By Irfan Ali
KARACHI: Balochistan-based leaders have expressed the need for Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) to win the hearts and minds of the people of Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province.
Former Balochistan National Party MNA Rauf Mengal has proposed that the ruling establishment withdraw the troops and release the detained Balochis. Talking to Daily Times, Mengal said that the solution to Balochistan’s problems does not lie in further talks and interaction.
“BNP Senator Sanaullah Baloch and I have presented our proposals before the national assembly and the senate. The CBMs are necessary and those Balochis whose arrests have not been declared should either be released or presented before a court of law,” he said.
Mengal disagreed with the impression that the new civilian government is powerful and capable enough to be able resolve Balochistan’s problems, stating that democracy is the only solution to the province’s problems. About separatist tendencies in Balochistan, he said that the government’s use of force against civilians and its discriminatory policies forced many to take up arms.
However, former Balochistan Governor Lt Gen. (Retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch asserted that Balochistan is an inseparable part of Pakistan and that is how it must remain.
“I think that Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif sincerely want to solve Balochistan’s problems but the only obstacle in their way is President Pervez Musharraf, who opts for a military solution,” he said, while agreeing that CBMs were needed. However, he disagreed with Mengal’s demand to scrap all mega projects of the province.
“We do not object to any development projects, even the gas pipeline project. We merely want Balochistan’s genuine share in the benefits of these projects,” he said.
Mengal labeled the extra-judicial arrests of many Baloch as one of the worst sorts of human rights violations. He said that even journalists and human rights activists are not allowed to visit the affected areas of the province, let alone political parties.
He said that around 150,000 Baloch had been forced to migrate from areas including Dera Bugti, Kahan and Kolhu to Naseerabad, Karachi and another parts of Sindh. “Settlers from Balochistan speak Balochi and they have Baloch relatives through inter-marriages. They are not aliens here and their targeting by other Balochs is a baseless allegation,” he said, adding that there are Balochi settlers in Sindh, Punjab and NWFP.
Mengal blamed the ruling establishment for mishandling Balochistan’s affairs, stating that the violence in Balochistan was not perpetrated by Balochistan’s parties or their supporters.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008 810story_10-8-2008_pg12_3 |
