Senator Sanaullah Baloch writes about Endless
discrimination against Baloch people
The Nation 2007
Balochistan: Endless discrimination
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 SENATOR SANAULLAH BALOCH Pakistan's military-led democratic dispensation dose not believes in "freely expressed will of the people to determine their own political, social, and cultural system and full participation in all aspects of their lives". Balochistan is far away from the power base and its real benefits. The successive military and civil governments believed in ruling them by guns and cannons to enforce their own version of "development and democracy". Balochistan has been a source of constant conflict and instability for decades because of its geopolitical position and natural wealth. Politically and economically deprived Baloch population has gone through continuous military operations since 1948 and fresh offensives were launched after the October 1999 military takeover. Overlooking the major concerns of the Baloch and neglecting the very basic idea of democracy and development Musharaf regime announced establishing military garrisons parallel with centrally controlled development projects in Balochistan. All the mega-projects launched in Balochistan including Gwadar port, Mirani Dam, Coastal highway, cantonments, extraction of copper-gold deposits, oil and gas development do not envisage any participation or benefit for the province and its people. Islamabad refuses to listen to and legislate on the concerns and fears of the Baloch who going through endless discrimination, mass arrests and disappearances. Since the beginning of the military operation, not a single case has been brought before the courts. Detainees are kept incommunicado and those in authority are determined to uproot all political dissidents in order to establish the writ of the state. Poets, politicians, journalist and political activists are all being intimidated. Every family in Balochistan has a story to tell but fear prevents it from doing so. Plucky Salim Baloch of Karachi who filed a statement and affidavit in Sindh High Court regarding his seven-month "enforced disappearance" and suspected
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Balochistan: Endless discrimination
captors disappeared again on January 2. The killing of Nawab Bugti and Akthar Mengal's detention for the alleged kidnapping of MI officials has raised many questions. Since 1948, successive civil and military regimes had pursued colonial policies towards Balochistan to keep the Baloch poor and the region dependent on Islamabad. In the last 56 years, 13 alien Governors were appointed to govern Balochistan with specific agenda to crush and intimidate the Baloch. Again, Governor, IG Police, IG FC, heads of intelligence agencies and provincial secretaries have been brought from outside with assigned task. On the contrary Baloch nationalist ruled Balochistan only for three-and-a-half years. Sardar Attauallah Mengal ruled Balochistan just for nine months (197273) and spent four-and-a-half years in jail and lost a young son. During 1973-77 Federal government launched massive military operation in Balochistan, which lasted for four years and resulted in killings of five thousand innocent people, displacement of one and half hundred thousand people. Islamabad is fully responsible for less development, social backwardness and unprecedented poverty level in province. Central government is controlling province and development policies, financial resources, selecting political agenda and "leaders". Islamabad's handpicked MMA and PML coalition in Balochistan has brought this province under heavy debt and interest payment. The provincial budget 2005-06 had a deficit of Rs 13.24 billion. The Musharraf regime keeps claiming credit for empowering the Baloch and carrying out massive development in the province. But the fact remains that the State Bank of Pakistan has placed Balochistan at the top of the list of borrowers (Rs 15 billion overdraft), meaning thereby it is seen as financially mismanaged province. The provincial government run by strangers has not only ruined already shattered administrative institutions, but it also mercilessly plundered resources of the province. Land in coastal area and Gwadar worth billions of rupees has been allotted to outsiders virtually for peanuts. This land could have been properly auctioned and the revenue generated could have been on education, health, social infrastructure as well as on debt retirement. Contracts for copper and gold deposits have been awarded to Chinese and foreign companies without consulting provincial governments. Balochistan only gets two percent royalty out of its wealth but Islamabad and Beijing shares 48% and 50% profit respectively. Not
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Balochistan: Endless discrimination
