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Imran Khan’s hollow apology on Balochistan
The fact is that Balochistan wanted to hear the PTI leadership clearly acknowledge that Balochistan is suffering.
The writer was a member of the Senate from 2003-08 and of the National Assembly from 1997-99
It used to be said that ‘sorry’ was the hardest word to say, but no longer, at least for politicians in Pakistan. They do apologise, usually without realising the gravity of the miseries, pain and suffering of the victimised people — and without offering proper, practical remedies or measures for healing wounds.
Following Pervez Musharraf and Asif Ali Zardari’s footsteps, the PTI’s Imran Khan has also publicly apologised to the people of Balochistan. However, he did this without mentioning the military’s excessive and inhuman policies, human rights violations, political assassinations and the ‘kill and dump’ policy of moderate Baloch political activists and the systematic subjugation of the Baloch people.
In a carefully-crafted apology, ignoring the ongoing human rights violations, the PTI chairman spoke in the past tense. He said human rights abuses had been “committed” and the people of the province had been “treated” (as if it was in the past) like those of a colony as happened in the case of the people of East Pakistan.
This careful selection of words, together with no mention of the security agencies and their dirty game in Balochistan, raises doubts about the PTI’s confidence and ability to truly ensure that, if it comes to power, it will make law-enforcement agencies follow the rule of law.
The fact is that the people of Balochistan wanted to hear the PTI leadership clearly acknowledge that Balochistan is suffering, that its people’s fundamental rights are being violated, that enforced disappearances and the policy of ‘kill and dump’ are all still going on like before.
The Baloch population wants the PTI to confront the military’s discriminatory policies politically and legally by moving a petition in the Supreme Court and by calling for a nationwide strike in solidarity of Baloch victims.
When the PPP came into power, President Asif Ali Zardari made an apology for Musharraf’s sordid actions. He also announced that the new PPP-led government would call an all-parties conference to address the province’s long-entrenched problems, while also promising to form a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate allegations of human rights abuses.
However, soon the people of the province had to suffer the killing of three more eminent Baloch nationalists and a series of target killing of top Baloch leaders, including former senator Habib Jalib Baloch, Professor Saba Dashtyari, Maula Bux Dashti, Mir Noordin Mengal, Abdul Salam Baloch, Mir Jumma Khan Raisani and Mir Liaquat Mengal, as well as hundreds of political activists.
The PPP may have apologised but it has quite clearly been unable to confront the ‘powerful elements’ who have turned Balochistan into a killing field.
I would, in fact, argue that by separating action from responsibility, political apologies can make it more difficult to take the steps necessary to enforce real change. Saying sorry for committed crimes, killings, exploitation and human rights violations, for instance, does not address the causes of the Balochistan conflict and the problems facing the Baloch people in Pakistan.
It should also be noted that many of the new entrants into the PTI — the so-called ‘electables’ — are the ones who were part of the Musharraf regime and saw nothing wrong in the atrocities that it committed. There is no guarantee that these same elements will not overly influence the PTI’s policies if they rise to power.
The people of Balochistan don’t need apologies, what they need is a clear and unambiguous stand against the ongoing human rights violations in the province. They want a government that will take the security forces to task and make them stop their current policy of targeting moderate Baloch politicians, intellectuals, students and dissidents. There should also be a clear road map for peace and conflict resolution in the province, one that addresses the ethnic composition, security structure, autonomy issues, the issue of ownership of resources and having in place a pro-people socio-economic development plan.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2011.
Reader Comments (90)
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This is excatly what Imran khan meant when he compared situation in Balochistan with East Pakistan although things in East Pakistan were actually far worse.
He is trying to so better for Baluchistan…..why call it hollow?
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The author should know that PTI’s rally was about unifying Karachi. The apology was about constructing the framework for a more involved discussion in Quetta on March 23rd. But there’s no cure for cynicism so even if he had read out a Phd thesis on the topic, it would have been an exercise in futility.
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So far, from what I have gathered, Imran Khan has no real solutions for the problems and he is neither willing to point out the cause of the problems.
All he is does is acknowledge there is a problem but then goes on about vague ideas and theories relating to the afore mentioned problem.
I am sorry but its all talk and no substance so far.
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With apology sir but who is responsible for all this mess in Balauchistan if i am not wrong the
great Serdars and there uneducated policies against there peoples on one hand there children
goes to west for education i dont know what kind of education may be like petro Dollars peopl
es gets that kind of education and ordinery peoples of SUBAH beyaro madadgar.
