Awareness Workshop on Peace and Regional Cooperation

Awareness Workshop on Peace and Regional Cooperation

An awareness workshop for the youth “The role of youth in promoting regional peace and cooperation” was organised at PILER Centre on 28/12/2010.

Youngsters, 20 males and 20 females, teachers of temporary schools for flood affected at labour complex and Northern Bypass flood relief camps participated in the workshop. In addition, Muqatda Mansoor,B.M Kutty, Nizamuddin Nizamani, Mr. Shujauddin Qureshi, Shahab Khattak, Zulfiqar Shah and Mr. Kamal Jamro were the resource persons (speakers) in the workshop.

Mr. Muqtada Mansoor faculty member at Biztech University revolved his discussion around understanding of conflict and peace while involving the participants. He discussed different dimensions of conflicts ranging from domestic to local and regional as well as international and the initiatives to resolve those conflicts. Participants of the workshop actively contributed during the discussion.

Mr. B.M Kutty of PILER told about initiatives taken by the Pakistan Peace Coalition for maintaining peace and reduction of the conflict like situation in the region particularly between the two arch rivals India and Pakistan.

Zulfiqar Shah, Joint Director of PILER gave a presentation about globalization with special reference to political and economic globalization which is being witnessed in the form of IMF, WB, WTO and Multi-National Corporations (MNCs). Moreover, he apprised them of the regionalism including regional arrangements for cooperation such as SAARC, ASEAN, European Union, African Union etc. He informed them that youth should acquaint itself of the wider spectrum of society whereby they could play much broader and significant role.

Nizamuddin Nizamani, a trainer and columnist gave a presentation on conflict and peace which was followed by Q&A session from the participants.

Shahab Khattak of Amn Tahrik, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province gave an overview of the law and order situation in his province and Taliban’s atrocities against citizens. He pointed out that it was due to wrong policies of military regimes regarding Afghanistan in the past and because of those polices people are suffering.

At the end Mr. Sharafat Ali gave a vote of thanks and the participants were given certificates of participation.

Exploring International Visitor Leadership Program

http://exchanges.state.gov/ivlp/ivlp.html

International Visitor Leadership Program

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program.  Launched in 1940, the IVLP is a professional exchange program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders.  These visits reflect the International Visitors’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the United States. 

Who are International Visitors?

International Visitors are current or emerging leaders in government, politics, the media, education, the arts, business and other key fields. Over 4,000 International Visitors come to the United States from all over the world each year. Since its inception in 1940, thousands of distinguished individuals have participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program, including more than 290 current and former Chiefs of State and Heads of Government, thousands of cabinet-level ministers, and many other distinguished leaders from the public and private sectors.

What do International Visitors do in the United States?

International Visitors travel to the U.S. for carefully designed programs that reflect their professional interests and U.S. foreign policy goals. They travel in a variety of thematic programs, either individually or in groups, for up to three weeks. While in the U.S., International Visitors typically visit Washington, DC and three additional towns or cities that highlight the tremendous diversity of the U.S. They attend professional appointments with their American counterparts, learn about the U.S. system of government at the national, state and local levels, visit American schools, and experience American culture and social life. Most International Visitors are accompanied in the U.S. by either foreign language interpreters or English language officers, contractors though the State Department’s Office of Language Services.  Not only do they provide language interpretation for the International Visitors, but they also help to explain American society, history, and culture.

Can I apply to become an International Visitor?
No, there is no application for this program.  International Visitors are selected and nominated annually by American Foreign Service Officers at U.S. Embassies around the world. 

distinguished leaders

Africa

Kenya
President Mwai Kibaki, 1999

MauritiusPresident Sir Anerood Jugnauth, 1981 
Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, 1986

MozambiquePresident Armando Emílio Guebuza, 1987

NamibiaPrime Minister  Nahas Gideon Angula, 1996

Togo
President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, 2001

Uganda
Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi, 1984

Zimbabwe
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, 1989

East Asia and the Pacific

AustraliaPrime Minister Julia Eileen Gillard, 2006
Governor General Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, AC, 1978

