Letter to the Editor Dawn Karachi

President Pervez Musharraf has warned (Jan 12) "Baloch dissidents" to stop targeting gas facilities in the province, otherwise they would have to face dire consequences.

"Don't push us ... it is not the 1970s when you could hit and run to hide in the mountains, and this time you won't even know what has hit you," the general told a private television in an interview.

He was referring to the military operation in the 70s aimed at quelling a rebellion in the south west of Balochistan by a group seeking independence. Most of the group's supporters were either killed or captured during the crackdown.

His comments came after assailants had fired more than 200 rockets, targeting a natural gas facility in Sui, about 220 miles south east of Quetta. It seems, on the one hand, that a dialogue is in progress under the supervision of Senator Mushahid Hussain, chief of the parliamentary committee on Balochistan, and, on the other, rocket attacks and aggressive warnings mark the scene.

Balochistan is a strategic province and it promises future economic gains through the Gwadar port, rich untapped minerals and because of its geographical location. Neither Pakistan nor the backward people of Balochistan can afford to lose a progress-oriented opportunity bestowed by geography.

It is high time the issues were carefully addressed in view of the dynamics of the regional geopolitical environment. To find out the root cause of unrest or trouble in Balochistan, it should be admitted that most of the demands of the nationalists are genuine and have never been addressed seriously by the central authority.

Historically, the move for rights in Balochistan has been quelled with military force in 1948, 1956, 1970s. In order to have peace and stability in the province, the government should seriously address the genuine demands of the nationalists.

Unrest in Balochistan is about due share in the existing state power structure. The present NFC award or fiscal disbursement formula is unjust and unable to bring the backward provinces in the fold of progress and development.

Fiscal disbursement in Germany is carried out on the basis of development needs instead of population. The government should also consider development needs vis-a-vis population in the case of Balochistan.

The province-wise gas royalty formula contains biases. It needs to be re-worked and the biases in royalty need to be eradicated. Balochistan's Rs22 per 1,000 cubic feet (ptcf) vis-a-vis Sindh's Rs126 ptcf and Punjab's Rs180 ptcf need to be immediately revised and re-worked. This may improve Balochistan's poor fiscal position.

The Gwadar deep-sea port could result in a demographic imbalance. The rights of the locals in the wake of the construction of Gwadar can be addressed only by allowing the local people to have local certificates, NICs and their names on the voters' lists. A similar practice has been adopted in Dubai, the UAE, in order to address the demographic imbalances and rights of the locals.

As per the UNDP Pakistan National Human Development Report 2003, of Pakistan's top 20 most backward districts, 50 per cent are in Balochistan. Serious attention is the need of the hour.

Over centralization of decision-making is creating a sense of alienation and frustration in the province. Devolution of power from the centre to the province is necessary in the present circumstances.

To remove the people's fears and reservations about army cantonments, the government should address the worries with conciliatory gestures. Sui, Kohlu and Gwadar do not share borders with any enemy or neighbouring country.

Balochistan is the most poorly represented province in national services. For example, ex-servicemen from Balochistan for the period from 1995-2003 numbered 3,753 men only while the numbers for Punjab and the NWFP for the same period were 1,335,339 and 229,856, respectively.

Provinces are not even allowed to sign petroleum and gas exploration related contracts. It is not foreign investment and development schemes that can bring peace, but it is peace and stability that can bring foreign investment and development.

IMRAN UMAR BALOCH

Karachi