The land of pure and powerful

The issue of Baluchistan is getting heat in the academia, news media and blogs as well: 1, 2. The issue has taken new heat recently especially after the resignation of Baloch Prime minister (I wish things would have been different in my country). We have never seen a single prime minister in our times to finish his term. Corruption, nepotism, rent seeking politics has become a norm in my country so is the army dominance.

The first army rule caused the cessation of East Pakistan, the second caused the making and rebellion of MQM plus advent of Taliban to the throne of Afghanistan. We are speculating at the moment what we will get by the end of third military rule.

The problem of Balochistan has some truth to deprivation and marginalization but to some parts the Sardars of Balochistan are also involved in that. The politics of "Rent Seeking" is to blame for that.

The Makranis stood firm against the Mughals,But bowed nominally to the British Raj. It is only since 1971 that some effort has been made to develop the region .There is no road along the coast, but daily flights connect the four main coastal towns of Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar And Jiwani with Karachi, and there are flights to Quetta three times a week, Gwadar and Jiwani. Both picturesque towns Flanked by cliffs and beaches, belonged to Oman for about 200 years. The Khan of kallat gave them as a present to The sultan in the 18th century, and in 1958 they were sold back to Pakistan.

1. After independence Khan of Kallat was paid for the state of Kallat.
2. Gawadar and adjacent areas were bought from the State of Oman
3. The money was paid for tax payers pockets. The entire Nation paid for it.

As soon as the lands were purchased the Baloch nationalism started making intense waves. As soon as development started in 70s the fight became intense. This fight has been preventing the use of Balochistan's resources in an optimal manner.

A claim to control the resources by Baluchistan's few landlords is also injustice. So are the extra judicial killings. The life of an ordinaryArmy man who is serving the army so that he can make living for his family is as precious as the life of a tribesman living in that area. Launching grenadess and mortars on those who are trying to protect installations just because they have orders to stand there all night is also injustice. Can we talk about what happens to those army personnel who are captured by the tribesmen. In Sardar's words 'they will not go back alive'

I support my troops but I don't support their involvement in politics. I support the people of my nation and willing to sacrifice but I am not willing to yield to extremism of any kind.

This table has been made out of the data given in recent Economic Survey of Pakistan. The pastprovincial spending trend are same as well. The first column shows the amount of money provinces recieve in their share out of total Federal Tax Revenue collection. The bottom half of table shows percapita figures for each province (in Pakistani Rs.). The population is also mesured in millions. The table here shows that per capita expenditure is highest in Balochistan while Sardars are instigating young Balochis in the name of "Marginalization". It shows that all the other provinces have been sacrificing as well for their brothers in other provinces.

One should keep in mind anywhere in the world where people take up arms against their own people rules are broken by both sides. So the best thing is to sit down and negotiate. Human life is more sacred than piece of land.

What North and South learned in their fight in America should be learnt by Pakistan as well. If we bury our hatchets we will be a prosperous nation. The way for dialogue should always be open. The young people of our nation want to do the dialogue and I urge all to bring them forward. Don't listen to those politicians who are surviving at the cost of our blood, listen to your mind and work for peace.