Baloch separatists willing to talk peace

[Bengal_Tiger]

‘Baloch separatists willing to talk peace’

By Shehzad Baloch
Published: September 6, 2011


Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Raisani also welcomed the development.

QUETTA: A Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senator in Balochistan has disclosed that Baloch insurgents are willing to negotiate with the government about the possibility of joining the federal framework.

While talking to the media here on Monday, Senator Haji Lashkari Raisani said that he was approached by a Baloch separatist leader – known to be involved in insurgency in the province – about entering the political mainstream.
“A separatist group, waging insurgency in Balochistan, contacted me and agreed to work out a peaceful struggle within the framework of Pakistan,” Lashkari told The Express Tribune, after speaking to the media.
Although the PPP Senator declined to name the Baloch leader, he said: “[It is] the leader who is in self-exile and is leading an insurgent group in Balochistan”. He also categorically stated that those who contacted him were not involved in targeted killings or the killing of innocent people.
“They did not impose any conditions or place any demand but expressed their willingness to continue their struggle within the framework of the Constitution,” said Raisani, who is also the former Balochistan PPP president.
The senator said that he sees the breakthrough as a major initiative that will help in normalising the situation in Balochistan. He added that he would hold a meeting with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani soon to further discuss the matter.
“If this development is successful, other separatist leaders will also join the negotiations,” he predicted.
Balochistan is currently facing the fifth insurgency since Pakistan has come into being. Targeted killings and attacks on security forces and economic installations have intensified in the province after the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti in 2006.
The government has repeatedly made claims of launching a reconciliation process in the province, but no such move has been substantially initiated.
Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Raisani, in a statement, welcomed the development and said it bode well for the future of Balochistan.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/246125/b...to-talk-peace/

[Bengal_Tiger]

1. The Baloch have risen up against the Punjabi-dominated Pakistani establishment and army 5 times, this is their 5th. This most recent insurgency was activated in 2005 with Musharraf's bombing and killing of Baloch leader, tribal landlord Akbar Bugti.

2. However Pakistan has been trying to make inroads in to this area including the recruitment of Balochi youth (thus employment and money for them and their families) in to the army, including 10,000, as well as other projects and services.

It remains to seen how successful this will be, but this is a different age to the 4 previous insurgencies, this is the information technology age where the internet and media highlight everything.

3. The current Pakistani civilian government (I stress civilian, since the army/ISI still retain ultimate control of what are considered "national security" issues) is a PPP one.

The PPP is the only pan-Pakistan party in the federation and appeals to many of Pakistan's minorities including Shias, Balochis, Sindhis etc.

Zardari himself is a Sindhi of Baloch ancestry, and the head of the Balochi Zardari tribe, and other senior Balochis are in the PPP. If peace cannot be made now with a Baloch-influenced PPP government then the chances are far less if there is a PML regime.


I read on another forum today in a claim by a Punjabi living in Balochistan, this is just a tactical move by the rebels to give them time to rearm and restock and if they manage to do that they will be far stronger and be able to eventually secede this time.

So the question I have for the likes of Toramana, Pir Rokhan, Khyaal, Levanae Zalmaye and others is will this actually work?

Or will it just be temporary, with the fighting resuming sooner or later?

[Karachi]

This is good news! but they should keep demanding for their equal rights from the central government. Baloch people deserve to be treated equally!

[gadoonwal]

White lie,bingali brother pls do,nt follow these evil isi owned media.
The baluchis hate anything to do with pakistan.They even kicked and killed many punjabis in baluchistan.
nawab raisani is alcoholic and low life isi dog.
He is imposed on baluchi people.
People will chope his head if he visit there.
Baluchis will soon decalre their freedom.
The baluchi embassy already operating in some parts of the world.

[Bengal_Tiger]

White lie,bingali brother pls do,nt follow these evil isi owned media.
The baluchis hate anything to do with pakistan.They even kicked and killed many punjabis in baluchistan.
nawab raisani is alcoholic and low life isi dog.
He is imposed on baluchi people.
People will chope his head if he visit there.
Baluchis will soon decalre their freedom.
The baluchi embassy already operating in some parts of the world.

