With grim empathy

By Ejaz Haider

That the federal government has taken the much-required and fairly belated step to deal with Balochistan and its grievances through the Aghaz-e Haqooq-e Balochistan Package must be appreciated; that alienated Baloch leaders, most of them outside of the political process, would reject it outright was expected.

Between what needs to be done and what the Baloch want done lies the terrain that needs to be negotiated.

Easy and simple? No. Consider.

Alienated Baloch leaders are either overtly secessionist or demand that the federal government surrender constitutional authority much beyond a federal framework. They talk of confederation, a euphemism for ultimately breaking away. This is not the place to go into the history of confederal arrangements, but two quick points need to be made.

If Balochistan were to be given the status of a confederating unit, a similar arrangement would also need to be put in place for other “federating” units. There is no such thing as Balochistan as a standalone confederal unit. It must be borne in mind that, because confederal units are essentially sovereign states that relinquish some of the rights to a central authority, Pakistan would cease to be what it is under the current constitutional arrangement.

Secondly, practice has shown that confederating states, being sovereign, will invariably get into tension with the central government on the issue of the exercise of sovereignty where such a decision needs to be made in relation to collective good. Sovereignty has this bad habit of demanding that the buck must stop somewhere. And that always creates problems; indeed, historically, the exercise of ultimate sovereignty has been an almost irresolvable problem in confederal systems.

The federal government’s Balochistan Package, therefore, and with good reason, is an attempt to resolve issues within the current federal arrangement. This should make one thing very clear: those who have dismissed the package as woefully inadequate are rejecting the framework under which it is being offered and not because it does not afford onward movement.

It could be an opening position, and one hopes that it is because opening positions can be deliberately maximalist: the parties can start out with the maximum and then dilute their demands in search of common ground. On the federal government’s side the package is a stated “first step” – aghaz-e haqooq – and not the final text. If anything, by taking the first declaratory step the federal government is signalling that much needs to be done.

The Package also makes plain in the preamble that the federal government is conscious “that the Provinces have a sense of deprivation…”; acknowledges “that the question of provincial autonomy needs to be revisited and ownership of the Provinces over their resources reasserted in the Constitution;” and states “that financial assistance…is not a substitute to [sic!] provincial autonomy…”.

The document divides issues into four broad categories – constitutional, political, administrative and economic. Each category lists measures that are either to be taken and are under consideration or will be immediately taken. The package also establishes a 3-tiered monitoring mechanism to oversee what is being done and submit reports. Finally, the federal minister for provincial coordination is to certify at the end of each financial year to both Houses of parliament “the amount of monies spent for the implementation of these proposals”.

This is as good as it gets at this stage if the framework for discussion is a federal mechanism. But while the federal government has shown its resolve to make amends and start a process, it also knows that certain elements will not bite simply because their politics revolves around rejecting the federation. In practical terms it means that incidents of terrorism will continue even as the government tries to bring into the ambit of talks as many Baloch leaders as possible. This necessitates accepting the fact that force may have to be used to prevent the spoilers from muddying the process.

A tricky balance this effort requires. This is why it is important to concede some demands regarding troop pullout while retaining enough force on the ground, for the time being, to ensure that violence can be controlled. Similarly, the package talks about releasing political prisoners and return of the exiles except those involved in acts of terrorism. Other measures include judicial probes into missing persons and killing of some Baloch leaders.

One thing should be obvious: Balochistan needs to be handled and the effort must be serious, sincere and Baloch-friendly. At the same time it is important to see whether the federal government is doing what it is from a position of strength or weakness. This is precisely what the Baloch would test, especially those who do not believe in the federal framework.

What this means in policy terms is to move with grim empathy. The government cannot be insensitive to the feelings of the Baloch; nor can it be mushy. The first offers no solution to a problem that relates to the question of human rights and dignity before all else; the second is useless because doing the right thing often demands a mix of softness and strength. Strict measures, where necessary, are unavoidable.

Would this work? Depends. Not so much on the rejectionists scuttling it – by finding faults in the package they have already begun that process – but on the federal government’s ability to sustain the process and deliver on its promises. The package now offers a dialogue framework where none existed. Given that the government managed to pull through delicate and quite nettlesome negotiations on the National Finance Commission Award, it should be able to work this also if it remains on the ball.

But most importantly, dealing with Balochistan in particular and the issue of Centre-Provinces relations and power-sharing in general should become an institutionalised process regardless of who is in power in Islamabad.

A good beginning this, it must be taken to its logical end.

(The writer is consulting editor of The Friday Times and host of Samaa TV’s political talk-show, Siyasiyaat. He can be reached at ejazhaider26@gmail.com) – Courtesy: The Friday Times, Lahore