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Thursday, May 24, 2012

Pakistan: Insurrection in Balochistan, Current affairs, NewAgeIslam.com

Current affairs
Pakistan: Insurrection in Balochistan
Balochistan needs less violence and more practical politics
CHIEF Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, has once again trumped Islamabad when it comes to politics and symbolism. In a high profile visit to Quetta, Mr Sharif struck the right notes of reconciliation and rapprochement in Balochistan, a province with festering issues that the government at the centre has done little to address. No doubt that the serious crises of militancy, politics and the economy that the federal government is faced with would tax even the most efficient of administrations, but that is no excuse for putting the Balochistan issue on the backburner. On Sunday, a meeting of Balochistan’s provincial legislators decided to approach the federal government to resolve the issue of provincial autonomy, implement Balochistan’s constitutional quota in federal services and autonomous corporations, and recruit local youths in provincial forces. The demands are a testament to the centre’s current lack of interest in Balochistan. The release of Sardar Akhtar Mengal, president of his faction of the Balochistan National Party, and Shahzain Bugti, grandson of the late Nawab Akbar Bugti, were positive steps, but clearly more needs to be done.

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