JapanPrime Minister Naoto Kan, 1980

Papua New Guinea
Prime Minister Michael Somare, 1971

Taiwan
President Ma Ying-Jeou, 1971, 2003 

Europe and Eurasia

AustriaPresident Heinz Fischer, 1964

BelgiumPremier Yves Leterme, 2002

Croatia
President Ivo Josipović, 2002

Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Nečas, 1994, 1999

DenmarkPrime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, 1989

Finland
President Tarja Halonen, 1983
Prime Minister Matti Taneli Vanhanen, 1993

France
President Nicolas Sarkozy, 1985
Prime Minister Francois Fillon, 1984

Georgia
President Mikheil Saakashvili, 1985

GermanyPresident Christian Wulff, 2000

LithuaniaPresident Dalia Grybauskaite, 1994

MacedoniaPrime Minister Nikola Gruevski, 2000

Malta
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, 1990

The NetherlandsPrime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, 1985

Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, 1988

Poland
President Bronisław Komorowski, 2006
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, 1993

PortugalPresident Anibal Cavaco Silva, 1978

Sweden
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, 2002

TurkeyPresident Abdullah Gul, 1995

Near East

Egypt
Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif, 1990

South and Central Asia

Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai, 1987

BhutanPrime Minister Lyonpo Jigme Yoser Thinley, 1987

India
President Pratibha Patil, 1968

Pakistan

President Ghulam Ishak Khan 1949
Sri Lanka
President Mahinda Rajapakse, 1989

Western Hemisphere

Dominica
President Nicholas Joseph Orville Liverpool, 1985

Mexico
President Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa, 1992

St. Kitts/Nevis
Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, 1990

St. Lucia
Prime Minister Stephenson King, 1985

Trinidad & TobagoPresident George Maxwell Richards, 1986
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, 1998

Goodluck

Experimenting with a Sufi university: By Shahab Usto

Experimenting with a Sufi university

Dawn InpaperMagzine
(2 hours ago) Today

Tagged:

By Shahab Usto

“The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you Don’t go back to sleep.”
— Rumi

The Sindh government has announced plans to establish a full-fledged Sufi university at Bhit Shah. It is said that the university will start functioning early next year at the initial cost of Rs65 million. The curriculum includes, inter alia, arts, music, literature, linguistics and religion but the study of Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, would be the primary academic pursuit.

Coming at a time when the province’s educational infrastructure lays in a shambles and the syllabus requires to be drastically revamped to complement the modern age of science and technology, the apparently backward-looking Sufi university is an interesting experiment raising many a good question.

Though difficult to simplify, Sufism may be described as a path (tariqa) that passes through many stations (muqamat) and ecstatic states (ahwal) to reach the level of the passing away (fana) where the Sufi attains the state of survival (baqqa) and thereby partakes the Godly attributes.

Obviously, helping students cover such an esoteric and rigorous path would require the university to introduce an unconventional syllabus, a specialised faculty, and a different methodology. How is the government crossing these hurdles?

True, the university’s intention may not be to create Sufis as such. But even to promote Sufism as a discipline in its own right, a noble cause in this increasingly materialistic and intolerant milieu, requires a bit of caution. For, cynical it may sound but in the given scholastic muddle and sectarian extremism, Sufism with its inherent emphasis on inter-faith and trans-sectarian amity could face a backlash. Just as the Reformation was not enough in Europe but a series of socio-political revolutions were required to create a space for the co-habitation of church and secular state, and by implication of the liberal and the orthodox sections, we also need a politically conducive atmosphere for the university.

Let’s not forget that the history of mysticism has been replete with the persecution of great mystics and their supporters — Maimonides, Averroes, Halaj, Dara, Sarmad and many more. They suffered because they were quintessentially anti-authoritarian, egalitarian and syncretistic. Therefore, their message of universal love and empathy never sat well with orthodox and autocratic mindsets.

The Sufi university may also face the brunt of autocratic and retrogressive mindsets which refuse to accept democracy, destroy the shrines, and persecute the non-Muslim citizens in the name of blasphemy. Our education Czars may also push the university to customise Sufism curricula to fit in the state’s security and ideological framework.

Moreover, what would be the fate of the university graduates in a society that welcomes only accountants, managers, doctors, scientists, engineers and the like? Admitted, the students would also receive training in other courses including information technology, linguistics, structuralism, psychology, neurology, and the like. But how would these courses make the core degree in Sufism attractive for a technology-services-dominated market that denies an easy access even to the qualified engineers and doctors? Would the Sindh government undertake to provide jobs to the graduates of the university?

