Voices from Balochistan

Nawaz Sharif’s impassioned calls for restoration of harmony in Balochistan are welcome.

The PML-N chief, Nawaz Sharif, seems to have emerged as an ardent spokesman for the Baloch cause. After meeting with the Jamhoori Watan Party chief, Talal Bugti, in Lahore, he has warned against rigging of elections in Balcohistan and stated that only a fair, free and transparent process could bring about any hope for the province. Sharif has also recently held talks with Baloch National Party chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, with whose views he agreed entirely, asserting that it was essential that Mengal’s six-point agenda for justice in Balochistan is met.

This is all somewhat ironic since Sharif’s government of 1997, then in power at the Centre, had dismissed the Akhtar Mengal-led provincial government in Balochistan, triggering rage and disgruntlement in that province. It is good news that he seems to have changed his mind stating that at the time, he had been misled by  ‘certain elements’. After all, it is better that realisation comes late rather than never, even if much damage has been inflicted during the interim period.

Today, Sharif says that key Baloch leaders such as Akhtar Mengal, Talal Bugti, Sardar Ataullah Mengal and Sardar Khair Bux Marri be brought back into the Baloch picture. This seems somewhat unlikely given that both the senior Mengals and Marri are aged and ailing men, embittered by the loss of sons who died fighting for the nationalist cause in Balcohistan. Other key Baloch leaders remain in exile. The odds against restoring harmony quickly in Balochistan are high. It is far from certain that an election alone will solve matters.

Nevertheless, Sharif’s impassioned calls for restoration of harmony in Balochistan are welcome. It is vital that Punjab speaks out for the province’s cause. It has remained silent for far too long and the result is that today, even leaders like Mengal, who have called for an ‘amicable divorce’ are under attack from zealous nationalist elements who have fiercely criticised him for even talking to a mainstream leader.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2012.