Baloch nationalist set to return to Senate

[LahoreEstate]

* National Party leader’s filing of nomination for Senate seat marks party’s formal return to parliamentary politics
* Brothers of Balochistan governor, chief minister to contest election

By Malik Siraj Akbar

QUETTA: The most exciting thing about the upcoming Senate election from Balochistan -- for which as many as 50 candidates from various political parties filed their nomination papers on Friday -- is the submission of nomination papers by Baloch nationalist leader Mir Hasil Khan Bizanjo of the National Party (NP).

This is seemingly the formal return of a key Baloch nationalist outfit to parliamentary politics after abandoning parliament one year ago in protest against the general election that was held under the leadership of former president Pervez Musharraf.

Along with the Balochistan National Party-Mengal, the NP has been conducting prolonged internal discussions either to give up parliament, where Balochistan has too little representation to get its issues resolved properly, or to participate in parliamentary politics while living within the constitutional jurisdiction of the federation. Even though the NP had boycotted the general election by saying it had lost faith in parliamentary politics, it continued to retain its sole seat in the Senate where its president, Abdul Malik Baloch, is still representing the party.

The issue of remaining in parliament arose in its latest phase when Baloch leader Akbar Bugti was killed in a military operation on August 2006. In a protest against Bugti's killing, the BNP submitted resignations from parliament. However, the NP refused to follow suit and was called “a party with close links with the ruling party”.

A political analyst told Daily Times that after receiving a cold response from the BNP, the PPP now intended to take the NP on board as part of its reconciliation process in the province.

The party's founding president, Abdul Hayee Baloch, a Baloch hawk, argued that the decision of boycotting the general election was right. However, party President Abdul Malik Baloch recently said boycotting the election “was a blunder his party had committed”.

A political expert called the return of the NP senior leader in the parliamentary politics a “success for the ruling PPP”, which had managed to “tone down the heating political temperatures”.

Family Ties: As usual, family relations of top politicians from Balochistan are playing an interesting role in the Senate election where the bigwigs have pitted their kith and kin in the race. The brothers of the Balochistan governor as well as that of the chief minister are contesting the Senate election.

PPP Balochistan President Lashkari Raisani, who is the younger brother of Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani, has submitted his nomination papers.

Salma Saeed Hashmi -- whose mother Ruqayya Saeed Hashmi is a provincial minister and father is a Senator from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid -- is contesting the election as a newcomer while Mir Changiz Khan Jamali, son of leading PPP leader and former Balochistan chief minister Taj Muhammad Jamali is also contesting the election.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg7_28