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Well it’s for the people of Balochistan to decide if the apology is hollow or not.
The apology doesnt change anything, but I am ready to give Imran a chance.
Sanaullah Baloch got his chance in the government and he failed to serve his people, coming up with a cynical article and labelling someone as “hollow” doesn’t change anything as well.
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The Karachi rally was about unifying Karachi? Is that why not a word was said about Karachi’s problems?
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I am not a supporter of PTI but apology is all he can do at this stage. he has also planned to meet with Baloch people. I think moving as he should. and agreed that Baluchistan situation is much more worse than as we see in the news, people are abducted everyday and then all the relative find after months is a mutilated body of the loved ones.Recommend
@Kestrel: Did you even see the crowd there? It was the embodiment of unity. How is finger-pointing, assigning blame, and inflaming people on that forum going to achieve anything? Imran has said plenty about Karachi’s problems in the past, and everyone who is remotely familiar about his views and done a tiny bit of research knows it. There’s a time and place for airing out views. But again, there’s no cure for cynicism.
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Sanaullah,can’t agree more.We’re sorry.
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I don’t trust Imran Khan who on a tv program last year defended the application of sharia in pakistan on the premise that, we are all muslims in pakistan so why not implement sharia.
ignoring the fact that, we are not ALL muslims in pakistan – rather, we have christians, sikhs and hindus among us, too. religions who he reassures will be equal in a pti ruled pakistan – hogwash.
imran khan only believes in obtaining power at any cost; for that he will say or do anything – he will form alliances with thieves, fundamentalists, taliban, and given his frequent trips to india from where he raised a lot of money in the past, i wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t close to elements of the indian
we do need change, genuine change which will uplift all pakistanis, irrespective of faith or sex.
and while i am not a fan of the ppp, but unfortunately, it’s the only pary whose espoused principles, if implemented, can help bring about the liberal, progressive pakistan i would like to live in and raise my nascent family.Recommend
Do you have any better suggestions to reach out to the people of Balochistan?
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I think it is rather hollow to think that Imran Khan is not sincere about Balochistan because he did not go into details whilst addressing hundreds of thousands in a gathering in Karachi which was about uniting all Pakistan. IK acknowledged and recognised the plight of the people and in doing so apologised to show solidarity of the cause. What do you need to show sincerety? maybe you can detail a criteria or site a wikipedia process?? it is clear IK is seeking the best solution for Balochistan to include the people of Balochistan and colaborating the variants to achieve unity and peace. Change is amidst and old politics is hindering progress, let us move forward inshallah and bring peace/ prosperity to our nation in all aspects.
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SOrry to say,,, but i didnt unrdstand what he actually want to say,,, if Imran khan compare Balochistan with East Pakistan , it means he mentioned indirectly all the steps that gvts done wd balochistan ,,Bro i know its difficult ,, but just for one time believe on him,, and we love Balochistan and want to be wd us,, and I adeel apologies on behalf of all pakistanis wat ever we did wd balochistan,,,
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Imran’s apology was a good gesture and apparently an honest one.
Comment of @Baloch Youth is thought provoking. What really have the Baloch leaders done for the provence and their people ?
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So you were a part of the Musharraf Senate from 2003- 2008, did not even feel like resigning when they killed Bugti in 2006. IK atleast openly condemned it at the time(Check interviews on utube) and said a military operation was not the solution and has stuck to his guns….Maybe its you who should learn a thing and two….One problems of Baluchistan are blood sucking “leaders” living comfy in Islamabad and Karachi playing politics on Baloch blood…
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Thank you for this succinct piece writer.
@ sceptic ali—here, here
Imran Khan’s problem is that he tells people he can bring peace without assigning blame to the aggressor. This is not possible. Baluchistan’s issue cannot be solved without blaming our intelligence agencies—it is they who must apologize, not the Pakistani people, be they in Punjab or elsewhere. Similarly, Karachi can’t be solved without blaming MQM. And terrorism can’t be solved without blaming the Taliban. Imran is a coward—can’t solve any of these. His “I have to live in Pakistan” line to Karan Thappar was disgusting—such a bad way to represent your country.
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@Z: Then please tell us why Shahid Qazi resign from PTI??? He was Vice President of PTI and also the member of Central Executive Committee (CEC).
