WHEN Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal resigned from the National Assembly and took a firm stance, it reminded me of his late father. I had the opportunity to interview Sardar Ataullah Mengal two or three times. The first interview took place at a house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, with my dear brother Riffat Saeed accompanying me. The second interview was conducted at his bungalow in Gizri for a television channel. The reason for the first interview with the late Sardar Ataullah Mengal was a conversation he had during a “Meet the Press” event at Karachi Press Club in 1995-96. In his talk, he predicted a very bleak future for Pakistan. With statistics, he explained that the country did not have the economic capacity to function sustainably. While he painted a picture of despair, he also hinted at his political strategy. I was surprised that, despite his disappointment with Pakistan, he still wishes to participate in politics. It was this strategy that led his party, the Balochistan National Party, to emerge as a major political force in the province, with Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal later being elected as Chief Minister.
The interesting aspects of his conversation prompted the interview, but dealing with Sardar Ataullah Mengal was never an easy task. Our journalist friends often take interviews by gathering reactions to contemporary political statements, thinking the interview is complete. But with Baloch leaders, especially Sardar Ataullah Mengal, things were never that straightforward. He would never refuse an interview, even to junior journalists. He would meet kindly and answer every question, but understanding his response was not always guaranteed. His conversations were filled with deep insights into national history, complex analyses in the international context and intellectual reflections. Although he answered my questions freely, it took me some time to grasp the full meaning. “Balochistan Times” was an important newspaper in the province, with the late Sadiq Baloch as its editor-in-chief. He wasn’t just a journalist but also a wise intellectual. In a casual meeting at Karachi Press Club, I requested him to teach me how to understand the conversations of Baloch leaders. Sadiq Baloch laughed loudly and asked if I had encountered Sardar Ataullah Mengal. When I affirmed, his laughter deepened. He said, “Talking to our elders is no walk in the park.” I agreed but asked for the key to understanding them.
Sadiq Baloch explained that journalists often wrongly assume that leaders like Mengal are disillusioned and anti-Pakistan, which leads them astray, never allowing them to reach the core of the conversation. To understand these elders, one must first grasp their style. Like their rugged region, they themselves are not easy to understand. They are highly educated and possess exceptional understanding. Their way of speaking isn’t as simple as “two plus two equals four.” For them, two plus two could be eight, ten or even a hundred. How? This formula cannot be understood without comprehending their temperament. “How can one understand their temperament?” I asked. He replied, “First, correct your perception of Baloch leaders. Don’t assume they are drowning in despair, nor be ignorant enough to label them anti-Pakistan. Once this change happens, one will better understand the Balochistan issue and its people.”
The second principle to understanding Baloch elders is also interesting. Once you understand they are not anti-Pakistan, it means their worldview is vast. They know better than anyone that an independent Balochistan has no future. If, God forbid, such an event were to happen, Balochistan would become a pawn of global powers, but its people would never benefit. Therefore, they want Balochistan to remain part of Pakistan but be treated with dignity. It was then that I first understood the meaning behind their use of terms like “colony” when referring to Balochistan. Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal adopted a similar tone when resigning from the National Assembly.
There’s a perception that he is troubled by the new movements emerging in Balochistan, fearing they might sweep away the province’s political forces like the MQM did in Sindh’s urban areas. But I don’t think that’s the case. He knows well that just as MQM became a part of history, these new faces will also fade away, but in the meantime, Balochistan’s issues will become even more complicated. That’s why he wants to hand matters over to the province’s genuine, elected representatives rather than experimenting further. This is the reality that Maulana Fazlur Rahman hinted at during his speech in the National Assembly. There are currently only two personalities in Pakistan capable of untangling Balochistan’s complicated knot: Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari. Both understand the complexity of the issue, and the Baloch leadership trusts them. If the rest also place their trust in them, it will benefit all of us.
—This writer is former advisor to the president of Pakistan, author & mass media theorist.
(farooq.adilbhuta@gmail,com)
