At a joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament, specially convened for the purpose, the government unveiled its much-awaited Balochistan package. To keep the door open for further reforms the package has been named "Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan" which indicates it is meant to be the first step in a long journey towards the cherished goal.
Prime Minister Gilani resorted to poetic language while speaking about the future of Balochistan after the implementation of the package. He promised to 'heal the broken hearts' in Balochistan and making the province 'a cradle of great civilization, culture and traditions'. The package aims at addressing some of the grievances voiced by the Baloch leadership.
These include facilitation of political exiles' return to their homeland, release of political workers, initiation of a political dialogue with major stakeholders in the province, appointment of a fact-finding commission to investigate the circumstances leading to Nawab Akbar Bugti's killing, judicial inquiry into the killing of three Baloch leaders, an end to construction of cantonments, withdrawal of armed forces from Sui and Kohlu, tracing missing citizens and facilitating their early return, provincial consent in the launch of mega projects, 10 percent of profits for development of areas with natural resources and appointment of a commission to look into the allotment and sale of lands in Gwadar.
Such is the level of misunderstanding that many Baloch and Pakhtun leaders from the province, both inside and outside the Parliament, have reacted coldly to Gilani's effusive remarks. Some of the critics maintained that the package did not go beyond promises and made no concrete offers.
A number of leaders expressed the fear that the government was powerless and would not be able to override the offstage players who, according to them, wanted to maintain the status quo. There was a widespread complaint that only those supporting the government policies were taken on board while the real leadership comprising the nationalist parties was not consulted.
A number of critics maintained that the package ignored the vital issue of the provincial autonomy. Others expressed dissatisfaction with the appointment of a commission to probe Nawab Bugti's killing maintaining that it amounted to foot dragging. Outside the Parliament, JWP leader Talal Bugti expressed reservations demanding an urgent withdrawal of the army from Balochistan. Among the exiled leaders Hayrbiar Marri, Gazan Marri and Khan of Kalat Suleman Dawood rejected the package.
Among the few Baloch leaders who hailed the package were Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Mohammad Jamali and Minister of State for Industries Ayatullah Durrani. Keeping in view the long history of the sufferings and repeated betrayals of the people of Balochistan, doubts and suspicions expressed are by no means incomprehensible.
The situation in Balochistan became highly volatile after the killing of Bugti during the Musharraf era. The killing was condemned all over the country and it was widely believed that Musharraf was personally responsible for it. In Balochistan, the incident further heightened the sense of deprivation. A section of youth was made to believe that it was impossible to attain Balochistan's rights through peaceful means.
Expectations roused by Zardari's apology to the people of Balochistan and the appointment of a committee to resolve the issue were dampened when the committee failed to make any headway for over a year. This helped the militants to pressurize the Balochi nationalist parties to abandon mainstream politics, which led to some parliamentarians resigning their seats.
Had the government agreed to announce the CBMs suggested by the nationalist parties at the time as a precondition for attending the all parties conference proposed by Gilani, some of the doubts and suspicions might have been removed. As things stand the government needs to seek inputs from all stakeholders in Balochistan to make necessary amendments and additions in the package.
The final package should have enough in it to strengthen the hands of those who want to be a part of mainstream politics but fear isolation. Unless this is done, there would be few in Balochistan willing to support the federation. Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee working on provincial autonomy should also come out with recommendations that ensure maximum autonomy possible within a federation.
Balochistan needs to be brought at par with the other provinces at the earliest. This should not be difficult if its rightful share in natural resources is put at its disposal. Meanwhile, the existing trust deficit has to be removed through confidence building measures that include the trial of the person who ordered Bugti's killing, the removal of army to the barracks and abandoning the plans to build new cantonments.
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