From the recent protest that marked the old dying negotiations FOR basic facilities in Gwadar are shifting the waves of a new government. Law and order in the province has also decayed because of the recent protest for the 11-year-old Ramiz Baloch from Buleda District Kech. Sit-ins and protests were in clusters against law and order situation, and there were Mdcat protests in Panjgur and Quetta in August and September. The opposition’s submission of a no-confidence motion and the Finance Minister’s resignation elicits bad governance of the province.
However, chief Minister Jam Kamal Aliani is confident of not having to step down, and he thinks that the opposition members are against him because of their personal interests. Meanwhile, formers finance minister, Zahoor Ahmed Buledi claimed on a talk show that he stepped down with 14 party members of the BAP and 24 opposition members on his side for the resignation of the CM for bad governance.
Buledi in a late night hour tweeted his resignation from the provincial government though he had a prominent position in Jam Kamal’s government. His remarks highlighted the lost constitutional legitimacy in the province by the opposition members’ submission of a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister. Buledi’s resignation also imputed the failure of the government by its discriminating against the opposition. Truly it is said, “ History repeats itself, first as tragedy and then as farce.”
To every extent, the problem of bad governance has a long history of “reconciliation” dialogues. But where does the reform begin? The certainty of magical politics in Balochistan always arrives by new flags at midnight. “Roti, Kapra, Makan” are not slogans for popular support but are meant to polarise the coalitions of the elite when new waves turn direction. It embellishes an illusion to the developing province that appears on the media by accentuating the most beautiful “cricket ground” rather than focusing on people’s suffering from malnutrition, basic health care, education, food insecurity and bad governance.
Balochistan’s long crisis of insurgency was positively declining through social mobilization and acceptable developing policy measures taken from sister provinces which could eradicate the long issue. Unfortunately, shifting of the centre of the CPEC means more urbanization in Karachi with pollution and clustering of population. Although, a decline of the rural-urban, core-periphery, divide is possible. May it be mistakenly a disinformation too.
Jam Kamal’s argument polished the rusted annual development plan to show as incorrect the accusation that he was refusing to accept the funds through the Finance Ministry. It is sad to accept that Pakistan’s development plans have declined due to the growing economy and to bring government expenditure back under control through competitive global markets and the suspending of the IMF programme last year. BAP’s members who are in a polarised state and forcing the CM’s lack of accountability must look at the three-dimensional situation of economic inflation in the first place. On the other hand, Habib Akram, a journalist, claimed on a TV discussion programme that such plans have created chaos inthe development process. To undermine development proceedings; they were slowing due to the economic situation.
However, it is claimed that the opposition was under authoritarian control of Jam Kamal where he used force its to its constituencies. the interesting articulation of his silence about the protests unfold the truth that he is not interested in Opposition matters and protesting people.
A tweet of Zahoor Buledi also affirmed the pivot of the NAB proceedings in the province which persists in causing ambiguity. Such political engineering to pressure politicians during lawlessness is shadowed when oppositions suffer from bad governance which is a positive reality of the institutional accountability debate.
As for NAB, the question is bot so much as “accountability” but “who will guard the guards”. As in democracy, the majority has the consent; politicising and NAB’s institutional accountability leaves a vacuum for determination. Nevertheless; the Finance Minister’s resignation may be due to bad governance shown by the illegal killing of Ramiz. But, it is not certain that parties in Balochistan have arrived with flags overnight.
The uncertain politics in Balochistan is not new. It is rooted in the very existence of the machine politicians who change parties with self-prioritizing consent and move towards the waves of formation of new government. While in power, there is only a lack of confidence to bring reforms because of the traditional approaches of their entities of politicking the poor masses. On such prospects, polarization in a political party is inevitable, which Jam Kamal’s government is facing today. There is a low figure of political parties in Balochistan that have a brief ideological agenda, neither is it necessary to formulate one. However, there is need of a comprehensive reform that can avoid the creation of mid-night parties that have ruralized the province with a psychotic house of cards.
To make the province move towards development and prosperity, Prime Minister Imran khan announced a Rs 600 billion package for southern Balochistan. Unfortunately, the PTI government failed to answer for the transparency of the multi-billion projects in the Senate committee. From each narrative of dialogues, the situation in Balochistan has only led to neglecting the province.
Who calls for accountability? They are the intellectuals that have stepped down from a position; that has always been unprecedented in the Balochistan Assembly. Whether from administrative actions to situations of law and order, or socio-economic imperatives to political turmoil, there is a total sum of ignorance of the popular constituencies.
From the beginning of the CPEC project that portrayed Gwadar as the jewel and the oyster of the Belt and Road initiative; from investment, employment and connectivity— there is only a persisting file of “Gwadar fishermen problem” on the table for years in need of a signature but, it malfunctions from a legitimacy consent.
The confusions are eruptive and the waves of turmoil in the geo-economic narrative make it difficult to collect the pieces for peace in the province. There is another news that Pakistan and China have decided to shift the centre of the CPEC from Gwadar to Karachi due to security reasons. Some senior politicians have claimed that it is disinformation.
There is still no point to note that of a reciprocal altruism. Balochistan’s long crisis of insurgency was positively declining through social mobilization and acceptable developing policy measures taken from sister provinces which could eradicate the long issue. Unfortunately, shifting of the centre of the CPEC means more urbanization in Karachi with pollution and clustering of population. Although, a decline of the rural-urban, core-periphery, divide is possible. May it be mistakenly a disinformation too.
From the corners of the crisis, solutions emerge which are not skeptical but persuasive.
Firstly, the only solution to the mass mobilized protests is to listen to the demands and politically accept their legal rights through the Constitution. By this I mean a competitive legal order to structure a good government.
Secondly, shifting the centre of CPEC to Karachi, if true and anot just disinformation, will further alienate the province and expand Karachi with further pollution.
Thirdly, MDCAT protests, fishermen problems, health facilities and economic uncertainty were the peaceful demands that the public had been making for years and a serious non-violent solution through peace theory is only the way forward for the province to successfully transition.
A final approach that Balochistan needs is that the current uncertainty in governance and law and order must be prioritised. By this, I mean meritocratic principles of institutional accountability.
