BNP-M May Quit Ruling Coalition On Reko Diq

A day after boycotting the federal cabinet meeting over the issue of Reko Diq, Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) President Sardar Akhtar Mengal has decided to convene his party’s central executive committee meeting to take a final decision about quitting the coalition government.

A senior party leader said the date for the CEC would be announced within a couple of days as negotiations between Mr Mengal and the cabinet committee formed by the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif the other day, were in progress in Islamabad over reservations on the recently bulldozed legislation pertaining to foreign investment.

COMMENT : The aftermath — Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Polls in Balochistan have always simply provided the much needed legitimacy to the brutal actions that the establishment had taken to suppress the rightful demands of the Baloch nationalists 

The elections in Balochistan will be less than credible because elections held in an environment of terror and harassment, where people are permanently terrorised by the security forces and their proxy death squads can never be free or fair. The turnout will be naturally extremely low due to the overall security situation, which has for long been appalling for the Baloch and Hazaras, and also the boycott. Although the physical turnout will probably be extremely low, the participation figures will be manipulated to give them a semblance of respectability. Incidentally, the turnout even during the un-boycotted and peaceful elections of 2002 was a pathetic 29 percent. The people’s interest in elections in Balochistan waned a long time ago as these brought them more misery and sufferings while only the elected and their families thrived. The extremely successful strikes of May 9 and 10 have put paid to expectations that people can be forced to come out to vote.

جبری گمشدگیاں، سیاسی جماعتوں کا امتحان

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پہاڑ کی گود میں واقع دو کمروں پر مشتمل سکول میں سو سے زائد بچے زیر تعلیم ہیں، ان بچوں نے سکول کی یونیفارم نہیں بلکہ گھر کے عام کپڑے پہنے ہوئے ہیں۔

نیو کاہان کے علاقے میں واحد سہولت ہے جو حکومت کی جانب سے فراہم کی گئی تاہم استاد پھر بھی تعینات نہیں، کچھ نوجوان مقامی لوگوں کے چندے سے ان بچوں کو پڑھاتے ہیں۔

درویش اور فریبکار تبصرہ : میر محمد علی ٹالپر ترجمہ: لطیف بلیدی

منتخب ہونے کے جنون کے پیچھے یقینا ایک محرک تو موجودہے؛ مالی فوائد اور اثرو نفوذ کے حوالے سے وہاں بہت کچھ داو پر لگا ہوا ہے

نگران وزیر اعظم جسٹس (ر) ہزار خان کھوسہ کو مبینہ طور پر ’ناراض بلوچ رہنماوں‘ کو عام انتخابات میں حصہ لینے کیلئے قائل کرنے کی خاطر بلوچستان کے دورے پر جانا تھا۔ یہ نگراں، اپنے پیشرووں کی طرح، ایک غیر حقیقی سعیءلاحاصل میں مبتلا ہیں۔ اس سعیءلاحاصل پر مجھے شیخ سعدی کی ایک تمثیل یاد آرہی ہے۔ ایک بادشاہ کو اپنے دائرہءاقتدار میں رہنے والے بہت سے درویشوں (سادھو، سننیاسیوں) کی فلاح و بہبود کے بارے میں تشویش لاحق ہوتی ہے، اپنے وزیر کو کچھ پیسے دیتا ہے کہ انکے درمیان تقسیم کردے۔ کچھ دنوں کے بعد وزیر غیر استعمال شدہ رقم کیساتھ واپس آیا اور کہا کہ اسے کوئی درویش نہیں مل سکا۔ برہم بادشاہ نے کہا کہ وہاں تو بہت سارے ہوا کرتے تھے۔ وزیر نے پر سکون انداز میں وضاحت کی، ”اے بادشاہ، اصلی درویش پیسے کو نہیں چھوتے اور وہ جو اسے چاہتے ہیں وہ درویش نہیں بلکہ فریبکار ہیں اسلئے میں نے انہیں نہیں دیے۔ وہ لوگ جو انتخابات کی مخالفت کررہے ہیں وزیراعظم سے نہیں ملیں گے اور وہ لوگ جو پہلے ہی سے دل کی گہرائیوں سے ملوث ہیں اور جنہیں اس بات پر قائل کرنے کی ضرورت ہی نہیں، ان سے ملنے کیلئے ایک دوسرے کو روند رہے ہیں۔ درویشوں کی تلاش میں نگراں وزیر کی کوئٹہ یاترا بیکار جائے گی۔ وہ جو حقیقتاً اہمیت رکھتے ہیں کوئٹہ میں نہیں ہیں، جبکہ وہ جو بات کررہے ہیں پہلے ہی سے تابعداری میں پیچھے کی طرف جھک رہے ہیں اور یقینا یہ فریبکار بلوچستان کے مسائل کا حل نہیں ہیں۔

