Troubling Man in Balochistan

The Baloch Hal

Editorial:

BY:MALIK SIRAJ AKBAR

Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, the Balochistan President of the Pakistan Muslim League (P.M.L-Nawaz), has recently been featured in the media mostly for negative reasons. Previously, the media depicted him as a man who obstructed Dr. Malik Baloch’s election as the chief minister. Now, he is back in the news for more perturbing reasons. Last week, Mr. Zehri’s ‘private’ security guards assaulted Samiullah Somoro, Quetta’s Superintendent of Police (SP), outside the Balochistan Assembly when the police officer on duty prevented them from entering the building of the provincial legislature. The Policeman cited instructions from the Election Commission of Pakistan to justify the restriction of private guards inside the Assembly building. Mr. Zehri is among the three people who have so far been nominated as provincial ministers in Dr. Baloch’s cabinet. The incident took place when the P.M.L.-N leader had gone to cast his vote for the Senate elections. The incident, which included slapping of the S.P. by Mr. Zehri’s guards, drew two immediate reactions. Firstly, Capital City Police Officer (C.C.P.O.) Mir Zubair Mehmood and other Deputy Inspectors General (D.I.G.s) protested against the incident and stopped performing their duty to object to the brazen assault. Secondly, the Chief Minister, Dr. Baloch, showed absolute immaturity and poor judgment by abruptly suspending the S.P., who had actually been assaulted by Mr. Zehri’s armed men. Dr. Baloch had apparently taken the decision only to protect his own coalition government which almost entirely depends on the support of the P.M.L-N and the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (Pk.M.P). On its part, the Balochistan High Court (B.H.C.) promptly intervened and took suo moto notice of the episode. Headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Essa and Justice Jamal Mandokhel, the B.H.C. bench summoned Balochistan Chief Secretary Baber Yaqoob Fateh, Advocate General Shakil Baloch and the C.C.P.O. Quetta to inquire about the details of the event. The Chief Justice said, “People have immense expectations from the new provincial government; this act by the government brought down the morale of our police.” Backed by the B.H.C., the Quetta police have now registered a cases against five guards of Mr. Zehri and initiated further investigations. While no one among Mr. Zehri’s cops has been arrested, this case has distinctly pitted the executive and judiciary branches of the government, standing on one side, against the legislature, standing alone, ironically, in support of an attack on a policeman. Feeling that their mutual interests are threatened, members of the Balochistan Assembly belonging to other political parties, such as the Pakistan Muslim League (P.M.L.-Quaid-e-Azam), have begun to express support for Sardar Zehri and have suggested that the police officer who had come from the Sindh province, should be banished from Balochistan. For instance, Shiek Jaffar Khan Mandokhel, the Balochistan president of the P.M.L.-Q, addressed a rare press conference at Mr. Zehri’s residence and accused the media of “exaggerating” the episode. He argued that the media was involved in the “character assassination” of Mr. Zehri who, according to Mr. Mandokhel, faces genuine threats to his life. Seen from a democratic perspective and the realities on the ground, the Balochistan Assembly should have absolute control over the security apparatus of the province. However, legislators, mainly those belonging to the government, must not take this advantage for granted. As the Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court rightly pointed out, people have very high expectations from the new government. It should not use democracy as a tool to empower some tribal chiefs. A true democratic government should work for social reforms and public welfare. It should rid Balochistan of archaic traditions and unreasonable practices such as tribalism and keeping of private armies. The behavior of Mr. Zehri’s guards, the dismissal of the police officer by the chief minister and Mr. Mandokhel’s press conference were all wrong. The chief minister’s goal should be to establish the rule of the law not to stand with those who violate it. While this may appear as a small matter which should be resolved by the provincial authorities, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should still care what his party’s chief in Balcohistan is doing. Mr. Sharif should either urge his party chief to respect the law or he should step back to pave the way for other law-abiding politicians. Otherwise, people like Mr. Zehri would continue to embarrass the prime minister with their actions. The killing of his son, brother and nephew in an election campaign was indeed tragic but that tragedy should not grant Mr. Zehri immunity from the rule of the law. As a veteran lawmaker himself, Mr. Zehri is expected to guard, not violate, the law.