Healing Balochistan

Balochistan has been smarting under the wounds of an insurgency and violence for long. This warrants special focus on the province by the state. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the province’s capital on January 30 should be seen as part of the effort to apply balm on its real and perceived injuries. Predictably, he announced the pouring of more federal money into the province’s key infrastructure projects. The Rs18 billion worth of infrastructure package he unveiled is to be used for completion of three highway projects — Gwadar-Rato Dero, Khuzdar-Naag and Kalat-Chaman.



Giving good tidings to the province’s public representatives in a meeting, the prime minister announced that 90 per cent of the benefits of the Pak-China Economic Corridor would be ploughed back into the province in the shape of more employment opportunities. The visit was not meant to throw money at the province’s problems alone. The prime minister also used the occasion to signal the government’s willingness to talk to the disgruntled Baloch nationalist elements. He told provincial authorities to form a committee to initiate a dialogue with the angry Baloch and set in motion measures to assimilate the local youth into the mainstream.

The twin moves must be welcomed, given the fact that separatist sentiments are finding acceptance among a significant proportion of the population. The centre must be seen to be doing enough to redress the province’s grievances and confront the propaganda that it is out to suppress its rights or grab its resources. Opening talks can break the logjam in Balochistan and bring dividends of peace and normalcy. The use of force has been tried umpteenth times in the past, with little to show for in the way of stamping out the problem. Let reconciliation be given a chance. Development initiatives should complement and back up this effort at peace-building. But at the same time, past mistakes must be avoided where funds for uplift had gone to waste. The province must be helped in enhancing its capacity to use its allocations effectively, so that there is little opening for the unscrupulous to siphon off the money. This is crucial to lift the province from the bottom of the pile.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st,  2014.

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