ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government is mulling different measures to get out of the complicated Balochistan situation in the wake of the October 12 interim order of the Supreme Court that the provincial setup has lost authority to govern under the Constitution.
“I believe the federal government will soon take appropriate steps to address the situation”, Spokesman to President Asif Ali Zardari, Senator Farhatullah Babar, said.
A reliable official source said that Law Minister Farooq
H Naek was discussing with Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf various options to resolve the tricky situation.
He said that before taking a decision to exercise any option, the military establishment has to be consulted and taken on board for it is comprehensively involved in handling the Balochistan problem through the Frontier Corps and intelligence agencies.
The source said that there were certain options available, something like the imposition of governor’s rule or a state of emergency or dissolution of the provincial assembly.
“Any of these measures may create more chaos and instability, and bring a bad name to the federal government.”
For example, he said, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani can be unofficially sent on long leave so that he is not seen as part of the mess. In the meantime, the provincial government may continue in its present shape without a chief minister.
At the same time, the source said, another option was the government’s desire to drag the issue for so long that the time for dissolution of all the assemblies to pave way for holding fresh general elections reaches a span of few months. If the government can prolong the implementation of the apex court judgment against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to years, it can attempt different options to live with the Balochistan situation for another few months despite the court order, he added.
However, he acknowledged that a deep crisis exists and the court order can’t be ignored. He was aware of the judicial proceedings on Friday in which the court reinforced that its October 12 verdict remains intact and has to be enforced.
It turned down the pleas of the interior minister and the attorney general to revoke the order or give a long adjournment.
INTERNEWS
