QUETTA: Minority lawmakers in the Balochistan Assembly staged a walkout from the session on Wednesday in protest against increasing incidents of abduction in the province, particularly Tuesday’s kidnapping of a Hindu trader in Quetta.
Armed men shot dead rice dealer Hamesh Kumar and kidnapped his son Rajesh Kumar late on Tuesday night in a downtown neighbourhood of the provincial capital.
Speaking on a point of order, legislator Jay Parkash claimed that several members of the Hindu community have been kidnapped for ransom over the past two years in Balochistan. The issue was taken up with the provincial chief secretary and other officials but they did not come to their help, he added.
“I don’t know why this is happening to us. We have no place to go,” he said. “Our ancestors also rendered sacrifices for this country and Hindus believe that it is their motherland,” he added. Jay Parkash along with two other minority lawmakers, Basant Lal Gulashan and Jaffar George, then walked out of the session, saying if Rajesh Kumar was not recovered they would not join the assembly session.
Some other lawmakers – including Zamurak Khan of the ANP, Jaffar Mandokhel of the PML-Q, and Captain Abdul Khaliq of the PML-N – also expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the province. They called upon the provincial government to devise a strategy to stem the surging tide of crimes.
“A conspiracy is being hatched to drive a wedge between the Baloch and Pakhtun people through targeted killings,” lawmaker Jaffar Mandokhel said, adding that some elements were funnelling money to these conspirators.
“It is the government’s responsibility to foil the evil designs of conspirators as early as possible,” he added.
Minority lawmakers called off their strike and rejoined the session after provincial ministers Zamruk Khan and Asad Baloch assured them that the issue would be discussed with the chief minister.
Lawmaker Nasir Jamali tabled an adjournment motion in the House wherein he stated that the plains of Nasirabad and Jaffarabad districts produce a huge quantity of food-grains and other cash crops. But their output has been badly affected this year because the Sindh government denied legitimate share of water to Balochistan at the tail-end. He demanded the chief ministers of Sindh and Balochistan resolve this serious issue through dialogue. However, he warned that if the issue was not resolved, they would go on strike.
On behalf of the government, Adviser Dr Ruqia Saeed Hashmi said they have formed two committees to resolve the water dispute and the minister for inter-provincial coordination has given an assurance that steps would be taken to settle the matter.
Ministers and other lawmakers, including Habibur Rehman Muhammad Hasni, Jan Ali Changazi, Ali Madad Jatak, Abdul Samad Akhunzada and Asfandyar Kakar, also supported the motion. However, Speaker Aslam Bhootani disposed of the motion, saying that Dr Hashmi has explained the government’s position.
The provincial assembly also passed two bills – the Quetta Water and Sanitation Authority (Amendment) Bill 2010 and the Lasbela University of Agriculture and Water Marine Sciences Bill 2010.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 10th, 2010.
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