Interesting.

1. If Balochistan does break away that might mean Pakistan has lost about 44% (under half) of its territory. Now Pakistanis speak of the loss of East Pakistan as "losing half of the country", but in geographical terms it wasn't (though East Pakistan was the majority population and net exporter whilst West Pakistan was net importer and used to finance itself from East Pakistani money).

Visually the loss of East Pakistan merely meant some territory a thousand miles or so was not part of the country, but the potential loss of all of Balochistan would be a huge blow to the Pakistani psyche, the map of Pakistan would look completely different and would demoralize Pakistanis.

For instance here in Britain we have lots of young Mirpuris, Lahoris and others who have literally never heard the term "Balochi" (some don't know even what a Mohajir is, all they know is Pathan, Punjabi, Lahori, Kashmir, Mirpuri) for such people to one day wake up and see the loss of Baluchistan will mentally effect them.




The Quetta question

2. Earlier I said "If Balochistan does break away that might mean Pakistan has lost about 44% (under half) of its territory." because part of that 44% are Pashtun areas such as Quetta. I do not think Quetta Pashtuns will accept being part of Balochistan but Balochi nationalists besides Ataullah Mengal refuse to accept the Pashtuns of Balochistan seceding from their province.

Balochistan Pashtuns are not Peshawaris, they are tough, close to Pashtunwali and proud, they are also more nationalistic Pashtuns than those of the Peshawar valley.

(By the way on the Baloch warna site, they have areas of Afghanistan as part of the Balochi state)

Knock on effect of Balochistan leaving

3. If Balochistan (with or without Pashtun areas) leaves, only 3 major provinces are left and in some ways the federation is far more weakened than the loss of East Pakistan.

a: Sindhis have already uttered threats about leaving the federation including Zardari and Zulfikar Mirza in late 2007 when Benazir was killed. They do not have the military means or martial nature of Balochis to launch a campaign against the Pakistani army.

PakistaN Na khapay,Zulfiqar Mirza - YouTube

Senior PPP leader and Sindhi, Zulfikar Mirza calling for an end to Pakistan, which he has since retracted.

However Islamabad-Rawalpindi will have to chose if with the loss of Balochistan they adopt a completely ruthless policy of supressing all opposition and retaining what's left of the federation, or avoiding another Balochistan by being conciliatory.

Sindhi threats of leaving the federation will only go stronger at seeing the success of the Balochis.

Even if there is not an immediate secession but in the coming years Balochistan becomes the next north Iraq/Kurdistan with a rapidly growing economy and even possible GCC membership (40% of Imaratis are Balochi including some government ministers, and Oman has many Balochis, and the UAE has been providing support to Baloch rebels) then the prospect of an independent Sindh will become more and more appealing.

Then there is the issue of Karachi, at times the MQM leader Altaf Hussain speaks of being a Sindhi himself and wears the Sindhi topi (Sindhi hat).



The Sindhi cap, a symbol of Sindhi culture and nationalism.

Sindhi Topi Ajrak Day Relly In Mehrabpur. - YouTube



Altaf Hussain, MQM leader, wearing the Sindhi topi (cap).


Also Karachi is right next door to Balochistan and there are a few million Balochis in Karachi, the biggest centre of Balochis in the world.

Also many Sindhis (30 - 40%)are actually Balochi in origin including many of their leaders and nationalists e.g Qadir Magsi (Sindhi leader from the Baloch Magsi tribe) and Zardari himself.

