The circus of intellects

Balochistan's crisis persists, with research neglected for bureaucracy, while democracy falters amid rising corruption

Thousands of pieces have been written expounding upon the security crisis in Balochistan. A thousand more will be written and this might be one of them. Time will keep passing, governments will keep coming and going, but the province will continue to suffer.

What is the solution? Well, there is no solution.

Balochistan is a "national" treasure (so far) and it won't be long before it is looted and destroyed. The current situation in the province proves that. But, again, it is sad that many cannot talk openly about the dynamics which are used to govern it. How will things end for Balochistan? We all know how. But we have been forced to remain tight lipped about it. No wonder Akhtar Mengal resigned. When an elected official says he feels helpless and powerless, you really begin questioning everything.

Counter-terrorism policies, on the other hand, play a major role in managing such situations. This is where research-based policies are formulated after delving deep into the logistics of the matter. Researchers, who have spent years and years reading and learning about the intricacies of counterterrorism, are asked for their opinion and directed to produce research in order to generate sound policies for the government to legislate upon.

The respected ulema of the country have been pushed to play their role in addressing counter-terrorism policies of the country by the present government. Now, that sounds like a plan B which could have been adopted as a value addition but the primary step should have been to acquire services of academics to assist the government in understanding the minute details of the current conflicts occurring throughout the country.

Maybe, we don't believe in research and we would be better off investing billions of rupees in procuring 4x4s for bureaucrats. Priorities, of course, play a major role in the economic well-being of a country. Thankfully, we know what our priorities are.

Fortunately, procurement of the said vehicles has been stayed temporarily by the court. How long does the interim order continue to hold field for? God knows.

The courts, as we've seen, have also perpetually struggled to have their orders enforced in this country. Officials and private parties always tend to find their way around. The apex court, again, directed the election commission to implement its judgement which was passed in the reserved seats case on 12th July. It seems as the entire structure of the system, when it comes to implementation, needs restructuring.

But this was a dialogue between two institutions of the system in which one received directions and the other delivered them, yet it took months. Now imagine a lay person in this situation. It takes years for them to go through the entire system and eventually get an order. What's the alternate? Many say its alternate dispute resolution. But keep in mind, the party against whom the award is passed in ADR is bound to challenge it before the court. So technically, the burden on the courts will remain just about the same. It'll just cost litigants more by paying for an extra step before they approach the courts. Good news for lawyers, bad news for the litigants.

As for Imran Khan. It doesn't take a genius to understand what is happening with him and who is doing this to him. The level of desperation is evident from the fact that PTI members were arrested from inside the Parliament. Try to make sense of that. Lawmakers were arrested from the premises where they make laws.

As bleak as that sounds, this isn't something new. PML-N supporters did it before it was cool. They attacked the Supreme Court back in 1997. History doesn't lie.

In essence, we really need to get our house straight. There is no progress, the education sector is in a shambles, skilled labour is leaving the country, bribery and fraud are on the rise while some genius running keeps sending me automated messages which read 'say no to corruption'. Give that man a raise.