Speech by: Sardar Attaullah Mengal's at The Session of W.S.I (World Sindhi Institute) Held in Washington on 18 May 2001

-- Mr Chairman -- Distinguished guests -- Ladies and gentlemen Let me first thank the W.S.I for having invited me to address this august house. As you know, this function has been organised by the World Sindhi Institute, I wonder how relevant I would be, if I talked on subjects and areas outside the scope of Sindh.  I for one, consider myself one from the oppressed nations of Pakistan, presume to have the right to mourn over the common miseries that we the Baloch and Sindhies are confronted with, in a land, we are compelled to call "our country". The country, the situation, the oppression and the danger ahead being common between Sindh and Balochistan I therefore derived my right from that common ground to talk to you, but still with due apologies to those whom I appear to be irrelevant my request is to bear me out and take my utterances as a scream of a child who awaits no permission to cry whenever he or she is hurt. We are living in a country with a demographic imbalance from day one. This imbalance led the elite to play foul with the majority of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) under the iron heel of civil and military boots of Punjab, and now bulldoze the inherent rights of the remaining people of Sindh, Balochistan and Pashtoonistan through the brute majority of Punjab.  Unfortunately we all three put together are said to be in minority against Punjab as per the last census which is two decades old.  As Punjab enjoys the might to accept or reject anything for and against Pakistan so has she used her veto power to reject all the censuses there after, because Punjab apprehended a change in the 20 year old back status quo, in short Punjab has to rule, be it through might (in the case when Bengal was part of Pakistan) or through right (as the situation is today).  Therefore in a country like Pakistan there can never be a federal system.  Whatever name given it is always going to be a unitary form of system.  On the basis of one-man one vote it will always remain the rule of the Punjab for the Punjab and by the Punjab we the Baloch Sindhi Pashtoon shall always remain third-grade citizens with all our national resources left for the exploitation of Punjab. Punjab could have easily sucked the last drop of our blood without the world taking any notice, had she not tried to have all the golden eggs in one day.   It is the top brass generals who for 25 years imposed direct military rule and grew so big for their boots that they overestimated the situation around and committed a number of blunders.  This minimised the number of their well-wishers and added to their enemies.  It wouldn’t have mattered much, whether we were colonised through bullet or by ballot nor was the world expected to turn humane overnight and sympathise with us. Fortunately enough Pakistan having lost its strategic importance after the collapse of the Soviet Empire, could easily be seen by the West for its foul plays within and outside.  We will be within our rights to presume that Pakistan will get no appreciation and a pat on the back for committing brutalities and exploiting and subjugating the oppressed nations of Pakistan.  This may not stop Punjab withdrawing from its evil design but it might help slow down the process of exploitation.  Though it is difficult to vouch for fair play on behalf of the West merely on the grounds of humanity and justice because the West, has different yardsticks on different occasions. But on its face value it looks like Pakistan no more enjoys the same old privileges of the western world as it used to.The events in Afghanistan and tendencies within Pakistan indicate that fundamentalism is but a fate accomplice for Pakistan.  Though the only interest the West could have in Pakistan is the Balochistan coast (a) For the export of raw material and national resources of Central Asia. (b) To protect the oil interests of the western world situated in the Arabian peninsular. (c) And the latest requirement that has cropped up seems to be hiring the Pakistan Army (who is a mercenary force by nature) for deploying them in different parts of the world to protect the unpopular governments of their interests, and also let Pakistan earn its foreign exchange to meet its two ends, because they know that Pakistan on its own can neither survive under the heavy load of the white elephant (the Army) on its own, nor can the generals or men be expected to opt out for redundancies voluntarily.  This has been established beyond any doubt that the Army in Pakistan is not for the country, on the contrary the country’s very existence is required to maintain the Army. Having said all that now, I deal with each of these requirements of the West one by one. First of all I take the case of coastal areas of Balochistan where the West is keen to have free access for the export of Central Asian raw material. The 600 km coastal belt is the sole property of the Baloch nation, it is not even geographically a part of South Asia.  Barring forcible occupation, Punjab has no rightful access whatsoever to warm waters.  I wonder why the Americans always deal through illegitimate brokers they might find themselves in a very convenient position to deal in such matters with the rightful owners.  