If the army steps in Quetta, so will international forces: Lashkari Raisani

Says demand is part of a plot to destabilise Pakistan and further complicate the crisis in Balochistan.

ISLAMABAD:

Handing Quetta to the army would ultimately pave the way for the arrival of international forces in the province, the former president of the Pakistan Peoples Party in Balochistan Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani has argued.

The demand to hand control to the army came from the frustrated Hazara minority who recently lost 200 people in terrorist attacks. The Baloch reacted badly to demand as they regard the army as their oppressors.

Lashkari, together with former PPP federal minister Amanullah Ghichki, was of the opinion that the demand for the army to step in was part of an international plan to destabilise Pakistan and further complicate the crisis in Balochistan.

“Balochistan, particularly Quetta, has turned into a field of an international proxy war, as the players are creating a situation that suits their economic interests in the province,” Lashkari said.



The January 10 bombing in Quetta killed almost 90 Hazaras led to the dismissal of the provincial government and the imposition of Governor’s Rule.

Sympathising with the Hazaras, Lashkari said that all the political and democratic forces should express solidarity with the ethnic minority. He said that the state would face terrible consequences if their protests were not joined by other political forces.

Referring to the photographs of the protesting Hazaras printed in newspapers and coverage on TV showing them holding up portraits of Iranian spiritual leaders, Lashkari urged that the community should not feel isolated by the majority in this time of trial.

He reiterated his earlier claim that the worsening law and order situation in Balochistan was a part of a 1,400-year-old rivalry between the Arabs and Persians. “This age-old conflict is also visible in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain and Syria,” he said.

The two Baloch leaders, Lashkari and Ghichki, proposed that the establishment should rely on political elements in the province to reach a resolution. “Maintenance of law and order and countering terrorism is the responsibility of the police and other law enforcing agencies while the army is responsible for [upholding] national security,” Lashkari said.



Giving weight to Lashkari’s opinion, Senator Pervaiz Rashid said that his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was strictly against any brutality inflicted upon people irrespective of their faith and belief. But he was critical of the demands made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan and Minhajul Quran International’s Tahirul Qadri to hand over Quetta to the army.

“This demand has been made by people who are unaware of state craftsmanship,” Rashid said.

Describing the role of the army, Rashid said that “constitutionally, the army is available to the civil administration to maintain peace in any of the part of the country.” He said that those calling out for the provincial capital to be handed to the military were “ill-informed about constitutional provisions.” This point was buttressed by security analyst Lt General (retd) Talat Masood who said that the civilian government has the constitutional authority to call in the army to its aid to handle critical issues.



Another solution was proposed by the former deputy chairman of the Senate, Jan Jamali. He has urged the federal and provincial governments to use the police and paramilitary Frontier Corps to end the bloodshed. He said that the FC should be placed under the command of the civilian government.

Former chief secretary Abdul Hakeem Baloch was also against army’s takeover in Balochistan and said that the prevalent crisis in the province was never addressed by military rulers. However, Baloch was of the opinion that the army should be involved in holding free, fair and transparent elections in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2013.