COMMENT: Dervishes and phonies — Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

There certainly is a motive behind this obsession with being elected; there is a lot at stake in monetary gains and prestige

The caretaker prime minister (PM) Justice (retd) Hazar Khan Khoso reportedly was to undertake a trip to Balochistan for convincing the ‘disgruntled Baloch leaders’ to participate in the general elections. The caretakers, like their predecessors, are clutching at imaginary straws. This essentially vain effort reminds me of a Sheikh Saadi parable. A king concerned about the welfare of many dervishes (sages, ascetics) residing in his domain gave his vizier money for distribution among them. The vizier returned a few days later with the money unused and said he could not find any dervish. Annoyed, the king said that there were plenty. The vizier calmly explained, “O’ King, the real Dervishes wouldn’t touch the money and those who wanted it were phonies not dervishes so I didn’t give it to them.” Those opposing elections will not be meeting the PM and those already deeply involved and needing no convincing are falling over each other to meet him. The caretaker vizier’s Quetta trip to find dervishes will also be futile. Those who matter are not in Quetta while those talking are already bending over backwards to oblige and certainly those phonies are not the answer to Balochistan’s problems.

غیر معمولی نظر مگر بصیرت کی کامل کمی تبصرہ : میر محمد علی ٹالپر ترجمہ: لطیف بلیدی

بلوچستان میں سیاسی جماعتوں کو بہت کم اس بات کا ادراک ہے کہ تباہی، غارت گری اور ویرانی کا پھندا عوام کی گردن کے گرد کس جائیگا

ستم ظریفی یہ ہے کہ ایک توہین آمیز طعن انکی توجہ سے بچ نکلا؛ سردار اختر مینگل کا آئندہ انتخابات میں حصہ لینے کا فیصلہ ٹھیک 27 مارچ کو سامنے آیا، وہ دن کہ جسے بلوچ قومپرستوں نے ’یوم سیاہ‘ کے طور پر منایا، کیونکہ 1948ء کو اسی دن بلوچستان پرزبردستی قبضہ کیا گیا تھا اور بلوچ کو اپنی آزادی سے محروم کردیا گیا تھا۔ دلچسپ بات یہ ہے کہ 25 مارچ کو انہوں نے پہنچنے پر کہا تھا کہ ان کے گزشتہ سال ستمبر میں سپریم کورٹ میں پیشی کے بعد سے اب تک کچھ بھی تبدیل نہیں ہوا ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ تب سے اب تک 70 لاشیں پھینکی گئی ہیں اور 60 ٹارگٹ کلنگ ہوئی ہیں۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ ادارے اپنے خیالات کو غلطی سے طاقت کے ذریعے تھوپنے کی کوشش کر رہے ہیں اور انہی اداروں نے بلوچستان کو موجودہ نازک صورتحال کی طرف دھکیلا ہے۔ انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ اگرملک میں آئینی حکمرانی ہوتی تو وہ چار سال جلاوطنی میں نہ رہتے اور ان کا خیال یہ تھا کہ انٹیلی جنس ایجنسیوں کی طرف سے مداخلت کو ختم کیے بغیر آزادانہ، منصفانہ اور شفاف انتخابات کا انعقاد نہیں ہوسکتا، اور مزید براں یہ کہ نگراں حکومت کا دو ماہ کے اندر امن و امان بحال کرنے میں کامیابی کا کوئی امکان نہیں ہے، جہاں پچھلے حکمران اس میں ناکام رہے ہوں۔ انہوں نے زور دے کر مزید کہا کہ یہ واضح نہیں ہے کہ ’خون آلود‘ بلوچستان میں انتخابات کا انعقاد کس طرح کیا جائیگا ۔