Baloch are the rightful owners of the land and outlet, there appears to be no justification for the West to enter into any agreement with the Punjab for something which does not belong to them.  The people of Balochistan therefore reserve the right of dissent to any future deal of such nature, and at the same time the Baloch will be justified to consider such a deal as an act of hostility on the part of the West. This is bound to have repercussions, which will definitely jeopardise the smooth flow of trade that the West has in mind through that route.  Thus expectations attached to Punjab by the Americans in particular are bound to be counter-productive in the end. The second attraction presumably is the West's safety of its oil interests in the Arabian peninsular. If brute force was the answer to safeguard the oil interests of the western world then direct occupation of these tiny islands by the mighty West could have been the best answer for it.  This is for sure that it is not the fear of defamation, which is holding back the West for such an occupation.  It is only the reaction of the local population against the use of direct brute force, which stops the West of such an occupation.  How does the West expect the Baloch people to react when they find themselves starving and Punjab flourishing at the gains of their fatherland? The reaction could not be expected to be confined to Punjab only, it is bound to go beyond it and affect Punjabi collaborators as well, because people of Balochistan will have to consider the friend of their enemies as their enemy.  May I put to the West as to how, their overall interest will be safe in the situation like that looking at the geographical situation around Balochistan and with hostile local population within, it would be a hard nut to crack for the West to find a safe passage? I now deal with a third hope, which the United States seems to have attached to the Pakistan army.  I agree that the Pakistan army is known for its mercenary character.  But don't forget that a new trend has emerged in the Pakistan army particularly having seen and tasted the conquest in Afghanistan twice on the name of Islam, once against the Soviet union and then against the Afghans themselves.  Howsoever illusionary it may be it has definitely helped them believe in fundamentalism to such an extent that many of the Corp commanders feel proud of depicting their beliefs through their beards, and men like Parvez Musharef who is secular by nature dare not do anything even with the aid and advice of his interior ministers and other civilians around him to offend even Mullahs within Pakistan or take on the Taleban on any issue. I wonder what would the West expect from such an army of firm belief and conviction to take dictates from the West.  Men of such convictions normally take their guidelines from their faith rather than State Departments of any other country.  They will definitely not been more helpful to the United States than in the case of Osama Bin Ladin or the hijacking of Indian airlines. I quote few instances in support of my argument.  The bus diplomacy move initiated during Nawaz Sharifs time had the blessings of the Americans even the Army knew it.  It took them no time to torpedo that move through Kargill adventure, though there was a risk of war between the two countries involved, and the Army knew that they had grown to big in their bellies for the battlefield and could under no circumstances take on the Indian Army.  It is only the blind faith and religious   undamentalism, which overpowered their rational thinking. And the second instance and I quote “Pakistan going nuclear”. The Army also forced that on the civilian government.  This decision has overlooked foreign, economical and internal repercussions.  I do not want to go into the details of Pakistan’s present economic conditions. There can be no better proof for the sweetness of that pudding.  Barring satisfying their fundamental ego to match the none Muslim world, I've yet to be shown the better results for the nuclear blasts.  If fundamental irationalism can force them to bulldoze the interests of their own country, why can’t the Pakistani Army refuse to take dictates from the Americans if deployed in foreign countries for the safeguard of American interests. My analysis in the above matter might look prejudicial to a naked American eye, but I can bet for an irretrievable end result, which even if proved right later on would have already taken its toll and the damage done to the parties concerned. From no fear from Pakistan or any favour from the Americans let me make it clear that we are not for the break-up of Pakistan.  Neither Sindh nor Balochistan would like to plunge into any sort of adventuresome and add to the miseries of their godforsaken people, but at the same time we should not be expected to be a silent spectators in the plunder of our resources by Punjab, and turn us into their slaves and do away with our historic, cultural and national identity. If Pakistan is to remain then Punjab must learn to let it remain with justice and fair play and practice not only "live" but also "let live". (1) Let there be no exploitation of religion in politics.  Pakistan has got to be declared secular state.  