Raisani the Victim?

By A Changezi

As per news reports, ‘key allies’ in the Balochistan coalition have given President Zardari an ultimatum to reverse the Governor Rule by 20^th January otherwise Quetta Airport & the Railway Station will be paralysed through large scale protests.

I don’t profess to have the answers to the current predicament being faced by innocents in Balochistan but I have some questions for all to ponder on:

• Why these corrupt and incompetent MPAs are showing an urgency & unity to defend a miserably failed cabinet? Why couldn’t they show the same resolve against countering the LeJ terror and save 100s of innocent lives?
• What political legitimacy does the current Political Assembly enjoy? It does not represent the Baloch Nationalists, the Pushtun Nationalists and the lone Hazara MPA has also resigned from the cabinet.
• What moral legitimacy (if these MPA understand the word) does the Provincial Assembly enjoy? It sat impotently over the brutal killing campaign against Baloch nationalists, the Hazara Shia Community and the harassment of the Hindu community.
• The ‘Large Protest’ that these criminal coalition partners have announced is clearly a desperate attempt to copy the brave sit in of the Hazara Shia on Alamdar Road – they need to keep in mind that the Alamdar Road protest has become a symbol of peaceful yet unyielding protest in face of oppression. The Alamdar Protests did not disturb city life. Why are these Public Representatives threatening to disturb civil life and peace of the city?
• A simple way to judge the progress of the Provincial assembly is the number of legislations passed, sessions held and the attendance of the MPAs in each session – can they present an update on how they have served the people of the province before they start giving ultimatums to reverse the Governor’s rule in Balochistan?
• Isn’t it common knowledge that JUI-F (the party spearheading the restoration of the Cabinet) holds sway over the same constituency which houses the Quetta Shura (biggest Taliban presence in the country)? In its five year rule why didn’t the JUI-F ever talk so vehemently against Baloch Kill & Dump?
• A Hazara cannot move freely in Quetta as the LeJ target killers are on the loose but JUI-F knows that no attack will take place on its rallies when they plan to take the Quetta Airport & Railway Station hostage – from where and why does it have this level of comfort?
• Why is Raisani crying like a victim? Aslam Raisani is trying to come out of all of this as a victim. Raisani is the criminal face of this Jihadi-Criminal nexus that ruled Balochistan for almost five years. He is now desperately trying to play the ‘nationalist’ card and present himself as the one who has been sacrificed by ‘Punjab’. There were reports that in the 3 days when he was Missing In Action (initially in Dubai & then in London) he was trying hard to contact Baloch Nationalist leadership. But little did he realize that Baloch Leadership is too seasoned & mature to fall in his trap.
• In which country does the army remain bunkered in their cantonments while innocent civilians are slaughtered mercilessly outside? What happened to the oath of defending the country against external AND internal threats that the soldiers undertake when they pass out from Kakul?

Fact is that Raisani has presided on one of the biggest massacre of Baloch, Hazara & Shia in history of Balochistan –and he simply tries to absolve himself of this by claiming that the FC runs a parallel government. Merely this statement does not absolve him of his criminal negligence which is to the level of collusion.

Imagine the power of the statement when a CM would stand on the floor of the house and summon the FC…did Raisani ever do this? NO – if he did not have the courage or the decency then he should not be allowed to play victim now.