COMMENT: Exceptional sight but absolute lack of vision —Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Little do political parties in Balochistan realise that the noose of disaster, devastation and desolation will tighten around the neck of the people

Ironically, an irony that escaped him, Sardar Akhtar Mengal’s decision to participate in the forthcoming elections coincided with March 27, the day Baloch nationalists observe as a ‘Black Day’, because that day in 1948, Balochistan was forcibly annexed, depriving the Baloch of their freedom. Interestingly, on March 25 on arrival he had said that nothing had changed since his last September Supreme Court (SC) appearance. He said since then 70 bodies had been dumped and 60 target killings had taken place. He said institutions were mistakenly trying to impose their views by force and had pushed Balochistan to the present critical situation. He added he would not have lived four years in exile had there been constitutional rule in the country and was of the view that free, fair and transparent elections could not be held without ending interference by the intelligence agencies, and moreover, the caretaker government was unlikely to succeed in restoring law and order in two months, where previous rulers had failed. He emphatically added it was not clear how the elections would be held in a ‘bloodstained’ Balochistan.

As Mengal lands, pressure builds to boycott elections

“THESE elections are nothing but a tool deployed by the central government in Islamabad to suppress the voices and demands of the Baloch people,” says Dr Allah Nazar, a commander in the separatist Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), in an exclusive interview with Dawn.

Akhtar Mengal, the leader of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), will be landing in Pakistan on Monday amid pressures from Baloch separatists and radical nationalists calling on him to boycott the 2013 elections.

“If Akhtar Mengal takes part in this sham of an election, he will have compromised with the very same security establishment that has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of Baloch,” says Nazar.

Understanding B.N.P and its Initiatives – and their Policy Implications on Baloch Politics

By: Belaar Baloch

The president of Balochistan National Party (B.N.P) Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal’s recent visit to Islamabad raised many eyebrows. His appearance before the Pakistan Supreme Court, his discussions with opposition politicians and, more importantly, his proclamation of conflict resolution agenda – embodied in Six-Point confident building measures – came under intense scrutiny in Baloch political circles.

On the one hand, the opponents, who suspiciously look these initiatives, argue that Sardar Akhtar made a mistake by appearing before the Court. Chiding his efforts, they further claim, that without some degree of consent of Pakistani establishment, Sardar Akhtar’s visit was unfeasible; while on the other hand, Sardar Akhtar, along with his advisers, refutes these charges and call such criticisms deeply cynical.

COMMENT : A ray of hope? — Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

There is no denying that Sardar Akhtar Mengal has influence but his capitulation has alienated many Baloch people and his powerbase will erode rapidly

Sardar Akhtar Mengal’s unexpected capitulation and appearance before the Supreme Court (SC) has pleased a few but angered a majority of the Baloch. He has climbed down from his position of demanding an independent Balochistan. In the Daily Times of May 8, 2009, its then Quetta correspondent Malik Siraj Akbar reported Akhtar Mengal’s speech from the western Panjgur district bordering Iran. Mengal said that the ultimate goal of his party (BNP-M) was to seek Balochistan’s independence from Pakistan, for which the party was striving to prepare the ground and ensure unity among all Baloch nationalist political groups. The BNP-M chief said the Baloch had become tired of the unabated military operations and the excessive exploitation of their natural resources by the federal government, and now the BNP-M wanted the separation of Balochistan from Pakistan. Such climbdowns certainly have good reasons, the good reason here being a shot at the lucrative chief ministerial post. A bad bargain for sure, because Baloch rights would be bartered for a pittance. Wading through Baloch blood to this coveted position is insincerity personified.