Would the PPP, Sindhi nationalists, MQM unite against their common enemy, Punjab and opt for an independent Sindh? The MQM would be more powerful in a smaller Sindh than a big Pakistan. Going for an independent Mohajir-controlled Karachi would be suicide as the millions of Balochis, Sindhis and Pashtuns would fight over that and there would be a bloodbath and the MQM would be given a ferocious beating.

b: Khyber Pashtunkhwa, since this is Pashtun forums we can spend more time later talking about the Pashtun reaction to any potential secession of Balochistan from the federation.

c: Punjab, if Balochistan leaves then Punjabis who view themselves as Pakistan or the "real Pakistanis" would have some of their immense pride and arrogance reduced. Punjabis in general are arrogant and very proud but when it comes to the crunch, their actions never match their words, e.g. Punjabized "Pathan" (Luffy the thief style "Pathan"), Niazi.

niazi refuses to give up - YouTube

Niazi the traitor "Pathan" who said East Pakistan would never fall, though was busy having sex with prostitutes, full of bluster and bravado before East Pakistan was liberated.

Nawaz Sharif cares about himself and about money than he does about Pakistan, so if the break up of the federation means he becomes king of a smaller mansion (Punjab) than being unable to become king of a big palace (Pakistan), he will chose to become leader of a smaller Punjab than opposition leader of Pakistan.

PROVINICIAL BORDERS

However I am not sure if the federation will ever break, and even if it does I doubt it will be now, because there are major border issues which have not been resolved e.g. Junoobi Pakhtunkhwa/Northern Balochistan, Saraiki province, how Karachi should be ruled etc.

What is clear however a few million Baloch will have a major impact on the lives and destinies of 180 million other members of the federation.

[Bengal_Tiger]

Nawaz Sharif, leader of Pakistan's Punjabis visiting Sindhi nationalist leader, Qadir Magsi.

mian nawaz sharif in hydrabad going to doctor qadir magsi house - YouTube[/URL]



Nawaz Sharif with Qadir Magsi, leader of the Sindh Taraqi Pasand party.


Nawaz is ambitious, the allure of being the head of a sovereign Punjab, flying to foreign capitals with VIP treatment, red carpets, lucrative economic deals as opposed to being a simple party leader in Pakistan may be too much for Pakistan's former head of government, prime minister during the Kargil crisis.

HYDERABAD: PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif has said his party gives equal importance to all provinces of Pakistan and that his agenda is similar to that of the nationalist political parties of Sindh.

“Provincial autonomy, new provinces and other important issues should be considered anew,” Shairf suggested at a press conference during his visit to the residence of Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party (STP) chief Qadir Magsi here on Tuesday....

Sharif said his party had the same manifesto as that of the nationalist leaders he met here. “We talk about rights of poor people, minorities and autonomy for provinces,” he explained.
Sharif said his party began to distribute land to poor peasants in Sindh and made access to justice easier during his two stints in the government....

He praised nationalist leaders for their struggle for the province’s rights and said all cultures should be proud of their languages and vibrant traditions....

“Denying admissions in Karachi’s educational institutions to youth of interior Sindh is not acceptable,” he said.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/17/nawaz...s-support.html

Muslim Sindhi students are not allowed to study in universities in Urdu-speaking dominated Karachi in the 21st century in the "Islamic" Republic of Pakistan, the land of "Pakistan kya matlab hai? La ilaha illa Allah" (What is Pakistan's purpose: There is no deity except Allah), the land which Zaid Hamid calls "Medina Sani" (the second Medina, i.e. Pakistan is supposedly akin to the state of the holy prophet sollAllhu 'alaihi wa sallam, nau'dhubillah from such disgusting claims).

Of course Luffy the thief and other Pakistani nationalists will blame such racism and discrimination on Bengalis, RAW, Mossad and the CIA.

[Bengal_Tiger]

The above meeting between Nawaz and Qadir Magsi was in May. Nawaz is a corrupt politician and the fact that he was busy cosying up to Sindhi nationalists is because he saw them as allies in increasing the power of the provinces of the federation, including the power of Punjab, i.e. his power.

If he is on friendly terms now with Sindhi nationalists (some of whom at times speak of independence) and speaking about making the provinces more powerful, he may be just as friendly with them when they speak about how to divide Pakistan.