Study- Balochistan Jun 2012

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After carrying out two detailed studies in month of Feb and Mar 2012 the Perceptors Group decided to tackle Balochistan problem with a different approach of research. The main writers analyzing the issue in National dailies were studied. The group found two main categories of analyst views on Balochistan. A group which seriously wants to analyse problem areas and put forward suggestions to help over come them and a group which is working on an agenda under pressure of coercion of terrorists or agencies  to highlight and fabricate a picture of no return or no problem in Balochistan . The 2^nd group had more of areas to highlight  with some electric stories to substantiate their view but gave no solutions. The stories of this group when further researched were found to be blown up and in some cases were  even totally false. The analysts at Perceptors are of the view that each problem of Balochistan has a solution but not through the present setup of politicians or the law enforcers as they have been made so controversial that even a step in right direction will be viewed with suspicion.  If the government is serious a high powered meeting of real political figures  and top position holders of Law Enforcing Agencies (LEA) must get together to discuss the problem and solution of Balochistan. The solution  should be spelled out in detail with monthly bench marks and should not lead to another compromise. Each step should have inbuilt transparency. A plan to be seen not just heard.  However there are certain questions  at the end of study which the group has left for the readers to ponder about and may be the most important part of the study.  Some of the main problem areas and few solutions are listed below:

Problem Areas

1. Political System: The present politicians despite getting huge funds have shown no intension to deliver to common Baloch. MPAs mostly remain out of Balochistan.
2. Security: Police is demoralised due to being confined to only 5 per cent of the area. As much as 95 per cent of the provincial jurisdiction for law and order has been handed over to a rag-tag tribal militia named Levies . Crime has developed a nexus with militant nationalism and sectarianism.
3. Missing Persons: Blame for the disappearances of Baloch nationalists and the recovery of their tortured bodies is placed at the door of the intelligence agencies, particularly the ISI. separatists have also murdered fellow Baloch after accusing them of treason for serving or spying for the Pakistani government and the military
4. Budget: Great chunk of Bln budget is spent on the upkeep of army of ministers and advisers. Quetta, a city whose nine MPAs have been given Rs2.25 billion in the name of development. The Balochistan government’s budget has swelled from approximately Rs 74 billion in 2009 to Rs 164 billion in 2012.
5. Basic Facility: Availability of drinking water is a big issue and In the absence of local bodies, the cleaning system has collapsed
6. Health issue:  Over 100 doctors, including 20 specialists, have reportedly left the province because of security issues. Women health suffers more because of the severe shortage of gynaecologists
7. Education :The name of ghost teachers is also highest in Balochistan. It’s a common practice for Sardars to register their servants as teachers and take a cut in their salaries. Hundreds of teachers have moved out of the province… The number of settler teachers reportedly killed is close to 50

Solutions

1. The federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan must ensure that the next general elections are free and fair, so that Baloch nationalists must be provided a level playing field to contest elections and become part of Parliament and democracy in the country.
2. The issue of missing persons must be handled within constitutional and legal framework. No one should be kept in illegal confinement by the intelligence and security agencies.
3. Speedy steps be taken to revert B into A areas under regular police and stop wastage on untrained and unqualified Levies force.
4. The jurisdiction of the provincial police CID extends to the entire province. The JITs should therefore be headed by SPs of CIDs and comprise members of ISI, IB, MI, SB, and the local levies or police officials.
5. The security of highways may be entrusted to the Balochistan Constabulary, which is under the command of the Inspector General Police.
6. The FC has no legal mandate to arrest suspects or investigate crimes. It should work in aid of civil authorities like the police and the levies in maintenance of order, carry out raids for the arrest of fugitives, and assist in patrolling the highways to beef up the strength of the highway police and the levies
7. For good governance and better service delivery, the cream of Pakistan’s civil servants and police officers must serve in Balochistan for at least two years as a policy to be adopted by the federal government.
8. If the Balochistan problem is to be resolved, the lawmakers of the province will have to be more honest in the utilization of the available funds and resources for the welfare of the masses
9. Winning recognition for the Baloch cause abroad is important but losing sympathy at home is of more importance. True local politicians can defeat the separatist sitting abroad through connect to their people.

QUESTIONS BY THE PERCEPTORS

•  Provincial government has reverted 95% ‘A’ area controlled by police back to ‘B’  area under LAVIES. If  security is the most important problem in Balochistan why the present Balochistan government is opposing  the role of three trained Law Enforcing Agencies (LEA) ie POLICE, FC and ARMY and moving towards untrained and Sardar controlled LAVIES FORCE?
•  If development funds are  coming to MPAs why development is not seen in Balochistan and where  is that system to make it more transparent?
•  If education and health are priority what is being done to fight against ghost schools and hospitals. Why teachers and doctors are being targeted and killed?
• Why is there an impression that most of provincial ministers and CM are not even available in Balochistan to solve problems of a common Baloch?
• Where it is important to find problems and solutions in Balochistan is it not equally important to find who has the will and stakes to move towards solutions?

The Main  Data Consulted for above research is as Under:

Balochistan Issue

Brief about recent series of Amir Mateen Articles on Balochistan (From 29 May to 24 May 2012)

• Main Themes: Health issues specially women, Education problems/ Dera Bugti has the highest per capita teachers in Pakistan on paper but nothing exists on ground.  Availability of drinking water, availability of sweepers, acute shortage of barbers exists, absence of local bodies, the cleaning system has collapsed, army like always, lives in the lavish gated community of cantonment, rest of the elite been allowed to live in the khaki oasis or have moved to the safer environs of Kci, Lhr and Isb, army through its all-powerful Frontier Corps (FC) and ISI is not giving up its hold on Balochistan in the name of national security, mis-governance, absence of any meaningful administration, local political culture is not being allowed to turn mature enough to be able to resolve Balochistan’s political and social issues, Balochistan government’s budget, MPA gets to appoint police officials of his choice in his area, Quetta’s DIG Police is on record for accusing cabinet ministers of using their guards for kidnapping and other crimes, people blame the democracy as they say the corruption in the last four years has been the worse in their living memory, Killings-1,388 people killed in the last four years, 434 of them from law enforcing agencies, Frontier Corps officials have been accused of abetting in a kidnapping case, potential targets are not just non-Baloch but anybody whose relatives can pay ransom for kidnapping, Reasons for increasing crime- rampant flow of arms. Anybody can get anything in arms — from bazookas to mortars to rockets — over home delivery service. Another contributing factor is the infinite number of disillusioned unemployed youth, missing persons are not being released because the security agencies fear, the state is bent upon matching miscreants in tactics without following the rule of law in avenging the killings of its 200 policemen and 234 Frontier Corps (FC) officials in the last four years, The real for the SC is to make the Army speak up its mind. Peace cannot be restored until truth is spoken no matter how bitter it may be, Chief Justice admits that 80 per cent people think it’s the intelligence agencies and the FC. Top bureaucrats and politicians are scared of naming the ISI and only speak in innuendos,
• Conclusions: we need to move in earnest, Balochistan will stay only if its people stop leaving it, problems being faced by Quetta are the consequence of others mistakes? Not entirely, It would indeed help if Balochistan itself cut down on the old mantra of blaming others and at least resolve the issues that are essentially internal, Many question the strategy of missing people being released secretly. They are not freed until the perpetrators are sure that the captives will not speak.

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