BALOCHISTAN has once again grabbed the limelight, thanks to Nawaz Sharif’s strategic foray into the province to court elected BAP and other parties in a bid to consolidate PML-N’s position ahead of the polls. The influx of over two dozen voters to the PML-N prompts a critical assessment of Islamabad’s approach to Balochistan. The national discourse almost always attributed Balochistan’s woes to its own predatory and corrupt political elite, particularly the tribal sardars. While Balochistan residents generally agree with this assessment, they highlight a crucial exception: these predatory elites owe their sustenance primarily to the patronage that comes from Islamabad.
The genesis of the predatory political behavior of the traditional elites in Balochistan can be traced to the British tribal system of rule. Popularly known as the ‘Sandeman system’, the colonial model of border governance corrupted tribal social structures and strengthened the position of tribal sardars by extending them protection in return for performing specific administrative functions. Tribal sardars thus became an integral part of a two-way patron-client relationship, acting both as clients of the colonial state and as protectors of their tribal subjects.
The post-urban state perpetuated this policy of ‘indirect rule’ through tribal sardars. Although the establishment of representative democracy opened avenues for ordinary citizens to enter the political arena, the de facto power of the sardars endured, thanks to the support they received from Islamabad. The Islamabad-sardar alliance symbolizes a marriage of convenience, with the state providing support in return for the Sardars’ handling of assertive Baloch nationalists and downplaying the thorny issues straining Baloch-Islamabad ties.
Since the establishment of Balochistan as a province in 1970, it has primarily witnessed rule by tribal elites supported by Islamabad. In the period from 1970 to 2023, Balochistan experienced only 28 years of political rule, with countrywide parties ruling for about 22 years (82%), leaving ethno-regional parties with just six years (18% ). Parties across the country such as the PML-N, PPP and PTI remained primary conduits for traditional sardars and emerging constituencies, generally drawn from the merchant class. Political commitments have often changed. Despite their penchant for political nomadism, these coats find ready acceptance in the very parties they had previously abandoned.
Electoral governance has hindered the organic growth of parties.
In the current scenario, the influx of voters to the PML-N raises concern about the party’s strategy for the restive province. Given the propensity and proven track record of these elites to opportunistically switch political allegiances, the PML-N leadership should prioritize the medium to long-term goal of cultivating a genuine support base among the masses. Of all the parties, PML-N should know better that these voters are not reliable either in the short or medium term.
As recently as 2018, PML-N’s Balochistan Chief Minister, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, deserted more than two-thirds of his party members to support a motion of impeachment brought by the opposition. Requiring a simple majority (33 votes) to continue as Leader of the House, the PML-N, with 21 members in the provincial assembly, should have easily defeated the motion with the support of coalition partners whose combined strength was 25. However , He could not retain the loyalty of even nine of the 21 members and collapsed like a house of cards. Despite this experience, the PML-N leadership seems unwilling to learn from the past. The opportunistic and inconsistent behavior of parties across the country towards political coattails makes them susceptible to external manipulation when political fortunes reverse.
This policy of governing the province through electorates has prevented the organic growth of political parties and encouraged the development of non-partisan, predatory political behavior in the province.
Further, it has promoted and entrenched patronage-based delivery of public goods and services at the expense of systemic reforms and service delivery. Finally, it has weakened the public accountability of elected representatives, who increasingly rely on state support rather than popular support to boost their chances of re-election.
In conclusion, the embrace of proven coattails has disastrous consequences for both political culture and public service delivery. Moving forward, parties across the country and the ruling elite in Islamabad, must at least acknowledge their complicity in Balochistan’s political leadership crisis instead of shifting the blame to the province’s citizens.
The author is a public policy and development expert from Balochistan.
Posted in Dawn, November 16, 2023