Promises, promises — again

Pur Aman Balochistan Package is to foster peace & stability, but history shows chances of it doing so are slim

The Balochistan issue has risen, probably briefly, to the top of the political pile once again. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid a visit on August 6 and came bearing a basket of what are being termed ‘inducements’ to the restive and unhappy people of Balochistan in the hope that they might become a little more pacific in their ways. The low-level insurgency that has plagued the province for more than a decade has been a significant impediment to development in a province that is thinly populated, difficult to police and resource-rich. The Pur Aman Balochistan Package is to foster peace and stability, but if historical precedent is anything to go by, the chances of it doing so are slim indeed.



The prime minister was accompanied by a bevy of dignitaries from the federal and provincial governments, as well as Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif. The prime minister received a comprehensive briefing on all aspects of the many problems faced by the province, from security to the various initiatives taken by the provincial and federal governments. He spoke of the cornerstone of development being the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying that Balochistan would be the principal beneficiary thereof — a statement that somewhat flies in the face of published assessments of the CPEC.

All present at the meeting vowed to provide full security to the CPEC. Unfortunately, those currently engaged in the insurgency were not present at the meeting and thus they gave no such undertaking, wherein lies the rub. Governments can promise what they like to the people of Balochistan, can inaugurate any number of projects (the prime minister laid the foundation stones of three during his visit) and do so in all sincerity — but unless and until the grievances of the people of the province are addressed via a political solution acceptable to them, the insurgency will burn on. Balochistan does indeed have enormous potential — Gwadar port, the infrastructure connections north to Kashgar and vast natural resources — but the failure to find, or even seek, a political solution will forever poison the water. Foundation stones solve nothing.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th,  2015.

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