Religious politics, which has led us to fanaticism and fundamentalism, must stop. (2) All the units (provinces) must be declared autonomous. (3) All the units must have equal power and share equal privileges in the federal structure, irrespective of their population, area, resources and geopolitical situation. (4) All subjects’ particularly financial powers including taxation must revert back to the provinces. (5) Federal government to have only defence, foreign affairs and currency. That is the sort of country which is required for Pakistan to be.  We should not be expected to part with our national heritage even on the name of Islamic brotherhood or through coercion, that is the country I would love to be citizens a of, which would belong to all of us and not to one particular community.  May I put it to the so-called patriots of Pakistan what sort of country they would like to have?  Do they really want a country which would be loved by all of us or would they still like to continue with the over 50 year history of foul play.  May I give them my humble advise to look within their own resources, look into the international changes that have taken place, look into the priorities of the powerful nations and also bear in mind that we have entered into the 21st century.  Having considered the changes I mentioned it would not be difficult even for over ambitious Punjabi chauvinist to come to a rational conclusion. Let me say here something about the sacred document Punjabi claims to have ever produced on the name of the 1973 constitution and the argument given in defence of its replacement by a new constitution.  First of all there is nothing left of the 1973 constitution which is claimed to have come into being.  The amendments brought to it through martial law orders, were unconstitutional, immoral and unauthorised, have over shadowed the contents of the original constitution.  The constitution for all practical purposes is subordinated not only to martial law orders but has been particularly stamped a number of times under the military boots of decades and cannot be called the constitution for consensus.  Therefore for all practical purposes there exists no 1973 constitution.  The only interesting provision left for Punjab to defend is the power of the federal government and deprivation of rights of the smaller provinces that the champions of the 1973 constitution intended to retain and defend.  There can be no better evidence of the impotency of the 1973 constitution than the present moment when I am speaking to you when a military general has not only violated the constitution but has been empowered by our judicial lordships to amend it as per his convenience. Will somebody please from this audience or at a later stage outside this audience point out the whereabouts of the 1973 constitution as framed? It is not the love lost for the 1973 constitution which is depicted as the sacred cow, actually it is the system under which the 1973 constitution was framed and could be amended, the Punjabi elite wants to defend.  Under the present system any constitutional amendment could only be passed by a two-thirds majority of the parliament.  Everyone knows that in a house selected on the basis of one-man one vote members from Punjab are around 60 percent and all the three provinces put together form only 40 percent of the total strength of the house.  Can someone tell me how it is possible in a house with that ratio of representatives to have pass a amendment with the support of (two-thirds) majority to pass that amendment against the interests of Punjab, which at the moment surrenders all powers to the federal government (Punjab). It is basically the ratio of representation in the parliament to amend the present or to frame a new constitution (as per 1940s resolution), which is posing a threat to Punjab’s hegemony and it is not the sanctity of the 1973 constitution or the fear of Pakistan’s integrity standing in the way of rational attitudes of Punjabi dominated federal government. It will not be out of context here to point out that during the last 54-year history, Punjab has never supported forces demanding provincial autonomy.  Though the status of Punjab was also that of a province with the same quantum of autonomy as the other provinces had.  Do we take it as over patriotism on the part of Punjab or was she really being benevolent, I have my doubts on either of the reasons.  It was sheer satisfaction of Punjabi in financial matters in civil services in the army and in the governance of the country that Punjab was drawing more than its due share through the federal structure that kept Punjab mum on the issue of provincial autonomy. After parting of Bangladesh the country has almost turned into a greater Punjab and we three provinces have been turned into Punjab’s colony. Under the present circumstances we are left with very little options, we can either submit before Punjab's designs, and forget our national identity, or we could fight back to preserve our heritage. I am afraid Punjab has refused to learn any lessons from history.  The onus now lies on us to protect our lands and preserve our history.  This we all owe to our motherland and we will not fail her. The modern world has always been a silent spectator to such injustices in the past.  Let one more feather be added to its cap. And if my apprehensions turn out to be right in regard to Punjabi irrational attitudes let me assure you, it won't take long for some of us talking to you from this very platforms on behalf of Pakistan which will be minus Punjab. 18.5.01