Governor Balochistan: Here is the unorthodox eligibility criteria

Governor Balochistan: Here is the unorthodox eligibility criteria

An ordinary local politician with mere constituency skills and a local bureaucrat or a judge can not rise up to the challenge. Let us raise the bar

EDITORIAL

While the current office of the Governor Balochistan is paralyzed–the present Governor Justice ® Amnanullah Yasinzai has not resigned on technical ground despite losing the trust of Prime Minister Imran Khan— cut throat lobbying is still afoot to secure the coveted slot of the province. So far several names are rumored to be hot favorites but the decision has not yet been made and the PTI also seems to have failed to reach a consensus candidate. 

Transitionally, the Governor has to be  from ethnic Pashtun community of Balochistan whearse the Chief Minister always  belongs to the Baloch community. Unfortunately, Balochistan governor's  post more or less is  ceremonial in nature as stipulated in the constitution and is like in any other province and no government ever thought of overhauling the role of the governor. 

But Balochistan being a strategically sensitive   and equally a witness to a rising clout geo-politically, the right candidate should have a different qualification to be picked so as  to play a  robust role–traditional  nominee is not cut out for this job–in the face of the mounting  challenges summed up here as follow: 

Balochistan is a frontline province and confluence of many variables, both tangible and intangible, they include CPEC, proxy wars, PTM influence in Pashtun region, and Baloch separatists still putting up a last fight. We need a candidate for governor who has deeper understanding of the big picture, can sell national narrative regionally and internationally on these issues affecting Balochistan–unique to the province, 

He also can put out the real story of rising Balochistan through connectivity, and becoming a maritime route, to be told to the world, and not just clarifications and condemnations  on bomb blasts–as reported by International media. 

Since Balochistan is faced with an indirect war and a grey zone theater– witnessing below the surface a war of attrition called hybrid warfare by India–the Army has a mammoth challenge of thin margins of narrative management. The Governor should be selling the state narrative particularly, a)  the 3D development vision of the Army Chief General Qamar   Bajwa for Balochistan—Deterrence, Development and Dialogue–to the people of Balochistan and Pakistan, and b)  the non kinetic response/vision  of the Chief called  “Kushal Balochistan '' has to be diffused through good communication strategy. 

Another very important skill set of a potential candidate should be having  exposure in national international media and in possession of confidence and desirable background to face audiences of diverse nature including ThinkTanks, policy makers and policy implementers so that he can put across his viewpoint convicindly and credibly. 

Still other most important expertise would be having a nuanced understanding of how the diplomatic corp operates in Pakistan and can be bridged with Balochistan so as foster better appraisal of the province's issues, challenges and opportunities and also potentially encourage and spur them for investment in Balochistan.

At the moment various embassies have at least up to  $800 millions worth projects solely for underdeveloped regions like Balochistan, are up for grabs: They include USID, DFID, GIZ, China and GCC countries. The future governor should be bridging the gaps between the government and the diplomatic corp to help unlock international  donors' money by sophisticated networking. 

Since Balochistan borders Afghanistan, Iran, Gulf countries through sea, and serves as linchpin of the BRI project–the Grand Chinese Belt and Road Initiative–the candidate should have better know-how of the sensitivities, economic, political  and cultural affinities of these countries linked with the province. 

  

The governor Balochistan office is in dire need of  bringing new leadership to  bear and here is how: If you were to look for five attributes in a person–conceptual lense, strategic thinking, management ability, communication skills and patience to listen–the candidate who has got all these, is  your man to pick for the coveted post. Similarly  an energy less soul who has lost the momentum of life, stamina and is bereft of  the right demeanor can be least inspiring. 

In a nutshell, an ordinary local politician with mere constituency skills and a local bureaucrat or a judge can not rise up to the challenge. Let us raise the bar pls.