Long march: Balochistan the only neutral province

[LahoreEstate]

Monday, March 16, 2009
By Mumtaz Alvi

ISLAMABAD: Despite pressure from the federal government and even from the PPP, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani demonstrated complete neutrality, giving a free hand to lawyers and political workers to come out for the long march.

Sindh, Punjab and the NWFP have taken various measures, including blockade of roads and highways and arresting political workers, for restraining the participants of the long march, citing security reasons. However, Balochistan remained completely neutral.

Raisani has shown no interest in unleashing crackdown on those, who rallied for the reinstatement of the deposed judges. Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani, younger brother of the chief minister, told The News that the policy of neutrality was not new; it had its roots in the centuries-old traditions of the province.

“Even if there is enmity, we go to a certain limit, keeping in mind our tribal customs. Hence, our style of governance and politics is totally different from what we see in the Punjab or other provinces,” said Lashkari, who is a senator and leads the PPP’s Balochistan chapter.

He said the provincial government gave a free hand to the lawyers and the political activists to exercise their democratic right, but within well-defined limits. “We told them to follow the rules of the game, there will be no trouble,” he added.

He pointed out that the provincial government, like the party leadership’s philosophy of ‘reconciliation, forget and forgive’, had adhered to its principled position with reference to the long march.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=167445