BALOCHISTAN (2): THE GRIEVANCES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 016962 SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA MARKINGS) SIPDIS NOFORN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2015 TAGS: PK PREL PGOV KTER PINR SUBJECT: BALOCHISTAN (2): THE GRIEVANCES REF: A. ISLAMABAD 14349 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 16269 ¶C. ISLAMABAD 16944 ISLAMABAD 00016962 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter W. Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. While the Government of Pakistan (GOP) undertakes projects to develop Balochistan, in part to turn the province into a transit point linking Pakistan to western Afghanistan and the Central Asian states, it faces a distrustful and resentful provincial population. This wariness and antipathy extends beyond the handful of Baloch tribal leaders prone to insurrection. The province welcomes development, but is skeptical about who it will benefit. There is a widespread feeling that GOP action in Balochistan is geared toward benefiting Punjab and Sindh provinces, not Balochistan. This cable on the politics of Balochistan is the second in a series on the province--septel will look at the tribal uprising led by Nawab Bugti in the Dera Bugti and Kohlu districts. (Note: This cable was drafted prior to the reported death of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti on August 26 (Ref C). End note.) End summary. ¶2. (U) GOP-planned "mega projects"--such as the expansion of the port at Gwadar (Ref B)--have re-ignited Baloch nationalist anger toward Islamabad. Even provincial members of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML),which is the leading coalition partner in governments at both the national and provincial levels, are wary of the proposed development schemes. According to PML member Rahila Durrani, "We should get our share of the (natural) gas so that we don't need to ask the federal government for anything." Similarly, Maulvi Rehmatullah of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Fazlur Rehman Faction (JUI-F) said that locals should receive priority in hiring at these projects and receive an education that prepares them for those jobs. ¶3. (U) According to nationalist leader and former provincial chief minister Akhtar Mengal, the Baloch are very skeptical that they will get anything out of oil and gas projects--such as the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline. He warned that such pipelines and other projects would not be secure until local people reaped the benefits of development. Nationalist Shahid Hassan Bugti of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP),said, the Baloch have "a lot of bitter experience" from the government's exploitation of the Sui gas fields, leading to the conclusion that there is "strong centralization and not much consulting" in government decisionmaking. -------------- What do the Baloch Want? -------------- ¶4. (U) Quite simply, the Baloch want greater autonomy within Pakistan. Shahid Bugti, a son-in-law of insurgent leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti (Ref C),said the current struggle is for "our economic and political rights," not independence. Baloch nationalists accuse Punjab Province of treating Balochistan like a colony. Dr. Hayee Baloch, a nationalist political leader from the Makran Coast, told poloff that the Baloch feel like "third rate" citizens in their own province and have "zero" influence in the policymaking. ¶5. (U) The people of the province want "a fair share" of revenues generated by the mines and gas fields in the province. Shahid Bugti claimed that, in 1990, the GOP owed Balochistan 600 million rupees (USD 10 million at today's exchange rate) in back royalties from the Sui gas fields alone; today the figure stands at 1 billion rupees (USD 16.7 million). ¶6. (U) Balochistan residents criticize the federal government for the lack of educational institutions in the province that ISLAMABAD 00016962 002 OF 002 could prepare people for the skilled jobs available in the current development projects. In August 2006, local political officials in Gwadar told the Ambassador (Ref B) that their district needs better schools, including a new technical high school or college, so that their children could compete for jobs in the port. ¶7. (U) Residents hope that development benefits them, but there is a common fear among the people of Balochistan--Baloch and Pashtun alike--that the development projects will act as magnets for settlers from Punjab and Sindh, tipping the province's demographic balance. Baloch nationalists argue that settlers should not be allowed to vote until they had lived in the province for 15 years, and that there should be restrictions on outsiders buying land in Balochistan. Nationalists cite the experience of the Dera Bugti district which experienced an influx of outsiders who took jobs away from locals after natural gas was discovered in Sui in the 1950s. -------------- Extra-judicial Detentions -------------- ¶8. (C) A growing source of anger among the Baloch is the GOP's extra-judicial detention of political opponents. Many in the province suspect GOP security agencies such as Military Intelligence (MI),which overseas security operations in the province, and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),of spiriting away political activists. In early August 2006, these disappearances became a focal point during a national parliamentary debate, with a rush of editorials entitled "Those Who Vanished" and "These Mysterious 'Disappearances.'" Shahzada Zulfiqar, correspondent for The Nation newspaper in Quetta, described these "extra-judicial abductions (as) multiplying hatred against the state and the army." -------------- India's Suspected Meddling in Balochistan -------------- ¶9. (U) Islamabad has become increasingly agitated at India's growing influence in Afghanistan, and has hinted that New Delhi has a hand in Baloch unrest. Senior military officers are convinced that India has nine-to-twelve consulates along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. (Note: In fact, India has an embassy and four consulates in Afghanistan. End note.) In a speech to the nation on July 20, President Musharraf said the Baloch were receiving weapons from "external sources." And on July 26, the State Minister for Information said publicly that the GOP has was evidence of foreign involvement in subversive activity in Balochistan, noting the proximity of Indian consulates in Zahedan, Iran, and Qandahar, Afghanistan. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) The issue for Balochistan today is increased provincial autonomy to ensure that the province is the main beneficiary of development projects. For the GOP, which wants to develop the province as an anchor for regional trade, extending central government control and suppressing rebellious tribal militants is the first order of business. Fueling the calls for autonomy and control over Balochistan's mineral wealth, is a belief that the province would take in more than enough revenues from its gold and copper mines, its coal and natural gas fields to develop the province and provide for the native population. End comment. BODDE