13.01.2010

Malladi Rama Rao

The Khan of Kalat, the traditional ruler of the predominant Baloch state of Kalat, chose independence, and claimed that Nepal and Kalat had the same status. In 1947, he was the most powerful ruler of what is today’s Balochistan and acknowledged lord of all Baloch tribes. However, after the British departed, Pakistan army moved in and the Baloch territories were merged with Pakistan. Who ratified the merger? Well that honour went to the Quetta municipality, a body dominated by non-Baloch settlers. Since then, violence has erupted in Balochistan five times – 1948, 1958, 1963-64, 1973-77 and again now with the Khans of Kalat again in the forefront. Interestingly, Baloch leaders are not seeking independence. Their plea is only for a share in the development pie, an end to what the economist William Easterly has described as “growth without development” and a voice in the management of their affairs. In short, what they are clamouring for is provincial autonomy under a federal set up as envisaged in the 1973 constitution. The demand is met by ‘slow motion genocide being inflicted on Baluch tribesmen in the mountains and deserts of southwestern Pakistan’, according to Selig S. Harisson, the US expert on Balochistan, who heads the Asia Centre for International Policy in Washington.

On the other hand, Maharaja Hari Singh, wanted accession of Kashmir to India. And the Lion of Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah agreed with him. The accession documents were signed in time to save the people of Kashmir from a barbaric and brutal invasion mounted by Pakistan army with tribals as their front. Indian army mounted a rescue mission, reached the valley and checked the advance of marauders, who had by then pillaged Baramulla.

Militancy – Official Response

Militancy in Kashmir is a post -1989 phenomenon. Independence is the plank of Hurriyat conference, a conglomerate of parties and groups, which is active on the Kashmir scene for a long while. Nonetheless, the Indian state is providing security cover to the Hurriyat leaders notably its chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who often shuttles between Srinagar and Islamabad. “The Daily Excelsior” of Jammu wrote on January 16, 2007, a day after a blast took place near Mirwaiz house. “While the separatist leader and his family members are guarded by about a dozen of Personal Security Officers (PSOs) provided by the state Government, over a company strength of J&K Police personnel are deployed for round-the-clock protection of his house at Nageen, in the neighbourhood of the University of Kashmir”.

In Sharp Contrast the popular Baloch leader, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was killed when the army blew up a cave he was hiding in on August 26, 2006. A former Governor and former chief minister he was highly respected not only in Balochistan but across the entire country. Not surprisingly, the Pakistan media has dubbed the ‘targetted’ killing as the biggest military blunder after the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Islamabad keeps asserting that army has been sent to Balochistan to protect Baluchis from their Sardars (tribal leaders), “who are against development’. But the fact, as repeatedly highlighted by “The Dawn”, The Karachi daily, in its editorial comment and reports from Quetta, is that current insurgency is not being led by the tribal elders but by a new generation of politically conscious Baluch nationalists.

Under the heading “Balochistan Folly”, the Blogger, Onlooker writes in his The Glasshouse (politicalpakistan.blogspot.com), “Akbar Bugti was the only Baloch leader amenable to negotiating with the Establishment. After killing him, there is no one left in Balochistan willing to talk to Islamabad. All one can say is: You reap what you sow”.

Balochistan still lacks the basic services that most consider human rights. It is rich in natural gas yet only 6% of the Baluch have gas connections, less than half the children get any education, and only 2% of the population has clean water. Women’s literacy in the region stands at just 7 per cent, the lowest in Pakistan.

Millions of dollars are poured into building Gwadar port as Pakistan’s show piece and the new gateway of Central Asia and even China. “Our impoverished people and economically discriminated province don’t stand to benefit’, says the Khan of Kalat, Suleiman Daud.

Adds Dr Wahid Baloch, President, Baloch Society of North America, (BSO-NA)), “We call Gwadar project a Mega project of death for Baloch people. Despite the strong opposition from all over Balochistan, Pakistan continues aggressively working on this project with the help of China to bring millions of Punjabis from Punjab into Gwadar so they can change the Baloch demography forever and turn us into a minority in our own homeland, just as they did this to our Sindhi and Baloch brothers in Karachi, making them strangers amidst their own homeland”.

