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Conflict in Balochistan 38
not opposed to development but against the exploitation of these natural resources, without benefit to the local
communities. On the other hand the federal government is distressed at the obstacles placed by local tribes in
the way of development.
To resolve these issues an inter-party Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan was formed in September,
2004. The sub-committee, headed by Senator Wasim Sajad, to look into inter-provincial matters has still not
submitted its report. Another, subcommittee,
formed to examine the
current issues, concluded its report.
It is criticized for hedging comment
on the basic dispute, but it did make
a few observations and
recommendations. It was a step in
the right direction and could have led
to further negotiations, but for various
reasons, this initiative could not be
carried forward.
In its report the Committee
noted that all multinational enterprises
wishing to invest in Balochistan,
wanted sovereign guarantees from
the Federal government, which it was
unable to provide without the cooperation
of the tribal leaders. At the
An FC fortification: Who is the target?
same time, they noted, that the
12.5% royalty fixed for gas, drawn from the Sui area, was based on ‘wellhead value’, which was much below
the market value received by other gas fields in other Provinces. 14 The royalties are received by the provincial
governments.
A large number of Balochistanis never fail to point out that natural gas was discovered in Balochistan in
the early 1950s but it was only in 1976 that the Province got its first liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Quetta.
Later, pipelined gas was made available in Quetta but Sui town, which houses the gas plant, mostly does not
have piped gas connections.
Angered by, a perceived or real sense of deprivation, Baloch nationalists have long conducted a
campaign of protest against the Central government, which has sometimes erupted into violence. The Musharraf
government argues that, the unending cycle of militancy by Baloch nationalists has impeded the federal
government’s efforts at development in the region. The President of Pakistan publicly blamed the tribal chiefs
for their anti-development stance. He then amended his statement saying that only three out of 78 tribal chiefs
in the province were “troublemakers”—these being Nawab Akbar Bugti, Nawab Khair Baksh Marri and
Sarder Ataullah Mengal. On another occasion, while speaking to a local private channel the President warned
Baloch militants that it, was not the 1970s, promising that “they will be struck with weapons - they will not
know what happened to them”. Balaach, the son of Khair Baksh Marri, retorted that this was indeed not the
1970s and that Pakistan’s rulers should learn a lesson from Iraq.
The hostilities and violence has escalated on the plea of giving the local populations better economic
opportunities; yet they are the worst sufferers of the conflict. The socio-economic conditions of the people
remain abysmal. According to a report published by the Karachi-based Social Policy and Development Centre