KARACHI: Government leaders in Quetta have sounded an optimistic note about a negotiated settlement of Balochistan problems. They have even hinted at initiating dialogue with militant groups.

The new governor of the province, who is also a tribal leader, pledged to work for the restoration of peace in the troubled province by holding talks with all stakeholders.

However, Baloch nationalist leaders have expressed their serious reservations about the government’s intentions to resolve the issues politically, saying that all such claims are empty rhetoric.

Prominent Baloch leader Sardar Ataullah Khan Mengal in his recent talk with Dawn categorically stated that the Balochistan issue was linked with the civil-military leadership, and not with the political leadership of the country.

He said unless there was a change in policy and perception of the “real rulers” regarding the Baloch people, being branded as “separatist and foreign agents”, the issue could not be resolved.

Similar statements were also issued by other nationalist leaders who termed the government leaders’ claim as an eyewash, saying that the government was sidetracking the core issues.

They said if the government was serious, it would end hostilities by pulling out the troops from the troubled areas and release people arrested by government agencies on charges of anti-state activities.

National Party leaders also do not foresee any change in the basic policy of the government about Balochistan. Moreover, these leaders say that they are unaware of any overt or covert move by the real rulers calling shots in the province indicating their intentions to solve the Balochistan problems through dialogue.

These Baloch leaders regret that instead of pursuing an appeasement policy, “the rulers have rather adopted an aggressive policy as was evident in the fresh offensive in the Dera Bugti and Marri areas”.

However, according to observers, peace cannot prevail in the province without a comprehensive political settlement by involving all stakeholders in dialogue of peace.

Though the government leaders have vowed to solve problems of the province, it seems that the perceptions of Islamabad rulers are not clear in understanding the problems confronting the province.

In the past, rhetoric of the military rulers and the Baloch leaders had added the proverbial fuel to the raging fire. Both have bluffed each other saying that it was not 1971, obviously drawing their separate conclusions.

The rulers admitted committing injustices to the Baloch people in the past which had created a wide communication gap and mistrust between Islamabad rulers and people of Balochistan. Now it is up to the rulers to bridge the gap by changing their colonial approach and accepting the sovereign rights of the people to manage their political and economic affairs independently.

People’s grievances

The Baloch people’s grievances against the federal government are real and they need the immediate attention for solution. Balochistan has almost 50 per cent of the country’s mineral resources and is inhabited by less than five per cent of Pakistan’s population.

By and large its people live in miserable conditions and lack amenities that are treated the world over as essential necessities. At places even drinking water is hard to get.

Exploitation of its resources has been causing anguish to the people there. People rightly claim a prior right to their resources and want their exploitation for their own future generations.