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With all due respect Sanaullah Sb, a person who has just started gaining momentum should not be criticized like this and it does not seem fair especially when year on year each govt failed to address the plight of Baluch people. Instead of being positive and looking forward to let him give a chance to show, you are suspecting his intentions…. we are with you in these hard times and it is also true that we will never be able to share the same level of pain as you Baluch do but you have all the support from common man which unfortunate is not enough….
I would request you to give peace a chance… let him come over and speak to you guys and be hopeful that there is a solution for our Balouch countrymen….
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Before writing this whole Arabian nights story on the hollowness of IK speech, the writer would be well advised to just re-play any one talk show where IK has talked about the issues of Balochistan…and he would notice that IK has ALWAYS been AGAINST military intervention in ANY PLACE in the world…let alone Balochistan…and he has always cited East Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir as testament to failures of military operations…
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I’m sorry too! :P
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Sanaulla Sahib, apologies are too late and not good enough, agreed. Problem is, whose going to bell the ‘cat’. Baluchistan like foreign policy and state security comes under the Pakistan army and it’s ancillaries, civilian government has no say but shares responsibility. I for one one would like to see all those responsible be tried in a court of law convicted and punished for crimes against humanity.
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@Ali Tanoli:
you r infact wrong
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Imran Khan or Nawaz Sharif or any one else who want to earn a vote bank in balochistan should condemn the atrocities of punjabi/paki army rather than apologising the Balochs, we are not in a Position to forgive anyone or commit any harm to anyone, we are busy in defending ourselves from the atrocisites of Paki/Punjabi army
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i think the people who cant feel the pain of balochs of balochistan i repeat balochs of balochistan are sub human and enemy of baloch nation around the globe .i stand with the just struggle of my brothers living in pakistani baloch land and irani occupied baloch land its an international issue should be taken up in U N as south sudan kosovo or east timur
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@Shahrukh Rao:
why dont you leave baloch alone
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Sanaullah Baloch, how can you judge Imran Khan when he hasn’t come to government yet. Give the man a chance.
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So many problems face Pakistan !!!!!
he is not a Pahghamber..but he will try his best that we know.!!!!
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Sorry to say Mr. Sanaullah, Ex Senator and MNA, You can’t demand from a person too much who isn’t in power even once. Ask these from the two parties PML-N and PPP + Musharraf and you were senator in his regime. Imran’s few words of sympathy made you infuriated. Give him a chance, He’ll be accountable for his own actions. I understand the pain of Balochistan and I apologize but I didn’t commit the crime SIR!
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Very precise analysis from Sanaullah Baloch, we all need to understand the present situation in Balochistan is not the same as punjab and sindh, ever since Pakistan’s inception the region is facing fifth insurgency, the political rhetoric and misleading apologies were also done by PPP, and PML-N, how different is PTI from the rest? The Balochistan issue isn’t about Roti, Kapra, Makan, its about survival and without blaming the real bosses (Kiyani and Pasha) Balochistan situation can not be dealth with.
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@Shahrukh
its too late
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Balochistan situation is related to Fauj. I was present at the Jalsa and I was not impressed with Imran Khan’s political rhetoric, apologies are not enough. Human rights violations in the province must immediately stop
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To Imran Khan, its too late now PERIOD. As a wise man says, ” you can make fool some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can not make fool all of the people all of the time.
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The rally was about unity, if IK had just pointed his finger at the army or blamed the sardars there, what would that have achieved. Our current corrupt leaders have done nothing for Balochistan. He is the one man, who wants to keep them a better status and shift development their way. He hasn’t let us down yet, and i can say from the bottom of my heart, he won’t let us down when he’s Prime Minister!
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It’s no surprise that a political leader propped up by the establishment doesn’t acknowledge the atrocities of the same establishment. At least, Zardari tried more than any other leader to reconcile the Baloch before he was sandboxed by the establishment. The most we can expect from Imran if/when he is elected, is another apology with blame on Z, while condoning the establishment’s kill-and-dump policy.
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@Salar,
Prove it sir,
@Londener,
Its not gonna happend in one day u guys knows pakistan has same problems like it was in Turkey and JDP came in power and what they did very slow and easy they corner the army
because the knew the Haal of previous govt of Najmu deen arbakan.
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how do you know it was empty? just because you are saying it!