If the students couldn’t get jobs, then it would be difficult to justify the university. Already, in the financially-strained province, illiteracy is rampant; thousands of schools are either dysfunctional or bereft of buildings, labs, furniture, electricity, water, and so on; the dropout ratio is high; the school teachers are underpaid and ill-trained; and its higher education budget has been slashed by 30 per cent, despite the low country-wide funding for research and development.

True, culture and heritage are important even in the developed countries, but not at the cost of modernity and progress. Germany is a case in point. Like us, it is also a land of mystics, poets and philosophers such as Meister Eckhart, Nicolaus of Cusa, Jacob Boehme, Goethe, or the recent Martin Buber. But without ignoring its past, Germany has fully embraced the present social and natural sciences. Indeed, modern Germany’s zeitgeist is embodied in its first-class educational system that has earned it a prominent place among the most stable and prosperous democracies.

And ditto for Chaucer’s Britain, Rumi’s Turkey, Shinto Japan or Confucian China. All these countries have moved from the medieval to modernity, literally holding aloft that symbolic tripod of the modern age — classroom, library and laboratory. The West is spending five to seven per cent of GDP on education. Even China and India are harvesting the fruits of education by producing, respectively, 600,000 and 350,000 engineers annually, far more than 70,000 engineers produced by US annually.

But our spending on education (only 1.5 per cent of GDP) continues to be 20 times less than that on defence, despite the fact that most of the guns that we buy are used against the “enemies of state” who sprout from our impoverished and mis-educated backwaters.

The aim of our national education policy (1998-2010) is to “enable” the citizens to become “true” Muslims but without informing as to how that objective will be achieved in the face of prevailing sectarian violence and doctrinal diversity. No wonder, our education suffers from a private-public-madressah divide causing the “culture wars”, social disparities, and political discontent.

In these circumstances, if the Sufi university is being founded, then its charter must clearly enunciate its objective as the promotion of a scientific and humanistic culture. The curricula must be geared towards enhancing rather than diminishing the prospects of the university graduates becoming productive and vibrant members of society. Churning out the batches of idealists and ideologues in this highly schismatic milieu won’t help the cause of the university; rather it would dent the legacy of great Sufis who strove and laid their lives for the moral, intellectual and material advancements of the entire humanity.

shahabusto@hotmail.com

Masses urged to snatch rights from establishment Report by Dawn/Media

Masses urged to snatch rights from establishment Report by Dawn/Media
 http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/11/masses-urged-to-snatch-rights-from-establishment.html

By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, Dec 10: Speakers at a seminar on human rights held here on Friday urged civil society organisations to help educate and empower the masses so that they could snatch their constitutional rights from the “exploitative establishment” blamed for maintaining the status quo in the country.

The seminar on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was held in connection with Human Rights Day 2010. Retired Justice Shaiq Usmani, Munir Malik, former senator Abdul Hayee Baloch, Mahnaz Rehman, Fareed Awan, Nizamuddin Nizamani and Amarnath Motumal were among the speakers.

They observed that since most citizens did not know about their rights guaranteed under the constitution, they could not seek them from the establishment. The establishment, they held, feared that giving the rights to the masses would ultimately curtail its powers and thus could prove to be an encroachment of its authority.

Although the judiciary had become relatively independent now than earlier, a lot of struggle would have to be made by civil society and the judiciary itself to secure its rightful place in the system as guaranteed under the constitution, they stressed, adding that the struggle could ensure that the judiciary was able to function without any sort of influence.

They also noted with concern that many judiciary verdicts were not implemented promptly by the executive and this had slowed down the process of good governance and delivery of the benefits of such verdicts to the masses.

Justice Shaiq Usmani urged civil society to launch a massive awareness campaign, particularly at the time of the general elections, to educate voters so that they could elect only good and honest legislators. He said people must realise that it would be the same legislators who would be taking decisions for the masses over the next five years. “If good and honest people will be there in the elected houses, the decision will be in the interest of the masses and will bring about improvements in the life of the common man,” he said.

