Balochistan crises

The Balochistan crises refuse to relent; in fact they keep coming up and multiplying. While the Supreme Court's interim order questioning constitutional authority of Raisani government holds the field, the chief minister is beset with a revolt within his party. So there is no hope of an early return to normality in the province, as the governments, both in Quetta and Islamabad, do not accept that what they face in Balochistan is essentially an issue of bad governance.
In its interim order of October 12, the apex court had asked the provincial law officers under which constitutional authority the provincial government was discharging its functions. They haven't come up with an answer yet, and going by their positions taken during the court hearings on Thursday and Friday it can be safely deduced that they would remain steadfast in their stance when hearing is resumed later this month. The un-invited and unwanted presence of Interior Minister Rahman Malik in the court on Friday and his sparring with the judges clearly suggests that the governments, both provincial and federal, are likely to persevere in their defiance. Not only this; their stand on the other hand was that Balochistan is in turmoil not because of bad governance, but because of the insurgency conditions created by anti-state elements, in some cases assisted by the 'foreign hand'. If that were the case why then except for sending in the FC the federal government did nothing else, the court asked the Interior Minister. Will the government remain stuck in that groove we hope to know on November 20 when the apex court resumes the hearing of this case.
But there was one significant departure from the denial posture of the Balochistan government, in that Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani showed up at the Supreme Court, in Islamabad, for the first time - though he is said to be spending more time in the federal capital than anywhere else. And there was a reason for the departure from his usual cavalier moods: his move to seek a kind of vote of confidence of the Balochistan Assembly was scuttled by no one else but the Speaker of the House, Aslam Bhootani, his fellow party worker. The Speaker says how he could entertain the chief minister's call to summon the house into session when the apex court has questioned the latter's constitutional position. And if that was not a hard enough blow to Raisani's hold over his party his provincial political boss, Sadiq Umrani, went further and instantly endorsed his suspension from party membership. Apparently, his membership suspension had the blessing of the top PPP leadership, as there was a detectable mismatch of positions taken by Rahman Malik and the provincial law officer in the court. It appears that Raisani is now a hot potato and his party doesn't seem to be interested in standing by him. His failure as chief executive of troubled Balochistan being so colossal and his wounds so much undeniably self-inflicted he is left with very little support in the provincial assembly - though of late he has been trying hard to put up a big show.
Has the Raisani-led Balochistan government failed to deliver? No doubt it has. But it would like to remain in power whatever it costs the people, in clear defiance of the Supreme Court's verdict. The ball is now in court of the federal government, which is under constitutional obligation "to protect every province against external aggression and internal disturbances and to ensure that the government of every province is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution". That being the position, a quote from the Supreme Court judgement on the Sharifs' eligibility case appears pertinent: "Democracy is not merely holding of periodical elections or of governance of legislative majority. It is a multi-dimensional politico-moral concept epitomising the abiding values of equality, human dignity, tolerance, enjoyment of fundamental rights and due process of law".