Balochistan package, a very good beginning

By Siddiq Baluch

At last, the Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani has presented the Balochistan Package before the Joint Session of the Parliament. Though it falls short of the right expectations of the common people, particularly all those waging a political struggle for years and decades, it should be given serious consideration by all the stakeholders before rejecting it. Views of the people on the political front are well-known and also their expectations, however, the Government will hardly concede to their demands without a right political pressure.

An isolated Baloch movement for rights having no linkages with rest of Pakistan will hardly bring a positive change in the mindset of the Pakistani establishment. We have the experience of Tamil Elum in Sri Lanka and the Palestinians who lost all the chances of compromise and thus lost their battle for rights. Baloch movement is at the crossroads and the political stakeholders will have to rethink on the issue of grand compromise with the Pakistani establishment to carry forward their political struggle within the framework of one Pakistan.

The government should be categorical in announcing a general amnesty for all without differentiating between the ‘terrorists’ or legitimate political workers opposed to the government policies. There are examples that the government had announced general amnesty to all in the past, including those who fought in the hills or those who received military training on a foreign land. Thus, there should be no discrimination this time and the Establishment should not keep any lever on this count. Let all the people in self exile should return to Pakistan and join the democratic process and they should be facilitated and not harassed on any pretext.

The Frontier Corps, Balochistan, is presently under the command and control of Interior Ministry and all the officers in the FC are from the regular Pakistan Army. The government should ensure that it should remain under the effective control of the Chief Minister or the Chief Executive of the Province and both the Army and the Interior Ministry should not have over riding powers on security or other issues. It is a good thing that most of the check posts, including the notorious one of the Pakistan Coast Guards at Uthal, are being removed. Mushahid Hussain Syed Committee could not remove the Coast Guards at Uthal despite tall claims. It was retained to this date. We prefer to suggest that the Provincial government should raise its own force-the Balochistan Constabulary and the Balochistan Levies-under the command and control of local officers ending the controversy of using Army or civil armed forces during the political upheaval.

On economic front, the government should transfer the entire profit from Saindak Copper and Gold Project to the Provincial government before the project is handed over to Balochistan after expiry of the present contract with the Chinese Company in a year or two. It is a welcome decision that the wellhead price of gas all over Pakistan had been brought at par. The government will pay the arrears to Balochistan on account of Gas Development Surcharge (GDS) since the natural gas discovered in 1954.

The Federal Government will pay Rs 120 billions as arrears to Balochistan in next ten years. In order to preserve the fishing grounds for the local fishermen and develop the fisheries sector, the ban on huge trawlers and poaching by huge fishing vessels will go a long way in improving the lot of poor fishermen ignored for centuries. In case of Gwadar Port, the Chief Minister is made Chairman with seven Balochs as Members of the Board while six technocrats from other province will run the Gwadar Port in future.

However, the real issue is complete provincial autonomy and the coalition partners in Balochistan had already suggested that the Central Government should retain merely four subjects-Defence, Foreign Affairs, Finance and Communications-transferring all other subjects to the Provinces. In such a case, the Baloch people will be master of their own destiny with a decent distribution of power between the Centre and Provinces. Let us hope that the Constitutional proposals are presented and approved by the Parliament before any new political crisis in the country. The Balochistan package had been delayed inordinately and for political reasons as some elements in our society was opposed to ending the present stalemate between the Government and the Baloch people.

(The writer is the editor-in-chief of Daily Balochistan Express, Quetta)