August 8 carnage: Opposition MPs accuse govt of duping public

Balochistan Assembly condemns Quetta attack

QUETTA: As the Balochistan Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution on Saturday against this week’s suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital, the opposition accused the government of trying to mislead the people by linking the tragedy to the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The attack, which took place on the premises of the Civil Hospital on August 8, killed 75 people, most of them lawyers who had gathered at the facility after the targeted killing of the Balochistan Bar Association’s president.

Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri said his government had taken serious notice of the incident, and directed all the law enforcement agencies to trace the culprits.

“We will make terrorists pay for every single drop of blood of our slain lawyers, journalists and innocent citizens,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition Maulana Wasay, however, rebuked the provincial and federal authorities for linking the Quetta tragedy to CPEC.

“CPEC is not linked to the Quetta blast. Please do not divert the attention and justify these mass killings,” Wasay said.

“Our government was toppled when there was carnage on such a large scale, but the representatives of the current government are not willing to resign,” he said.

Balochistan National Party’s Akhtar Mengal also castigated the government and said people were fed up with resolutions expressing condemnation. “The government can no longer fool people by condemning such incidents with hollow statements,” he said. According to him, August 8 was the 9/11 of Balochistan.

Home Minister Bugti, however, defended the government and claimed that Indian and Afghan spy agencies were responsible for the Quetta bombing. “We have arrested many terrorists and presented them before public,” he said.

He said some members came here only to deliver speeches, and did not bother to share their recommendations. The remarks angered the opposition members, who staged a walkout and boycotted the debate.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th, 2016.