can they really survive without Pakistan?
[/QUOTE]

I didn't watch this interview therefore cannot say anything about it. I have never heard Sirdar Mengal demanding secession of Balochistan from Pakistan. The Baloch politicians have always demanded the equal rights within the boundary of Pakistan. Government condemns the Sirdars for manipulating the people of Balochistan although the military action is going on in Makran, esp in Gwadar and Turbat areas, and these areas are the least tribal in the whole province. Central government directly deals with the land in Gwadar and the GOB has no say in all this matter. You people raise your voices for the rights of Kashmiris but are not ready to give these same rights to your own countrymen.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by digitalsurgeon: *

Afghanistan ? nahin yar!
[/QUOTE]

Let me clarify. Afghan Tribal would truly love to see chaos in Balochistan. They would provide them safe havens.

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Balochistan revisited
Najam Sethi, TFT:

For several years we have read stray reports of tensions in Sui between the Bugti tribes led by Nawab Akbar Bugti and the federal government over issues of employment, job security, compensation, etc., relating to work conditions in the gas generating and distribution companies that pump Sui gas to the rest of the country. But that was presumed to be a local affair. The federal governments of Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and General Pervez Musharraf were convinced that Nawab Bugti was extorting money from Islamabad ostensibly on behalf of the Bugti tribesmen who work the gas plants but actually for himself by nudging his fiercely loyal Bugti tribesmen to rocket the pipelines whenever the negotiations get bogged down against his liking. In this political seesaw, Mr Bugti was wont to bandy about terms like ‘gas royalties’, ‘provincial autonomy’, ‘constitutional rights’ etc while portraying himself as the great and patriotic Baloch nationalist fighting for the rights of his province rather than for his tribe. The federal government, on the other hand, seemed falsely obsessed about “the need to open up Balochistan for economic development” and was constantly carping about the “evil and exploitative Sardari system” in the province that kept the tribesmen in chains and acted as a “brake on progress” Unfortunately for the stability and security of Pakistan, the truth is different on both counts. A brief recapitulation may be in order.

When the nominal ruler of Balochistan, the Khan of Kalat, dragged his feet in the early 1950s over signing the Balochistan accession document to Pakistan, the impatient federal government threw diplomacy and negotiation overboard and hastily sent a couple of PAF jets to strafe his palace and make him change his mind. When One Unit was declared by General Ayub Khan in the 1960s, Sher Mohammad Marri, a tribal wadera, protested the usurpation of ‘provincial rights’, fled to the hills with a band of loyal tribesmen and started taking potshots at the ‘occupying Punjabi army’ The seeds of Baloch provincial awakening gave rise to Baloch nationalism in the aftermath of national elections, the eruption of Bengali separatism and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. If Mr Bhutto’s PPP won Sindh and Punjab and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s Awami League swept East Pakistan, the fact also was that the National Awami Party led by “nationalists” Ghaus Bux Bizenjo, Ataullah Mengal, Khair Bux Marri, Akbar Bugti and Khan Wali Khan dominated Balochistan and the NWFP. At the time, even the Jamiat i Ulema i Islam of Maulana Mufti Mahmud (father of Maulana Fazlur Rehman) thought fit to join hands with the nationalists to espouse the provincial cause.

Emboldened by the stand taken by Sheikh Mujib, the Baloch and Pashtun nationalists demanded their ‘provincial rights’ from Mr Bhutto in exchange for approving the 1973 constitution consensually. But while Mr Bhutto conceded the NWFP and Balochistan to a NAP-JUI coalition, he refused to play ball with the provincial governments led by chief minister Ataullah Mengal in Quetta and Mufti Mahmud in Peshawar. Tensions erupted. Within six months, the federal government had sacked the two provincial governments, arrested the two chief ministers, two governors and forty-four MNAs and MPAs, obtained an order from the Supreme Court banning the NAP and charged everyone with high treason to be tried by a specially constituted Hyderabad Tribunal of handpicked judges. In time, a nationalist insurgency erupted and sucked the army into the province, pitting the Baloch tribal middle classes against the Sindhi-Punjabi oligarchy ruling Islamabad.

The 1970s revolt of the Baloch, which manifested itself in the form of an armed struggle against the Pakistan army in Balochistan, was provoked by federal impatience, high handedness and undemocratic constitutional deviation. It was the effect of unjust federal policies and not the cause of them. The irony was that Nawab Akbar Bugti served as an agent of the federal government when he was appointed as governor of Balochistan by Mr Bhutto throughout the time of the insurgency and spoke not a word in favour of Baloch rights or provincial autonomy!The greater irony was that the insurgency came to an end following the army coup of General Zia ul Haq against the civilian government of Mr Bhutto.

Soon thereafter, Gen Zia unfolded plans to desensitise the alienated Baloch and Pashtun leadership by a multi-faceted strategy aimed at co-opting the leaders into office while providing jobs and funds in the federal government to the alienated and insecure tribal middle classes. More significantly, he created maximum political space for the mullah parties in the NWFP and Balochistan so that they could be galvanised in the jihad against the USSR in neighbouring Afghanistan. Divided, fatigued and shorn of ideological moorings or avowed enemies like ZA Bhutto, the Baloch “movement” melted into memory over the next two decades. Nawab Akbar Bugti was consigned to negotiating rights and concessions only for his Bugti tribesmen in Sui. And the various civilian federal governments that came and went were content to accede to his local pecuniary demands. In the event, what has changed under General Pervez Musharraf to compel the Bugti and Marri tribes to join hands? **What has transpired in the last five years to lead to a reinvention of the “Baloch middle class nationalist struggle for provincial rights”?