The retired judge told the audience that the recent movement launched by the lawyer fraternity proved that if any struggle by a dedicated group of people for a noble cause would definitely succeed in gaining popular support. “The movement for the independence of the judiciary proved that no oppressive force howsoever powerful — be it a military dictatorship or a civilian one — can withstand the will of the masses,” he said.

Justice Usmani observed that laws guaranteeing certain rights were now being enacted and this was what the people in the West had attained after a long struggle. However, he added, the actual problem of this country was that these laws were not being implemented in an effective manner and, therefore, the masses were unable to get their due rights despite the fact that they were guaranteed under the constitution.

Munir Malik, a key leader of the lawyers movement, said that the 18th amendment gave people many good things and one of them was access to information. He said people, particularly civil society organisations, should benefit from this law by seeking information and then working for a positive change, besides persuading the government to improve the governance and its performance.

Mr Malik said that this law was being used very effectively in India by its civil society organizations. After getting the required information, they moved courts and got the governance improved, he said, adding that this way they brought out more transparent and checked corruption in the governance. This could be done in Pakistan as well, he said.

At present, he observed, seeking and getting justice in Pakistan was not an easy job. It required plenty of time and resources and was as such out of the reach of the poor masses, the lawyer leader said, and stressed the need for making efforts towards ensuring easy, prompt and cheaper justice.

Former senator from Balochistan Hayee Baloch said that people of his province had never been given their due rights over the resources of their province. “The people of Balochistan have been subjected to exploitation by the establishment, which robbed them of their due rights and resources. Whenever they demanded their rights and control over their resources, they were declared anti-state elements and subjected to exploitation and repression. The establishment used full forces to suppress them. Baloch leaders were eliminated, political activists were taken away and they vanish, and protesters were sent behind the bars for demanding their due rights,” he deplored.

He pointed out that his province produced plenty of natural gas and minerals but these resources reached everywhere in the country but Balochistan itself. He said that similarly, when the Balochistan people demanded their own control over the port of Gawadar and other such major facilities, they were dubbed as traitors. He said that leave alone the high positions and technical jobs, even the posts as low as of watchman, clerk, peon etc were not given to Baloch people.

Mr Baloch alleged that Balochistan had been kept backward deliberately as no schools, hospitals and vital infrastructure had been developed in the province. He warned that Balochistan people were not losing patience and the must get their constitutional rights without any further delay.

Mahnaz Rehman of the Aurat Foundation told the audience that legislation relating to domestic violence could not be passed into law because after getting through the National Assembly, the bill could not reach the Senate within the stipulated time. She said the entire process of legislation would have to be repeated.

She informed the seminar participants that there were four separate women welfare organisations functioning under the United Nations but now they had been merged under the title `UW Women` so that women`s issues could be handled by the UN easily and effectively.

Daily Times, COMMENT: Human rights in Pakistan —Nizamuddin Nizamani

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\11\story_11-12-2010_pg3_2

General Ziaul Haq organically changed the socio-political landscape of the state and turned the country’s mass into a ticking bomb by planting the seeds of religious fundamentalism. To counter the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, he initiated a military operation in Sindh and created sectarian and ethnic militant groups in Karachi and other parts of the country

The world community celebrates Human Rights Day on December 10. The envisaged purpose seems to accept the truth that despite the claims of modern, scientific, human-friendly development and globalisation, still some heinous human rights violations are the order of the day in some regions, while realising the universal truth that all humans without discrimination have equal rights to live and develop.

It seems that the UN and related bodies have bitterly failed to guarantee access to basic amenities for common people globally in general and the global south specifically. Even the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) seems a distant dream.

These celebrations are a reminder to governments and activist communities to reassess where we stand and how a large portion of humanity still stands deprived of human liberties, political rights, democracy and even basic human and civic necessities like the right to water, food, social security, individual and physical security.

Pakistan is not an exception. The constitution of Pakistan does provide human rights to citizens but lacks provisions for the protection of minority rights. There are many loopholes in the legal framework, which are subject to misinterpretation or exploitation. The judiciary and the justice system could not deliver and were rendered worthless by despots, both military and civilian.

Human rights violations in Pakistan can be classified as socio-ethnic, feudal-tribal, religious, political, and class, gender, age, sector, profession and industry specific. Non-Muslims are particularly vulnerable. They encounter indifference and are victimised due to the blasphemy laws. After partition some sectors have shown considerable improvements but others have seen a decline, considering the scale of miseries suffered by the people.

