Author: Danial Mengal
Poor governance results in a lot of issues in any state like unemployment, food insecurity, financial crises and security situations. Good governance is a prerequisite for a state to develop. Unfortunately in Pakistan there are a lots of governance issues. Specifically in Balochistan the issue of Missing Persons largely owes to poor governance.
It is evidence of lack of governance that the state itself is illegally abducting innocent citizens of Balochistan, instead of eliminating their grudges by giving them relief. To govern is to exercise power and authority over a territory, system or organization but the sole purpose of governance is to facilitate the government. Particularly the security of livelihood. People need to be freed from threats, such as disease or repression and from sudden harmful disruptions in their lives but, unfortunately, in Balochistan it is the opposite. The government of Pakistan is not doing its duty by protecting its citizens.
Missing person is the leading governance issue in Balochistan, this is the state’s responsibility that it eliminates and resolves the issues of the citizens to provide them relief but unfortunately the state institutions abduct those who highlight problems and demand solutions in Balochistan. it is failure of governance that it intensifies the problems instead of resolving it, which results in further deterioration law and order.
According to the constitution of Pakistan, Part II, chapter I fundamental rights, article 9 states that, ‘’No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law’’ but security institutions of Pakistan are not complying to the constitution of Pakistan in Balochistan. They deprive people of liberty of life and freedom of speech, which are basic rights of citizens. Good governance must run the country smoothly, because the lack of good governance can cause a lot of serious problems which destroy the overall peace of the country.
All citizens have the right to freedom of expression. In Balochistan, people are deprived of this right, which has resulted in very dangerous consequences. A lot of people, with the fear of being forcibly disappeared, because of talking about their rights, join certain organisations that have proscribed as terrorist organisations by the state. Those organizations attract the youth because they share their concerns and also promise them security, and they assure them that they will take struggle for their rights. In such way too many young innocent Baloch are stuck between the devil and the deep see from where their safe return is almost impossible. Just because of poor governance, such kind of situations emerge and it needs a serious thought to be resolved as soon as possible.
This state belongs to the people of Pakistan and not to a specific community who are acting with impunity as if there is no law. But they must be asked and held responsible for their actions. Recently, a student of Quaid-e-Azam university, who was a M.Phil Scholar, Shahdad Baloch was brutally killed on the grounds that he had linked with a “terrorist organization”. It raises a question about why such a well-educated person would join a “terrorist organization” in the first place . The answer is simple, bad governance. He was deprived of freedom of speech therefore, he joined an organization which offered him opportunities for attainment of his rights.
It can be safely said, that the root cause of all problems is poor governance. If government has fulfilled its duties, had there not be any illegal abductions and the people were not deprived of their basic rights, there would be no terrorist organizations nor would have Shahdad Baloch joined any “terrorist organization”.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Balochistan Post or any of its editors.