a single human resource centre and college has been established in mineral rich and coastal areas of the province to produce future work force. The last 56 years' of controlled development and poor governance has resulted in unspeakable socio-economic crisis in Balochistan. The province, which has been supplying natural gas to the rest of the Pakistan for industrial and domestic consumption for over five decades, doesn't have pipeline catering gas to its own population. According to Social policy and Development Center (SPDC) "an overview of the development scene in Balochistan is discomforting and the extent of relative deprivation in the province is appalling". The percentage of districts that are classified as high deprivation are 92 percent in Balochistan, 62 percent in NWFP, 50 percent in Sindh and only 29 percent in the Punjab. SPDC review also revealed that the percentage of population living in a high degree of deprivation stands at 88 percent in Balochistan, 51 percent in NWFP, 49 percent in Sindh and 25 percent in the Punjab. According to poverty related reports the percentage of population living below the poverty line stands 63 percent in Balochistan, 26 percent in the Punjab, 29 percent in NWFP, 38 percent in rural and 27 percent in urban Sindh. Balochistan has the lowest literacy rate because of "literacy control" policy of federal government, which probably believes that educated and politically conscious population will not allow the plunder of Baloch wealth. Seventy-six percent primary schools in the province are shelter less, 60 percent primary schools have only one untrained and unqualified teacher. However, 30 percent growth of religious schools has been recorded in Balochistan under the present coalition set-up. Baloch youths are kept deprived of all forms of contemporary knowledge. Few institutions have been established in Capital city of Quetta for students from the elite class. The systematic denial of basic education and education related facilities in Balochistan are reflection on those in authority who do not tire of claiming that they had done better than all previous governments to promote literacy. Highest unemployment is recorded in province due to lack of basic infrastructure, financial bias against Baloch entrepreneurs, lack of industries and agriculture in private sector. In the government sector, Baloch youths are also denied employment and non-Baloch including those who recently migrated here from other areas have greater chances of being inducted on important positions. Even Baloch and local population are deprived of unskilled jobs in Sui gas company
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Balochistan: Endless discrimination
(SSGC). In Dera Bugti, heavily guarded compound of Pakistan petroleum Limited is virtually a no-go area for the Baloch. Baloch nationalists unanimously presented their demand draft to Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan in November 2004. The issues raised in demand draft were of serious and urgent resolution and doomed to create confidence-building environment. However, committee refused to give any serious consideration to the demands like halting work on Gwadar port until detail feasibility reports on socio-economical and administrative implications, end to construction of new garrisons and cancellation of all illegal land allotments in Gwadar. Baloch nationalists keep on insisting that development projects should be linked with local ownership, bringing the Gwadar Port under the control of the provincial government. Then there was a demand from the members of Parliamentary committee on Balochistan that constitution's Concurrent Legislative List and subjects related with provinces in federal Legislative List must be devolved to the provinces. Formation of the much talked about Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan and polite response from Baloch nationalist to resolve Balochistan's longstanding issues through dialogue and discussions caused frustration and disappointment to the hardliners in Islamabad, especially those who believe that the Baloch demands for greater political autonomy need to be responded by guns and canons. The commission proved as an eye wash and trap for the veteran Baloch leaders, particularly Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti who had a great trust and hope in committee. Islamabad militarized approach has led to three years of violence, widespread human rights abuses, mass internal displacement and the deaths of hundreds of civilians and military personnel. Thousands of unarmed Baloch civilians, including women and children are being forcibly displaced from their hometowns and denying them any facility. Internal Displaced Monitoring Centre in its report published in October 2006 has reported that two hundred thousand people have been displaced only from Kohlu and Dera Bugti districts
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Balochistan: Endless discrimination
in 2006. Islamabad's ill-conceived policies and uninterrupted use of force are widening the gap between Balochistan and the federation. Islamabad is required to take appropriate measures to restore the confidence of the traumatized Baloch population and also to put an end to the discrimination against moderate politicians. As mentioned in ICG September 2006 report that Government has to be aware of that it faces conflict with a broad-based movement for political, economic and social empowerment and initiate a sincere and serious dialogue with Baloch nationalist parties. Islamabad should end reliance on military solution, and give a serious thought to withdrawing army and dismantling all military and paramilitary check posts in the province. It must also ensure respect for constitutional and democratic freedoms, allowing all political parties to function freely, and express their views freely. The writer is a member of the Senate of Pakistan. Email: balochbnp@gmail.com http://www.sanabaloch.com Twitter: @Senator_Baloch
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