THIS is apropos of the news item ‘Stop military operation, find political solution’ (May 27). The Balochistan issue is one of the prime issues of the political circle on paper. Civil society has also played its role and highlighted human rights violations in the province.

Everyone is busy holding conferences and debates. Everyone comes up with new interesting ideas and talks about the will of the people. But nobody asks the Baloch anything about their future.

At such conferences, the Baloch are not invited. If anyone invites anybody from Balochistan, it is the ‘Baloch leaders’ who mostly spend their time in Islamabad or Quetta.

These people do not know what kind of problems the Baloch are facing and what are their sufferings. The leaders do not know how a Baloch lives without gas and electricity because they are not the real leaders of the Baloch.

They are tribal leaders and they do not face any problems that a common Baloch faces. These tribal Baloch leaders have their own interests and are using Balochistan to fulfil their vested interests.

Their children are getting education in foreign schools and universities. They, however, do not allow any school to be built in their area for they know when the people become educated, they are independent. After being educated, the people will no more accept their authoritarian rule.

Two main players in Balochistan are agencies and tribal leaders. The agencies’ role is being discussed everywhere but no one ever talks about the role of tribal leaders who have imposed their decades-old traditional rules on the people of Balochistan.

The people live with their permission and die on their wishes. The agencies are behind illegal detention, kidnappings, extra-judicial murders. But it’s the decades-old tribal rule that nurtures backwardness.

Local bodies’ elections can play an important role for the underdeveloped Balochistan.

The people who run for local bodies elections are from the lower and middle class. They know the problems of their area as they suffer from these issues.

I would suggest the Balochistan government to announce the schedule of local bodies elections as soon as possible.

S. M. SHUJA HAIDER
Karachi