Study In Contrast

What a study in contrast Kashmir development story makes? Despite the best efforts of the militants, the demographic identity of the population is being scrupulously preserved and more per capita central aid is being poured into the state than in any other Indian state. The state’s population is less than one percent of India. Yet it receives 2.7 per cent of national developmental outlay. The allocation per head thus works out to Rs. 1122 in its case. This is much higher than the average for all other states which is below Rs. 300. Another index of growth, people below poverty line hovers around 3.7 per cent mark against the national average of 26 per cent. Literacy rate stands at 55.5 per cent as compared to all India literacy rate of 64.8 per cent.

Against the annual growth of 7 per cent at all India level during first four years of 10th five year plan, the State has achieved 6.11 per cent annual average growth rate during first two years of the plan and is expected to achieve 5.75 per cent annual average growth rate during last three years of 10th five year plan. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated to be Rs 25,050 crore for the year 2006-07. The per capita income at Rs 17,174 per annum is impressive given the fact the state suffers from all the handicaps of a disturbed area and its mainstay tourism is crippled by militancy.



Sufferings of Balochistan

Loads of data tend to obscure human suffering. Engrossed with figures, readers lose track of the primary object. To avoid this pitfall, it is essential to keep one’s blessings and others’ deprivation in perspective all the time.

To present the grim reality of economic deprivation and poverty, I quote credible experts and reports. Syed Fazl-e-Haider, a respected developmental analyst, says, “Poverty is a multi-dimensional concept rather than simple income (consumption) deprivation. Any single measure of poverty, such as head-count ratio based on specific ‘poverty line’ does not fully capture all its dimensions and does not reflect the real causes of wider human sufferings. ‘Poverty of opportunity’ index, a composite of deprivation in three vital dimensions — health, education and income — is quite useful in this regard. In case of Balochistan, any single measure indicates that it is the poorest province.” Further highlighting the neglect he says, “Balochistan remains almost voiceless, having no say in the decision-making process at the centre.

Over 50 percent of its population subsists below the poverty line. Income-based inequities in human development need to be addressed. During fiscal year (FY) 2000-2001, only 9.2 percent of the total Khushhal Pakistan programme budget had been allocated to the province compared to 16.2 percent for the NWFP, 19.7 percent for Sindh, and 48.9 percent for Punjab.

During the first year of the programme, utilisation as a percentage of the budgeted amount was the lowest for the province at 2.8 percent compared to 7.7 percent in NWFP, 8.2 percent in Sindh, and 19 percent in Punjab.“In the FY 2004, the federal contribution to the provincial development programmes was 56 percent for NWFP, 28 percent for Punjab, 19 percent for Sindh and only eight percent for Balochistan. The share allocated in foreign project assistance (FPA) to Punjab was 53 percent, NWFP 29 percent, Sindh 12 percent and again only six percent for Balochistan.”The table of ‘Districts Showing Decline in Index of Multiple Deprivation of More than 10 Points’ in Research Report No.72 by Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) for comparing1998 to 2005 tells that there was not a single district from Balochistan showing decline while there were three from Punjab, five from Sindh and seven from the NWFP.Moreover, in the table ‘The Ten Highest Deprived Districts of Pakistan’, nine were from Balochistan and it emerges as the most deprived province with over 91 percent of population residing in high-deprived districts during 2005.

It shows that in 1998 the percentage of population living in a high degree of deprivation was 25 percent in Punjab, 23 percent in urban Sindh, 49 percent in rural Sindh, 51 percent in NWFP, and 88 percent in Balochistan. In 2005, the figures were: Punjab 28, Sindh 35, NWFP 35 and Balochistan 91, showing that Balochistan is in a consistent nose-dive. The report adds, per annum declining rate of deprivation is the lowest in Balochistan; it has the weakest long-term growth performance. From 1972-73 to 2004-05, the economy expanded 2.7 times in Balochistan, 3.6 times in NWFP and Sindh, and 4.0 times in Punjab. The growth divergence has widened historic income differences and Balochistan’s per capita income level of $400 in 2004 was only two-thirds of Pakistan’s national level.