Historically, Pakistani society witnessed the worst kind of human rights violations in 1947-49 during the world’s largest forced migration between two divided countries. The 1950s and 1960s witnessed the advent of military dictatorships. Political liberties were curbed but the large inflow of borrowed funds and ensuing food security due to the green revolution and small improvement in daily life prevented political uproar until the struggle for the end of One Unit in West Pakistan.

People report large-scale human rights violations during the fall of Dhaka in 1971 but there seems to be a lack of authentic data on this era. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto started well and as a result gave hope of a reasonable life and sense of empowerment to the downtrodden masses with certain autocratic suppression of opponents, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

General Ziaul Haq organically changed the socio-political landscape of the state and turned the country’s mass into a ticking bomb by planting the seeds of religious fundamentalism. To counter the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, he initiated a military operation in Sindh and created sectarian and ethnic militant groups in Karachi and other parts of the country. The brief periods of the elected governments of Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif were wasted in trying to wash away the dirt of the Zia regime.

Although General Musharraf’s era was considered to be better by some analysts because of the media boom and some really worth-appreciating acts like women’s empowerment, discouraging extremism, promotion of enlightened moderation, etc, but by quantum scale, the human rights violations match those of the partition era. 


The government and its opponents both were responsible for glaring offences. Mass killing of tribal people in FATA and other areas, the case of Mukhtaran Mai, the Lal Mosque debacle, bomb blasts, suicide bombings in mosques and Muharram processions, target killing of hundreds of Muslim scholars, the Balochistan operation, Bugti’s killing, the issue of missing persons, indiscriminate killings in Karachi and the murder of Benazir are just the tip of the iceberg.


 Meanwhile, the state has been very selective and treating Sindhis and Karachiites with a mild and the tribes of FATA and the Baloch people with an iron hand considering the daily reports in the media.

People are still deprived of the right to education in their mother tongue, access to water, education, health, mobility, transportation and communication and even security due to privatisation of these amenities. 


Although women’s empowerment has increased, workplace violence and sexual harassment and marginalisation of women have been the order of the day. The Social Development Report 2007-2008 by the Social Policy and Development Centre reveals that women continue to be discriminated against socially and legally, with many constitutional provisions constantly violated both at home and at the workplace. It also states that sexual harassment has increased during the last two decades. The Alliance Against Sexual Harassment (AASHA) reveals that almost 93 percent of women confront different forms of sexual harassment at the workplace, both in public and private sector organisations in Pakistan.

Religious minorities have been crying against the blasphemy laws. Working conditions have returned to the slavery era and workers, particularly in the private sector, are compelled to work for more than a daily average of 10 hours without compensation. The media boom was a blessing for the public but reports reveal that workers in the print and electronic media work in pathetic conditions, without appointment orders or job description and without payrolls. Ironically, no one can complain against such media houses.

People lack the sense of security in big cities like Karachi where, according to authentic television reports, more than two hundred major crimes are reported every day. Law and order issues, mobile snatching, motorbike and car lifting, house burglary, killing of seduced girls and children, etc, are the alarming new face of human rights violations. Traffic violations and queue jumping are crimes no more. People feel helpless and do not report these issues anymore.

The state can and should ensure a sound and peaceful life for its citizens. It can start by educating future generations. But, at the same time, it is everyone’s responsibility to live and let live. Otherwise we will create anarchy for the future that we can ill afford.

The writer holds a master’s degree in social sciences and is a professional trainer, researcher and peace activist. He may be contacted at nizambaloch@gmail.com

