Jun 05, 2013

Balochistan: New Provincial Government To Be Installed


Political leaders and government officials stated that a new coalition government is going to be settled early next week in Balochistan. All eyes are on the newly elected Chief Minister Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch.


 Below is an article published by Daily Times:


A new coalition government is likely to take shape in Balochistan within a couple of days as people from Islamabad to Quetta pin high hopes that the new government in Balochistan manages to end the suffering of the Baloch.
Majority of people in Islamabad expressed the hope that the elected provincial government would strive to resolve the social and economic issues confronting the people of Balochistan for the last 65 years.


Senior journalists and politicians living in Islamabad believe that only public representatives can bring about prosperity and ensure welfare of the nation adding that Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch is the right public representative who can perform this job well in bringing prosperity and development in the province.
Civil society of Islamabad also welcomed Dr. Malik Baloch’s nomination as the next chief minister of Balochistan and called it a right step in the right direction.
They are of the opinion that Dr. Malik Baloch is a middle class Baloch leader and no one understands Balochistan’s issues more than him. People hope that Dr. Malik Baloch will use all the resources and power at his disposal to bring peace, stability and prosperity to the war torn Balochistan and would bring Islamabad and Balochistan closer.


Meanwhile National Party president and newly elected Chief Minister Balochistan Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch said that a new era of confidence building, rehabilitation and reconciliation would be in place to ensure the accommodation and empowerment of ordinary Baloch and to remove their sense of isolation, decades old discrimination, injustices, abuses and immoral treatment directed against them.
Malik Baloch said that his first priority will be to stop human rights violation in the province adding that he will leave no stone unturned to stop “killing and dumping” of Baloch political leaders and students.


But the next five years are considered crucial for Balochistan’s future, as the new government would have a tough time to recover all missing persons, dismantle all proxy death squads and private militia, stop targeted killings. A major challenge would be to exercise control over the Frontier Constabulary and intelligence agencies. The new Balochistan government would have to brace itself for some important decisions like the Gwadar Deep Sea Port, the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline construction, further the new government will have to take a decision to either hand over the copper-gold project of Rekodiq to a foreign company or to run it by the provincial government.
The challenges are tough. The timing is critical. It is now up to the PML-N and Balochistan’s nationalist political parties whether they would be successful to create an atmosphere of friendship, co-operation, tolerance, mutual respect, understanding and controlling terrorism, extremism, sectarian violence and corruption in the province.