Saturday, August 26, 2006javascript:;
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2006\08\26\story_26-8-2006_pg3_1
EDITORIAL: Abolishing sardari system or Baloch nationalism?
A ââ¬ËQaumiââ¬â¢ Bugti Jirga got together at the Jinnah Stadium in Dera Bugti Thursday and declared that the ââ¬Ësardari systemââ¬â¢ of the Bugti tribe had been abolished forthwith. It also thanked President Pervez Musharraf for ââ¬Åemancipating the people of the area from the atrocities and excesses of the former tribal chiefââ¬Â and asked the federal government to continue with gas exploration in the Bugti territory for the welfare of the tribes living there. The stadium was reportedly filled with thousands of people from the Kalpar, Masoori, Firozani, Shambhani, Mandrani, Raheja and Marhata sub-tribes, known in the past for nursing feuds with the fleet-footed Nawab Akbar Bugti.
The ââ¬ËQaumi Jirgaââ¬â¢ also adopted 15 resolutions that significantly endorse the efforts made by the Musharraf government to eliminate the perceived resistance shown by the Baloch in general and the Bugti sardar in particular. For instance, the 15th resolution pertains to declaring the Bugti territory as ââ¬ÅArea Aââ¬Â with a full-fledged administration and police system, while the primary portion of the province remains ââ¬ÅArea Bââ¬Â. One resolution appealed to the Marri and other tribes to ââ¬Åhand over the accused Nawab Akbar Bugti and others to the Bugtis, so that justice is done to them in accordance with tribal traditions (sic!)ââ¬Â. It also decided to confiscate all of Nawab Bugtiââ¬â¢s assets and distribute them ââ¬Åamong those who [had] suffered at his handsââ¬Â.
It is ironic that after abolishing the ââ¬Åsardari systemââ¬Â, the Jirga reverted to the ââ¬Åtribal systemââ¬Â and declared the local elections in the area null and void because the nazims had been backed by Nawab Akbar Bugti. The new system will obviously be run by the gutsy DCO of Dera Bugti, Abdul Samad Lasi, who stated that more than 95 percent of the farari camps run by the rebel Sardar had been smashed and the writ of the government fully restored in the district. He admitted that the new ââ¬Åsystemââ¬Â was put in place with the help of more than 20,000 people of Masoori, Kalpar and other sub-tribes whom the government had transported back to the area from different parts of Sindh and Punjab after a period of 10 years, each man getting Rs 5,000 as ââ¬Åcash reliefââ¬Â for the journey home.
It is obvious that the latest ââ¬Åeffortââ¬Â made in Balochistan to counter the sardars will not resolve the fundamental problem: that of Baloch nationalism spearheaded by the very sardars that the government wants removed from the scene. The fact is that the ââ¬Åsardari systemââ¬Â was first ââ¬Åabolishedââ¬Â by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1973 when the biggest Sardar of them all, Nawab Akbar Bugti, was solidly entrenched as Mr Bhuttoââ¬â¢s hand-picked governor of Balochistan. But no one took notice of it, certainly not Mr Bugti, and not a single subsequent government believed in the farce. The trio of sardars that bothers Islamabad (Marri, Bugti, Mengal) are far from being just tribal chiefs. Nawab Akbar Bugtiââ¬â¢s Jamhoori Watan Party is part of the ARD that is trying to depose President Musharraf.
Past governments have had a pattern of behaviour vis-à-vis Nawab Bugti that will further undermine the latest effort. The sub-tribes had to flee the area because federal governments in the 1990s sided with Bugti in his tribal vendettas. They gave him big money and when one government tried to reverse the policy its successor went right back to the old pattern. What has been lacking is political consensus in Islamabad. The situation is no different now. The opposition, which includes both mainstream political parties, is not on board; not even President Musharrafââ¬â¢s second-best ally, the MQM, agrees with what the federal government is doing in Balochistan. The problem in Balochistan is not the sardari system but an aggrieved nationalism that now rightly demands that the Baloch be treated in accordance with the principles of provincial autonomy, even if that means amending the constitution. Just abolishing the Bugti sardari will not solve the problem. *
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\08\26\story_26-8-2006_pg3_1
