What about APC on Balochistan?

In order to control the worsening situation of Balochistan, the clear-cut announcement of Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani to call an All-Parties Conference (APC) on Balochistan was recognition of the fact that they were serious to find a resolution.

Those people, who considered it a serious attempt aimed at resolving the issue, are now getting frustrated over lack of progress towards realization of much-needed APC. Without any doubt, the situation in the province was going from bad to worse, requiring urgent attention of all the stakeholders.

If the government had taken bold and timely measures to redress the problems, there would have been no need for convening an all-party conference. However, it did not take any step, turning blind eye to the fast deteriorating state of affairs.

Although the problems are visible to everyone, the incumbent considered offering apology by President Asif Ali Zardari as an enough to woo back the support of local people.

In quite a positive move, the incumbent also announced Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package, but it remained on papers despite passage of three years.

On the other side, the law and enforcement agencies are too not ready to handover the powers to civilian government.

The announcement of convening an APC was seen as a right move in the right direction, but it didn’t happen.

The pre-conditions attached by PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif to attend the all-party conference were similar to the demands of dissident Baloch leaders. However, the incumbent did not take any step hitherto to find a resolution.

The party constituted by Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani to convince other parties is sleeping presently.

The climax of story is not far away but unfortunately the policy and decision makers are least bothered and are watching the situation as silent viewers as if they owe no responsibility to forestall a disaster.

In my view, it is a litmus test of President Asif Ali Zardari he should take measures as head of the state when there are serious risks to the sovereignty and unity of the country.

Zardari can still do that by dashing to the PML-N and contacting other leaders, persuading them to come on the dialogue table.

Quetta should be the venue of the APC, which is quite crucial at the moment, and the participants should rise only after agreeing on a workable strategy to address the challenge.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Mar 14 2012. Filed under National, Opinion, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.