The single most critical macro factor is the social and electoral engineering initiated by the military regime in the last five years. By sidelining the mainstream PPP and PMLN parties and their natural “progressive” allies like the ANP, BNP and others in favour of the mullahs of the Jama’at i Islami and Jamiat i Ulema i Islam, General Musharraf has alienated the old non-religious tribal leadership as well as the new secular urban middle classes of Balochistan who see no economic or political space for themselves in the new military-mullah dispensation. Similarly, by undermining the cause of provincial autonomy at the altar of local and federal government, the military regime has threatened the very roots of the constitutional consensus of 1973 enshrined in the Baloch consciousness. If the federal government had also delivered the great “development” paradigm and provided jobs and office, it might have avoided this sense of deprivation and resentment among the political and economic have-nots of the province. But it hasn’t. Balochistan remains a backwater province, infested by Taliban-type mullahs and corrupt, opportunist politicians, all beholden to the military regime in Islamabad. **

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^

We now have an unfortunate situation in which a “Baloch Liberation Army” comprising a few armed bands under tribal and middle class command is conducting military operations against the “agents and outposts of Islamabad” in Balochistan. Gwadar is an obvious target. It is a federal project without provincial approval or participation in which the non-Baloch civil-military elites are grabbing land for a song. The military cantonments planned at Gwadar, Dera Bugti and Kohlu (the capital of the Marri tribal lands) are viewed as outposts of repression and control, not development. The corrupt Frontier Corps is thoroughly hated and despised as a federal instrument of oppression. With the mad mullahs rampaging in much of Balochistan and defying the writ of the government, the rise of incipient armed nationalism poses a grave challenge to the stability and security of Pakistan.

Ten days ago, army helicopters strafed and bombed a strip of land between Turbat and Gwadar in Makran district where Baloch insurgents who had rocketed Gwadar earlier were thought to be holed in. In retaliation, an army truck was ambushed in Khuzdar last week, leaving five soldiers dead. Later the puppet chief minister of the province, Jam Yusuf, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on his life. Two days ago, the government retaliated by registering cases of murder against 12 people including a former chief minister of the province, Sardar Akhtar Mengal s/o Sardar Ataullah Mengal (also a former chief minister who was sacked and arrested in his time), and the secretary general of his Balochistan Nationalist Party. And now the federal interior minister, Mr Faisal Saleh Hayat, has warned the agitating Baloch tribesmen that the government is poised to launch a ‘crash programme’ against ‘subversive elements’ in the province.

A hastily formed four-party Baloch alliance, led by the Bugti and Mengal groups in Quetta, has condemned the spate of arrests of Baloch nationalists in Turbat, Gwadar, Kalat, Dera Bugti, Kohlu and Nushki. They have been joined by the ‘oppressed nations movement’ (PONM). Together they are accusing Islamabad of having launched an ‘unannounced military operation’ in Balochistan in which over 200 activists of the various nationalist parties have been unjustly detained.

Suddenly, we have a situation in which all the old “grievances” are being trotted out – Sui gas has never benefited the people of Balochistan; Gwadar is in the clutches of a land-grab mafia from Punjab; the federal government earns billions from gas in the province but gives only a fraction of that back to it for development; provincial autonomy promised in the 1973 constitution is non-existent, etc. Are things coming to a head?

The fact is that Balochistan remains a neglected backwater of Pakistan. Its politics has been ideologised and factionalised by federal interference and meddling in pursuit of dubious strategic regional interests. Its drought-stricken pastoral economy cannot even provide for its small population. This state of affairs has lasted fifty-seven years. No federal government has ever thought of bringing development to Balochistan and talk of tribal chiefs obstructing progress is nonsense. Past neglect has now strengthened the ranks of the nationalists and increased their clout.

The danger in Balochistan is two-fold. The nascent but alienated middle class in the few towns of Balochistan is now rallying behind the nationalists and accepts the ‘sardars’ spearheading PONM as ‘genuine leaders’ At the same time, the developmental lag in the province is sufficient to substantiate the anti-centre stance of PONM. That is why any military action in the province will completely lack local support. The other destabilising factor relates to the ongoing battle against the Taliban-Al Qaeda combine. The Pashtuns in Balochistan also have serious problems with the federal government’s policy on the Pak-Afghan frontier. This could be troublesome since Pashtun nationalism has also been responsible for the internationally reported presence of the Taliban in the province.

Therefore there is need to tread very carefully in Balochistan. The national interest demands that patience, negotiation and compromise should be the hallmark of federal policy rather than knee-jerk army operations and detentions. At the same time, the federal government should make serious efforts to clinch the new development conditions of resource sharing with local tribes and regions. The future of the oil and gas pipelines that are being planned across the mountains and deserts and coasts of Balochistan for the prosperity and stability of Pakistan hinges on a sensible and inclusionary approach to Balochistan.

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[QUOTE]
Originally posted by shawaiz: *
**Balochistan revisited*
Balochistan remains a backwater province, infested by Taliban-type mullahs and corrupt, opportunist politicians, all beholden to the military regime in Islamabad.
[/QUOTE]

Doesn't make sense. If they were all beholden to military, then why would they attack the army?

Baloch leaders got $$$ during Ruski invasion of Afghanistan. Ruskis are gone, and the $$$ have stopped so they are blackmailing the government.

Miscreant, who attack Gowader are saying, resume the $$$ supply or else! They know development won't stop, but the federal government can throw some pennies.

20

hmmm

well its high time our govt did something to develop balochistan

the enemies of the country wont let it happen tho

now that theres been some advancement in gwadar theyve started killingh the engineers working there so foreign companies and contractors get scared and pull out

the govt shud take strict notice and really make sure the devpt goes ahead as planned