International Anti-Corruption Day 9th December

December 9 is celebrated as International Anti-Corruption Day in Pakistan. This day reminds us of grim reality that we are stuck with a corrupt system due to prolonged poor governance and lack of accountability. 
Corruption,  no more an offense has been order of the day in almost all walks of life. Those involved, feel no more defensive and it is taken as an acceptable services charges in the administrative system. 
Transparency International reports show that corruption has increased in Pakistan as the country dropped to 34th from 42nd in the ranking of global corruption index.  The report titled the National Corruption Perception Survey 2010 showed a high rise in corruption from 195 billion rupees in the year 2009 to 223 billion rupees in the year 2010. 
Bureaucracy and Police had maintained their ranking as the two of the  most corrupt departments in  public sector in 2010. Land administration departments were placed third in corrupt practices. Corruption in the judiciary, local government and education sectors has also increased as compared to the last year.
Daily Dawn 18 Feb, 2010, highlights the important point of reports from International Crisis Group (ICG), as, “There was a dramatic rise in military encroachments as retired generals were appointed to key civil posts, such as the chairmanship of the Federal Public Service Commission, the premier agency for recruitment and promotions,” It says: “The military regime’s poorly-conceived devolution of power led to further administrative confusion and the breakdown of service delivery at the district level, the key administrative unit of governance. The decision to vest revenue and law and order functions in nazims (mayors), elected indirectly and on a non-party basis, led to greater collusion between unscrupulous district officials and corrupt police. “Low salaries, insecure tenure, and obsolete accountability mechanisms have spawned widespread corruption and impunity. Recruitments, postings and promotions are increasingly made on the basis of personal contacts and political affiliation, instead of on merit.” 
The civil service’s falling standards impact mostly on the poor, with the widening social and economic divisions between the privileged and underprivileged. 
With citizens increasingly affected by conflict and militancy, including millions displaced by fighting in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), the government’s ability to ensure law and order and provide services such as education and healthcare will be vital to winning the hearts and minds of the public, and restoring links between the citizen and the state. 


The National Accountability Bureau is Pakistan's apex anti-corruption organization. It was charged with the responsibility of elimination of corruption through a holistic approach of awareness, prevention and enforcement since1999, with its headquarter at Islamabad. It has four regional offices in the provincial capitals and one at Rawalpindi.
NAB has been trying to control corruption but its command has been changing from government to Judiciary and reported to still have some confusions on mechanism of operation. So far NAB was authorized to investigate 4026 cases of corruption, out 1455 cases were finalized, 2043 cases closed and 528 cases are in the progress. Cases investigated so far pertained 63.16 percent to government servants, 10.52 to businessmen an d26.32 to other categories of corruption.
NAB has also been striving to educate public and government functionaries, how to avoid and detect corruption incidents.
NAB, judiciary, policing etc can not deliver until or unless the governments elected through thoughtful vote by the public demonstrate political will.
Its individual and collective responsibility of public and government functionaries to avoid temptations linked with  socio-moral, financial and political corruption. In other case we leave mess for future generations in legacy.     

  

Has Sindhi Diaspora payed its dues? Interview of Iqbal Tareen in Sindhi

http://vimeo.com/11401860

BALOCHISTANS’ CLAIMS ON NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE LIGHT OF CONSTITUTION, Archives 10.10.2005;