Perhaps, with the sole exception of the area in and around Quetta, social deprivation is widespread in all districts of Balochistan. As expected, in terms of level of deprivation during 2005, Punjab possesses the lowest, while Balochistan has the highest magnitude of Index of Multiple Deprivation. A horrific picture emerges if one surveys the maternal mortality rate, which is 650 per 100,000 births in Balochistan while it is 281in Karachi.

This is double the national average. Infant mortality in Balochistan is 158 deaths per 1,000 live births. Even Democratic Republic of Congo’s average of 126 is lower while Pakistan’s national average of 70 is less than half.Similarly, Balochistan accounted for seven out of the nine districts with the lowest full immunisation rate, including the four districts with the worst record. Balochistan’s performance would look even worse without the exclusion of Dera Bugti and Kohlu in the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) sample due to security reasons. Only 20 percent of its people have an access to safe drinking water compared to 86 percent in the rest of Pakistan. Village electrification is only 25 percent compared to 75 percent in the rest of the country.

The education sector figures are depressing too. Access to education is also far below the ratio of other provinces. Over three-fourths of women and two-thirds of the population above ten are illiterate. The conditions in the insurgency-affected Marri-Bugti areas and among the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are much worse. With regard to net primary enrolment, 11 out of the 16 districts, including the four districts with the worst record, in 2004-05 belonged to Balochistan.

These figures prove that Balochistan has perpetually suffered from neglect and wilful attempts to keep it in a state of deprivation. Blaming Sardars for obstructing development cuts no ice because the areas under the government’s writ haven’t prospered either. Take the example of Bugti area. Though gas was discovered in Sui in 1951, meets approximately 45 percent of Pakistan’s total needs and is worth Rs 85 billion annually, yet what Dera Bugti receives in return for the wealth it generates is evident from the UNDP Human Development Report 2003, which ranked Dera Bugti last among the 91 districts on the Human Development Index.

Poverty
According to the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey 2001-02, Balochistan has the highest poor population with 48 percent and the worst in rural areas with 51 percent living below the poverty line. There are only 32 Utility Stores throughout the province whereas Islamabad alone has 34 Utility Stores.


Source : www.un.org.pk/nhdr/htm_pages/cp_1.htm

www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp



From all accounts, militancy in Kashmir is an export from outside. And it doesn’t tolerate moderate voices on Kashmir scene. Kashmiriyat stands for catholicity and not sectarianism of any kind. Terror infrastructure in POK is an acknowledged fact which also finds a mention in the European Union’s draft report on Kashmir. The report prepared by Baroness Emma Nicholson, rapporteur of the European Paliament (EP) is due for adoption in March 2007.

Human Rights

Upholding human rights in any disturbed area is a tough job. The security forces need to be sensitized. Anyone found violating the HR code should be given exemplary punishment. Indian army knows first hand there is no substitute to transparency and the only way to win over people’s love is to put in place a credible mechanism . This approach is best illustrated by the action taken against a Major who was alleged to have committed a rape in Handwara. Suspension, court martial and summary dismissal from service followed in that quick order though the charge of rape could not be established against Major on the basis of forensic evidence. Entering at night into a house where he was accused of committing the crime was considered as sufficient ground to punish him.

But in Balochistan, a Pakistan army Major went scott free even after raping a lady doctor on night duty at the Sui Gas Hospital at Sui. No police case. No inquiry. The lady was from a respectable family and luckily for her, her husband stood by her at the traumatic moment and both migrated first to London and then to Canada with the help of friends and human rights groups to lead a new life. Yet they faced the taunt from their rulers, “Get raped, get money and get a visa to Canada”.

SS-47/SF-47/01.02.2007

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