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Politicians from Balochistan, Pakistan’s least populated province that has for years been wracked by separatist strife, have always had a litany of complaints against Islamabad. Many of the noisemakers are routinely disregarded—and sometimes even disappeared. But the latest grievance will be hard to ignore since it comes from a pro-federation, former prime minister.
Zafarullah Jamali, who was elected prime minister during Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s rule, maintains that the Tori embankment was destroyed in order to prevent Shahbaz airbase in nearby Jacobabad, Sindh, from being flooded. Jamali says the airbase is being used by the U.S. military. As a result, he says, his hometown of Rojhan Jamali and surrounding areas have been inundated. U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson has called the claims “very offensive.”
“We are willing to accept natural catastrophes, but not [manmade] ones,” Jamali told Newsweek Pakistan. “The public is up in arms about this.”
The public is also up in arms about Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s recent remark suggesting a military operation in Balochistan to quell what he said was lawlessness and disorder stoked by secessionists. Many in Balochistan, the site of two military operations, view the Army, peopled largely by Punjabis, as a symbol of oppression. Before the floods, things seemed to be settling down after the province got its due share in revenues from its natural resources. Now, once again, there is a spate of anger.