Cantonments in Balochistan: editorials, Sept 09

The News International
The chief minister of Balochistan has informed reporters in Quetta that the federal government has accepted a request from the provincial government that the building of military cantonments in the province be stopped. The agreement on this, we are told, has been reached after much deliberation and is aimed at calming sentiments in Balochistan. The decision to establish the cantonments, taken under President Musharraf, had been fiercely opposed by all nationalist and most political forces in Balochistan. It was, for obvious reasons, seen as an effort to clamp down against nationalist elements. It was obviously no coincidence that the cantonments were to be set up in the Dera Bugti and Kohlu areas – where the anti-government uprising of the Musharraf area was concentrated.

Indeed people in Balochistan have made consistent claims of harassment by paramilitary forces posted along highways and they had feared the cantonments would only add to this. The role of the army in Balochistan is of course an issue that draws strong reaction, particularly since the deadly military operation in the 1970s. The scars left by it have not vanished. The actions taken some three decades later under a military dictator have only re-opened the wounds. We must hope the move to abandon the building of the cantonments is not an isolated gesture but an indication of a more sweeping change thinking. The problems of our largest province cannot be solved by the use of force. The government must demonstrate a willingness to win the Baloch heart. http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=197350

The Daily Time, Sept 9
The Balochistan Chief Minister, Nawab Aslam Raisani, says the federal government has decided to abandon the construction of military cantonments in Balochistan on the request of the provincial government. The principle to which he has pointed is sound: “We have been insisting from the beginning that the people of the province should be taken into confidence while making crucial decisions”.

An almost across the board consensus among the political parties says the federal government should not build any more cantonments. They see the army as a hostile force opposed to their aspirations. The past has seen army actions which the people of Balochistan have perceived as oppression. Since the national consensus too goes with Balochistan, it is only right that the planned cantonments should be laid off.

But Mr Raisani’s claim that he is asking for rights for Balochistan in light of the text of the 1940 Lahore Resolution may lead to a difference of interpretations. His reading of the Resolution would claim “sovereignty” for the provinces. What the Constitution will give to Balochistan is “autonomy”. And that will exclude defence of Pakistan as a sovereign state.

Balochistan is under threat from infiltration by other states. It already has military divisions in place in the province as a requirement of national defence. What if Balochistan is challenged from the outside? The “consensus” in Quetta is also against Frontier Constabulary and the police.

Balochistan is on the eve of receiving a significant increase in its allocation from the federal divisible pool of funds. It will need security against foreign infiltration and against criminal elements who might want to control its precious resources. A very big challenge confronts it in the sector of development. It must therefore strive to become a “normal” province. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\09\09\story_9-9-2009_pg3_1