Wampum

Another gem from the anonymous blogger at Dawn -- Need of the hour. In this piece the surface of what I've been writing about since January, 2005, the unresolved structural problem of the relation between Baluchistan and the Punjabi State, and attendant economic problems (who gets access to Gwadar Port and the Sui gas field, the unnecessary military execution of Nawab Akbar Bugti ... The PML-Q "won" in Baluchestan, but the local parties boycotted the election, and had Akbar Bugti not been murdered, and had he contested the election, neither the PML-Q, or the PPP, or even the PML-N would have shown more than a seat. Anyway, enjoy. I know I do. For any read who's forgotten, all the hydrocarbons in PK are in Baluchistan, some of which was part of Oman up until quite recently, and the rest is as close to Tehran as it is to Islamabad.

I wish Shaheen Sehbai was still editing the South Asian Times. His work was outstanding.

There has been much of talk about the need for a government of "national consensus" to deal with the major issues confronting the country. Asif Zardari has said that the federation is under threat due to the discontent of minority groups. He insists that only a national government can alleviate the situation.

At the moment, there is talk of a three-way alliance between PPP, PML-N and ANP. The parties with the strongest showings in Sindh, Punjab and the Frontier would thus be represented in the central government. But such a situation would exclude Baluchistan, where the PML Q, consigned to the opposition benches in the National Assembly, has maintained its position as the largest party.

There is a pressing need to give the Baluchis a strong voice in any future set-up. The Baluchi people have been in a state of agitation, angry at the exploitation of their natural resources and exclusion from the mega-development projects taking place in their own province. The establishment has only been able to control the situation through the ruthless use of military force, killing former Chief Minister Nawab Akbar Bugti when he openly rebelled against the government.

The PML Q's position in Baluchistan, however, is already looking shaky. It has already lost two legislators in the province, one to an unfavourable vote-recount and the other to a heart attack. The PPP is actively seeking to woo independents and members of the PML-Q, some of whom have already expressed an interest in working with the PPP. If the PPP succeeds in forming the government in Baluchistan, its strong position in the centre would allow it to effectively protect the province's interests. One can only hope, for the sake of Pakistan's unity, that the Baluchi people's grievances are quickly redressed.

It would be beyond amusing if the murderer of former Chief Minister Nawab Akbar Bugti is able to protect his job, and keep out of the courts, on a national unity theory, based upon his party's returns in Baluchistan.