In its efforts towards a national consensus and bringing the people of different regions and sub-regions closer, the Pakistan People’s Party leadership has taken a positive step by apologizing for the atrocities and injustices committed against the Baloch people. Although, the PPP was not involved in what happened in Balochistan particularly during the past two or three years, the PPP’s apology would certainly have satisfying effects upon Balochs as the party is preparing to rule in the country.
The PPP, in a meeting of its elected provincial assembly candidates at the Zardari House on Sunday, unanimously passed a resolution apologizing on behalf of the people of Pakistan. It demanded an end to the military operation in Balochistan, the release of all political prisoners including former chief minister Akhtar Mengal. The resolution said, “The PPP, on behalf of the people of Pakistan, apologises to the people of the province of Balochistan for the atrocities and injustices committed against them and pledges to embark on a new highway of healing and mutual respect.” In other resolutions, the party pledged to “work to give maximum provincial autonomy to the provinces in the framework” of the 1973 Constitution, and demanded deployment of traditional local levies instead of police in Balochistan.
In a statement earlier, Asif Zardari said that the party would like to talk even to people “who have gone to mountains” in search of a national reconciliation. PPP’s assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto went to Balochistan after her return home from self-exile to offer condolences over the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in a military operation in August 2006. She was, perhaps, the only political leader of Pakistan who went to condole with veteran Baloch leader Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri on killing of his son Balach Marri last year.
The PPP’s apology is a good gesture for peace in Balochistan, which has gone through a prolonged resistance against military operations and a continued struggle for more provincial autonomy and a greater control over natural resources. Equally positive response by Baloch nationalist leaders, who need peace more than anyone else, is natural.
Both factions of the Balochistan National Party have welcomed the apology tendered by the Pakistan People’s Party leader Mr Asif Zardari. Balochistan National Party-Awami chief Senator Mir Israrullah Zehri has called upon the PPP leadership to play a conciliatory role after forming a government at the centre and resolve all issues through dialogue. He said that political issues could not be resolved by force and talks were the only way out.
Balochistan National Party-Mengal leader Nahila Qadari also welcomed the apology, but said the Baloch people would not be satisfied till the rights of the province were fully recognized. In a statement, she has said that hundreds of political activists, including party chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Raeesani Ittehad chief Mir Wahdood Raeesani were being held unlawfully and ‘thousands of people’ were still missing. She called for practical steps for restoring normalcy in the province. She also said the Baloch political leadership was not against talks and peaceful means to resolve issues, but the ruling political groups were helpless before ‘the army establishment’. She emphasized that Baloch leadership would talk only with those leaders who would accept the demand for provincial autonomy and recognize the ownership right of a province over its resources.
The Baloch people have been facing unabated repression by the Pakistani establishment since 1948 when first time military action was launched against the Baloch ‘insurgents’. Since then, the nationalist leaders claim that more than 20,000 Balochs, including women and children, have been killed, thousands arrested and hundreds of thousands made homeless during military actions launched in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and at the present time.

The Baloch are traditionally a secular, democratic and progressive people with a long history of indigenous culture and a social system heroically preserved in face of adverse pressures and proudly defended in adverse times. They have been struggling for their political and economic rights, and for their natural resources. They have been fighting against arbitrary methods of governance, exploitation of Balochistan’s resources, and continued discrimination against the Baloch in all spheres of life.
For a permanent peace in Balochistan, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission should be established to acknowledge victims of torture, imprisonment, disappearance and state-sponsored persecution. The right of smaller nations (provinces) over their resources must be acknowledged. Mechanisms should be developed for fair distribution of resources, and bringing down regional inequalities.
A large number of illegal immigrants from across the borders and from other provinces have been allowed to enter and settle in Balochistan (Gawadar) and Sindh taking on one hand the scarce resources and job opportunities away from the local people, and on the other hand swelling the number of non-resident population. Both the government and private sector should be subjected to Equal Employment Opportunity laws. To offset for social and economic in-equalities, fair employment practices should be introduced to fill the gap between un-proportional representations of various ethnic and professional groups in the society.
Balochistan is rich with natural resources but, ironically, is the province that suffered the worst due to the NFC stalemate, as it largely depends upon the resources received from federal government through National Finance Commission. While preparing provincial budget 2007-08, Balochistan Economic Forum advised the provincial government to find new and dependable sources of income to reduce its dependence on federal divisible pool for meeting its financial needs.
PPP leadership pledges provincial autonomy to the provinces which means political as well as financial empowerment of the people of different provinces/regions. For the purpose, it would be advisable that all fiscal resources (duties and taxes) should be assigned to the respective provinces. The expenditure incurred on running federal structure should be contributed by the provinces in accordance with their proportion in population. The NFC award should be decided on the basis of index of infrastructure in the province/region, human development index of backwardness, ratio of poverty, level of per capita income in comparison to the other provinces, revenue generation capacity and burden of legal and illegal immigrants.
Besides, a Federal Constitutional Court should be set up to resolve constitutional issues, giving equal representation to each of the federating units, whose members may be judges or persons qualified to be judges of the Supreme Court, constituted for a six-year period. The Supreme and High Courts should hear only regular civil and criminal cases.
Apology by the largest political party of the country is certainly a step towards reconciliation, but it is not enough. To satisfy the people of Balochistan, concrete political, economic steps will have to be taken.