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By M. S. Baloch
Pakistan state defines itself. What it is not is a social group, it is not
a religious group, and it is not racial, it is the product of a unique
combination of recent historic factors and can never be reduce to single
dimension weather social, religious, racial, or economical. “A nation is
constituted by a sense, on its member’s cultural community with each other
based on a shared past, a heritage of common ways and traditions.”
Pakistan constitutes of five nations, Baloch, Saraki, Sandhi, Punjabi,
Pahkhton, each and every one of these five has a unique culture, which
differentiates one group from another. There is also a sixth group; those
who migrated from India to the Pakistan in order to establish the Islamic
state, homeland for Muslims. Sixth group are the administrators of
Pakistan. The state official language is Urdu, an alien language to most
Pakistani, which is imposed by eight per cent of the migrant population in
Pakistan. The migrant never believed it necessary to integrate to the new
society, but demand compensation for creating a failed state, which no one
is in favor of, except the Pakistani army and the Punjabi dominant
population.
Violence between cultural groups is a daily routine, or at its best armed
conflict between religious groups, at its worse arm conflict between the
state and one or two national group against Pakistani army. Cultural
deference and economic interest of each nation are bigger than religious
unity. The European definition of a nation was of a being the fruit of
history, of being memory, which is not true in case of Pakistan. National
communities as the Europeans define it, from all other community’s lie in
this: it is bringing people together not for what they are, but for what
they have been. Pakistan is colonial united and not fruit of history, it
has to reform or die.
The nation idea survives in Pakistan today only by allying itself with
forces that have over taken it: religion, army, and the Punjabi feudal
system, Pakistani ISI ability to instigate tribal conflict in rural
society.
In economic spheres it has already shown weakening of Pakistan, combined
with the rise to power of a private agent, drug traffickers. To muddy the
distinction between the Pakistani domain and that of what are called
private interests.
The same goes to violence, which has become private. The army too, has
become private:
Pakistani administers divert themselves of responsibility some by tactical
skill, some because they are unable to exercise them.
Education is the responsibility of state; Balochistan has the highest rate
of illiteracy in Pakistan. Time and again the Pakistani establishment
blames Balochi Sardar for failure of state toward its citizen. Tribal
society is a basic human organization, in order to turn a tribal man into
a citizen, first the tribal man should be educated in order to transfer
tribal society into a modern society. One can argue that society should go
through industrialization. For citizen mobilization state should provide a
good communication network that citizen can communicate within a
reasonable time. State should be able to create long term and short-term
jobs. State must guarantee citizens rights. In order to reduce tribe
leader influence from a given society, state should be able to guarantee
security of it citizens, or a groups property are protected by law of
land. Dismantling the oldest institution in Balochistan without
alternative institution is in no ones interest. Pakistani establishment is
misleading its citizens. Tribe leaders neither have resources or the
responsibility to provide education; neither do they have the power to
prevent state from doing so. Pakistani are able to build army containment
in Balochistan by confiscating land by force, Pakistani could enforce
school buildings as well using this policy. Pakistani establishment divert
the responsibility, and instead blame individual private citizens for the
states failure.
The criminalization of politics, and politicization of crime already
established continuity between two activities that previously were
separated: war and crime.
Wealth permits the wolves to be more effectives in their cruelty. People
are dying from bursts of machine gun fire and gunship helicopters, in
order to control their resources.
Baloch and others wealth is linked less and less to Pakistan. On going
army operation is going to have less effect in crushing resistance in
Balochistan.
To reduce the likelihood of uncertainty and the unpredictable, reduce the
tolerance for breakdown and errors. Dictators are not in favor of
democratic institution. Pakistani army has ruled Pakistan directly or
indirectly since its birth 58 years ago and destroyed every institution
that Pakistan inherited from British. Now there are two institutions in
Pakistan one is army dominated by the Punjabi, second is religion, in the
past, army and religion worked together. After 9/11 the religious party
feels the heat alone, clergies are not in favor of war on terror. Religion
and army are not in ease with each other.
No error is irreparable, but every error has consequences. I am not
certain what the consequences are for Pakistan’s catalog of errors.
Election is necessary but it is not enough by it self, one has to create
condition for producing free, stable society. No political party is strong
enough to reform the cultural and social, and religious in order to get
favorable democratic outcome in Pakistan.
We would like to think that corruption is an old fashioned phenomenon, a
regrettable custom of time in which no distinction was made between
private fortune and public wealth.
The fact is that in Pakistan bribes must be handed out to the authorities,
it is shocking to most people its phenomenon threat to nation-state of
Pakistan.
Big bosses make big decision and big bribes can influence these big
decisions. Those who make decisions are identified, and corruption
develops not because it is impossible to control it, the circles of
decision are clear, but because of political refusal to assume control,
there is no state.
The officials, who command a good network for hefty sum, make this network
available to the private company. (One has to mention A. Q. Khan network
that sold nuclear bomb making knowledge to the terrorist and terrorist
state around the world).
Over taken by globalization, in competition with the wealth of new
players, manipulated by interests more powerful than themselves, Pakistan
is exhausted, increasingly suspected of condemning corruption only to
protect what power is left to them.
Today Pakistani army bombarding Balochistan, part of it own occupied
territory in order to subdue the nation and control Balochistan resources.
At the same time it commits atrocities against women and children, and
deny Baloch autonomy. Balochistan nationalist parties are secular parties,
demanding self-determination, which is their democratic right, if Balochi
fail to achieve or are denied self-determination through these secular
parties that would not be the end of the Baloch struggle for
self-determination. Baloch are suffering from Pakistani oppression alone,
if Pakistan is not contained, soon its neighbor would not be safe.
Compare corruption between Palestinian and Pakistan I think level of
corruption in Pakistan will exceed Palestinian. Pakistan has always been
fertile ground for Islamic fanatics from all over the world. The inability
or unwillingness of the Pakistani establishment to deal firmly with issues
of corruption brings Pakistan close to Islamic fanatic sphere. Pakistan’s
current ruler is a short-term fix, not long-term solution. You don’t have
to be a genius to figure it out; next general who declares a coup will not
be Mr. Nice, but a fanatic who has an Islamic bomb in his pocket. At the
moment in Pakistan fanatics and jihadies who dominate the Pakistani
establishment will one day assume power through bullet or ballot.
Is that enough to give the world cause for concern?
Baloch_M_S@yahoo.se
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