Patience must be the basic ingredient of all discussion and argumentation. Two days back I was astonished, rather shocked to see the attitude of Barrister Saif when he was talking to Mr. Talal Bugti, the son of Akbar Bugti shaheed. In response to an allegation raised by Mr.Talal Bugti on Mr. Pervaiz Musharaf, Barrister Saif at once started abusing and threatening him. He called him a drunkard and the enemy of Pakistan. The allegation raised by Mr. Bugti might be insulting and humiliating for the followers of Mr. Musharaf and they have all rights to differ from him but the way adopted by Barrister Saif was simply uncalled for. Mr. Talal Bugti is no doubt a tribal leader and he has his own credibility. He must not have been treated in such a humiliating way. All politicians of Pakistan must realise a fact that apart from a very few politicians, 99.99 percent of Baloch people and Baloch leaders are as much patriotic, sincere and loyal to Pakistan as the people from other parts of Pakistan are. It is nothing but the negligence of all previous governments which generated a feeling of deprivation and injustice among the Baloch people. If the Baloch people were properly taken care of and dealt with love and affection, there would never have been such an air of hatred and loathing. The Baloch are a very loyal and faithful nation. The history of making of Pakistan is replete with marvellous examples of sacrifices of Baloch people; by branding their tribal leaders as ‘traitors’. We do nothing but fuel the already flaring up flames of anger and indignation. The present situation of law and order in Balochistan is the result of a political vacuum. The present political provincial set up of Balochistan in which all the members of Balochistan Assembly are enjoying the status of ministers, has failed to deliver for the development and welfare of the people. According to a recent statement of Inspector General, FC Balochistan, Major Gen. Obaid Khan, as many as 20 development projects were initiated in the recent past but almost all of them could not be completed either by lack of political will or dearth of funds. Several militant groups are operating which are getting training, weapons and money from external supporters. The current unstable law and order situation in Balochistan could be very easily handled with collective political efforts along with socio-economic development programs. The situation demands patience, devotion, sincerity and kind-heartedness from the federal government, the politicians and the tribal leaders and above all from the media. It would be a folly to brand the reactionary aggression and anger of the Baloch leaders as their urge for detachment and separation from Pakistan.
PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER,
Multan, February 15.