BALOCHISTANS’ CLAIMS ON NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE LIGHT OF CONSTITUTION

10.10.2005 http://www.balochunity.org/facts/789/

By: Nizamuddin Nizamani After recent wave of terror and violence, Balochistan the conflict ridden province is hot topic of debate. Parliamentary Committee disappeared but and track two diplomacy efforts are going on simultaneously to find perpetual solutions to the critical issues. Federal Government has been working and suggesting handing over of some of the portfolios at present with federation to the provinces.  On the other hand scholars, journalists and political critics have deliberated and opined on this sensitive issue, vital for the very stability of Pakistan, according to their own criteria. Most of them bombarded the press with their, at times logical but some time naïve views in a very sarcastic tone. Their criticism at times look pretty composed and very much convincing, when they discussed tragedy Dera Bugti, Some of them shifted whole of the responsibility to and tried to prove the demands by Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and other nationalists as illegal and illegitimate in the light of constitutional Articles 24 and 172, concluding that  "Oil well and the land containing it becomes the property of the state and the original owner ceases to have any rights there to except for compensation for the acreage at the going rate." They also criticized Nawab Akbar Bugti and blame him to be responsible for lawlessness, and violence, support establishment and criticize those who support dialogue process. The tragic aspect worth considering is the legitimizing and justifying the deprivation of Baloch native people that have been confessed by President Perwaiz Musharaf and all other politicians, in the name of constitution, which is supposed to be the custodian and guarantor to protect the citizens’ rights. Probably most of the writers have almost either missed or forgot the origin of constitutional development process particularly its components pertaining to Balochistan. Literature, documents and information available in the historical achieves show that vast majority of the active Baloch leadership of the time, religious and political together, wanted to live independent because they were doubtful of their future treatment.  It was personal friendship, attachment and trust of Khan of Kalat in Quaed-Azam on one hand and some pressure on the other that resulted in the conditional accession to Pakistan.  Balochistan was annexed to Pakistan through Instrument of Accession signed by than Khan of Kalat Ahmed Yar Khan dated March 27, 1948 (under enigmatic circumstances) and accepted by the Father of the nation, Quad-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah dated March 31, 1948.  Previously Nawab Bai Khan,  Head of Makran state and Qued-eAzam signed similar Instrument of Accession pertaining about Makran State dated March 17, 1948.  As commentators and writers question the Baloch people’s claims on their resources in the name of constitution, it will not be out of place to bring into light the articles and conditions of these two Instrument of Accessions signed separately, for the Public. These contain nine articles but articles 5 & 6 of both the agreements worth mentioning are as under.  5. Nothing in this Instrument shall empower the Dominion Legislature to make any law for this State authorising the compulsory acquisition of land for any purpose, but I hereby undertake that should the Dominion for the purposes of a Dominion law which applies in this State deem it necessary to acquire any land, I will at their request acquire the land at their expense or if the land belongs to me transfer it to them on such terms as may be agreed, or, in default of agreement, determined by an arbitrator to be appointed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan.  6. The terms of this my Instrument of Accession shall not be varied by any amendment of the Act or of the Indian Inde­pendence Act, 1947, unless such amendment is accepted by me by an Instrument supplementary to this Instrument.  Baloch nationalist claim that according to these articles 5 and 6, federal government had no privilege to amend the constitution or acquire any land for what so ever purpose, but in the utter violation of the promises and agreements signed by Qued-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, after exploration of the natural gas at Sui in 1952, the constitution was amended overnight without their consent, where in natural resources were taken as federal government property. Although another agreement was signed titling Balochistan States Union Merger Agreement dated October 25, 1956 under enigmatic circumstances; however legitimacy of 1952 amendment is debatable in the light of provisions 5 & 6 of Instrument of accession in vogue at that time. Even after this amendment they demanded 5 percent of income from the natural gas for the development of local area as per the provision of Indian Mining Act 1935 in vogue at that time, but no one listened to them. They pressed their demands in Parliament and Senate, entered into peaceful dialogue with federal government, chanted slogans in the streets, organized demonstrations and press conferences but to no avail. Even the 1973 constitution provides that the net income of Natural Gas & Hydro-electric power must go to the provinces. Article 161 provides: "1, Notwithstanding the provision of Article 78 the net proceeds of Federal duty of excise on natural gas levied at well-head and collected by the Federal Government, and of the royalty collected by the Federal Government, shall not form part of the Federal Consolidated Fund and shall be paid to the Province in which the well-head of natural gas is situated. 2. The net profits earned by the Federal Government, or any undertaking established or administered by the Federal Government, from the bulk generation of power at a hydro-electric station shall be paid to the Province in which the hydro-electric station is situated."  As the 1973 is very clear and legitimacy of 1952 amendments are debated by the nationalists and they challenge it, therefore whole of the multi billion assets of Sui Southern & Northern Gas becomes the assets of Balochistan provinces not the federation. Or at least the period till this province was sole contributor to SSGC. In the event of its privatization the total auction price and net proceeds must also go to Balochistan. Considering the constitutional provisions, it is clear that what ever the Balochs have demanded so far are just their human rights, allowed in constitutions and charters of right under all available laws, local and international.  It appears that as they were punished for demanding minimum, therefore, now they are naturally pressing for the maximum. Balochistan therefore deserve serious attention of the politicians, scholars, serious newspapers and TV channels, planners and strategists to diagnose the situation through in-depth research, finding facts and realizing the ground realties.  For stable Pakistan, stability in half of its territory Balochistan is a must. Historical data proves that Ignorance, traditional arrogance, and adventurism reaped nothing so far.  It is advisable and in fitness of things to adapt an empathetic attitude to address the real grievances among Baloch populace and diffuse the tension. Sanity must prevail instead of present chaos and confrontation.   Note: Writer is a trainer and social researcher in the field of Sustainable Development, Conflict Management, Peace and Mediation studies.