Nawaz Sharif’s Visit to Quetta: Real Objectives By Amjad Hussain

He also called for constituting an independent judicial commission to probe into assassination of veteran Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti. He also demanded for withdrawal of all politically-motivated cases lodged against the Baloch leadership and immediate release and recovery of all missing people. Alluding to President Asif Ali Zardari, he said Balochistan issue could not be sorted out by seeking mere apology for the injustices and excesses of the past, but, by taking some practical steps by providing the Baloch populace with their due constitutional, legal, economic and financial rights and recognition of their hold over their resources. He asserted that the wound of the Baloch people could not be healed properly unless the excesses committed by the previous military regime are made up for in accordance with the Baloch fellows’ whims and wishes.

He said it was high time to bring the disgruntled Baloch nationalist leaders and the blazing Baloch extremist groups to the national mainstream by redressing their grievances. The PML-N chief expressed his gratitude to Balochistan nationalist leaders including Nawab Akbar Bugti, Sardar Attaullah Mengal, Hasil Khan Bizenjo and Mehmood Khan Achakzai for their support to his party to get the eighth amendment repealed by the parliament back in 1997. He assured the Baloch masses of raising voice for their rights in and outside the parliament and at every other forum. According to National Party leader, Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Sharif also assured to take up the issue of the Baloch missing persons and the murders of Nawab Bugti, Lala Munir Ahmed, Sher Mohammad Baloch and Ghulam Mohammad Baloch in the parliament.

Somewhat, the same feelings and thoughts notions were expressed Shahbaz Sharif, Nawaz’s younger brother and Punjab chief minister, during his last visit to Quetta on November 18. He also laid the foundation stone of a 100-bed cardiac hospital in the provincial capital of Balochistan at a cost of two billion rupees and augmentation of Balochistan students’ quota in educational institutions of Punjab and made so many other benevolent announcements. Earlier, he had also donated Rs100 million for the earthquake-affectees of Balochistan in 2008 as a goodwill gesture towards the most-neglected province. He had also called for compensation to the Baloch people for the sufferings which they faced at the hands of the ex-military regime and taking all the stakeholders including Army on board to address the Balochistan issue through negotiations.

Sharif Brothers have been expressing their empathy with the Baloch nationalists for quite long time and seem to be really altruistic and sincere in their efforts to get the Balochistan issue resolved once and for all. But, amazingly, the stress of both the brothers has always been on making up for the injustices and excesses committed to Balochistan only by the previous military regime instead of taking into account the entire sixty-two years of Pakistan’s history. They both have also a bee in the bonnet about punishing Nawab Akbar Bugti’s killer, Pervez Musharraf. It seems as if both the brothers consider that all the problems and crises which Balochistan is facing today are all due to policies of a former military dictator and they would be resolved as soon as Musharraf is hanged. The motive behind the demand to get Musharraf punished and take only his regime into account for the past sixty-two years of Punjab’s excesses with Balochistan seems to be aimed more at personal grudge than the expression of solidarity and sympathy with the Baloch people.

No doubt, Balochistan suffered a lot during Musharraf regime as it lost several of its prominent figures like Nawab Akbar Bugti, Nawabzada Balaach Marri and Ghulam Mohammad Baloch while a number of Baloch political workers were allegedly whisked away by intelligence agencies. But, the history of actual contention between Islamabad and the Baloch leaders dates back in 1947 soon after emergence of Pakistan on the world map. All the successive rulers, mostly belonging to Punjab, always looked down upon Balochistan and never took the Baloch question seriously due to which the issue compounded with each passing year and finally rose with a vengeance with several Baloch groups demanding independence today. Sharif brothers must also admit and demand for making up for the excesses of the Punjab-dominant Establishment with Balochistan over the past six decades and must not put the onus only a particular military dictator. They must also confess Punjab’s policy of discrimination and atrocity towards the Bengali people which forced them to secede from Pakistan in 1971 with the help of Indian Army.

Hadn’t it been the biased policies of Punjab, there would not have been any state by the name of Bangladesh in the world today. It is a tragedy in Pakistan that politicians always try to shift the fallouts of their evil actions to others while declaring themselves altogether innocent and inculpable. It will, certainly, take a long time when our worthy politicians dare to show moral courage to admit their mistakes and wrongdoings. Balochistan issue can not be solved by hanging only the killers of Nawab Bugti or releasing the detained political workers as is being deemed by Sharif brothers, it will surely need much more measures, especially the confidence-building ones, to be taken to reach a conclusion as some of the Baloch nationalist parties are not ready to trust the rulers anymore without an international guarantor due to their tricky policies and paper-confined announcements.

Moreover, one can easily recall Sharif brothers’ statements about Indian hands in Balochistan unrest along with what they say concrete evidences. These statements indicate that both the brothers believe that India is supporting the Baloch militants to fight against the government and destroy national installations in Balochistan. Contrary to Sharif brothers’ allegations of Indian involvement in Balochistan, Baloch nationalist parties as well as the militant groups have always dispelled this impression with justification that there would have been a lot of vigorous attacks on law enforcement personnel and national assets in Balochistan if they had a foreign supporter, be it India or any other power. Now, the statement shows contradiction in Sharif brothers’ views regarding Balochistan as on one hand they support the Baloch struggle for their rights billing it as rationale and assure their full cooperation to them, but, on the other hand, they say that India is behind the Baloch struggle which is meant to disintegration of Pakistan. These contradictory stances of Sharif brothers have created a doubt in Balochistan people’s mind regarding their notion about solution of the province’s problems which needs to be clarified.

In fact, the actual intention of Sharif brothers behind their good-will gestures and visits to Balochistan is aimed more at making their party popular and stronger in the province to give a tough competition to its rival PPP in next elections than getting the issues of the province resolved which they are highly propagating by exhibiting their sympathy and solidarity with the Baloch people. And in doing so, they have succeeded to a great extent which is also evident from joining of their party by two prominent Baloch leaders namely Gen ® Abdul Qadir Baloch, the ex corps commander and governor Balochistan, and Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, the chief of Jhalawan. Another notable leader Nawabzada Changez Marri, who is the son of eminent Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, has already joined PML-Nawaz while a number of PML-Q legislatures in Balochistan Assembly are also preparing to defect from their party to join Nawaz group. Sharif brothers also know that they can not get Balochistan issue resolved without the will and volition of omnipotent Establishment and top military brass in front of which the political parties have no say. It is also an open secret that both these powers in Pakistan would never like to see Balochistan issue resolved as they can not afford losing the grounds for blackmailing India and at the same time assuring the world of her interference in internal affairs of Pakistan and fanning of terrorism in Balochistan.