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He won’t challenge the “agencies” so how is IK going to be anything other than their figurehead? A focus for people’s attention to be held to while organized criminals are picking their pockets, abusing their daughters, and grinding them in dirt? Recommend
Rightly said but I would wait till 23rd March to judge IK on Balochistan. Having said that, the author has to fix things in his own backyard. I remember Sana’s younger brother (in early 20′s that time) was kidnapped by security agencies some years ago and was soon released (as a result of compromise) and out of nowhere was appointed one of the board of governors of SSGC, which I considered a very selfish and opportunistic move. Also, Mr Sana, as a political leader, you should be escaping less often to London, and more often stay with your co-leaders like Mengal.
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very precise analysis, unfortunately the slow track genocide seems to be the only problem currently in Balochistan, i agree with Sanaullah baloch, each province has its own reservations, just because Imran Khan carried out successful rallies in both Karachi and Lahore doesn’t mean that will address the problems of Baloch people, A promise with a clear road map is a real promise, there was no conflict resolution plan given by Imran Khan, and he failed to condemn the real perpetrators in Balochsitan which is the Establishment and the armyRecommend
what this Khan can do ? He surrendered himself to MQM . He could not even fight against this karachi based political party how will he bring ISI under his control.He said I would have made kiyani resign ….. just as he made Altaf hussain do it…..
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We are not just sorry, we are ashamed of all the killings of Baloch men and the establishment agaist the province. At a minimum the armed forces must be totally pulled out of Baluchistan and the local population given a chance to rule without interference. All missing Baloch be released and compensated. Where is the SC and its judges?
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Imran in his speech said he was sorry for what happened in Balochistan and he apologised for that,though he was neither in power at the time of what was happening there nor is he responsible for the current state of affairs in that province yet he promised that if he came into power he will redress the grievances of Baloch people.Now dear Mr.author it is the responsibility of the people of Balochistan that they too may join hands with Imran Khan(in case!?) to mend the situation which is only possible if you come up with clear road-map of what is ailing and what should be done in your area,as no good can be achieved if we just keep lamenting over the wrong which in your opinion is being done to you.I agree that not every thing is well there but you are not alone to have suffered in the past and if people of all provinces of Pakistan unite and make a resolve that we will struggle together to overcome what is ailing our country we can remove all hurdles and move forward.We together have great potential and Pakistan(all provinces)was not created to loose nor she will if we care to understand and trust each other.
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the issue is each Bloch sardar got its own party same with sanaullah shahib BNP M time has come that these parties should join the main parties especilally in balochiustan ,otharwise they gonna stay behind and cmplaining ,sana shahib own brother is FC officer.Recommend
@sceptic ali:
Nothing wrong in implementing Sharia, if people want it. Isn’t democracy 50%+1, let the majority decide. Plus you looked too influenced by Taliban propaganda, that their way of rule is Sharia. In fact they just use its name, real Sharia is where everyone lives in peace and minorities have full rights to practice their religion and everyone’s basic human rights are respected. All that is already in our constitution, If we only implement current Pakistani laws with all honesty, and provide social justice to all, we have Sharia. IK’s main policy and movement is for social justice, hence name of his party. Indians have graciously donated for his cancer hospital in the past, we should be thankful for that, recently Pakistanis donated in campaign led by Ansar Burni to free Indian sailors from pirates. What is your point? Helping each other out for humanitarian causes is not considered surrender of sovereignty (by either side).
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We should focus on Kashmir rather than Balochistan.
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Baloch question is about forceful annexation and now its regaining Baloch identity and territory. Who are you to decide Baloch destination? The grievances of the Baloch go back to 1948, when the khanate of Kalat, a sovereign state linked to the British Raj by a treaty, was forcefully annexed by Pakistan. Keeping this in mind, the then khan of Kalat, Ahmad Yar Khan, declared the independence of his country on 11 August 1947. An assembly was formed, elections were held and, much to the surprise of the sardars (tribal chieftains), they were routed by the then-illegal National Party, whose members, as independent candidates, won 39 seats out 52. Khan then turned for help to his legal advisor, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, (keep in your mind your leader Jinnah was legal advisor of Balochistan case) who, in turn, showed no interest either in supporting Khan’s position or in democracy for the Baloch. Once this became clear, Khan and the National Party joined hands to insist on an independent, sovereign Balochistan. Jinnah, on the other hand, demanded formal accession of the Kalat territory to Pakistan which was unanimously rejected by the Baloch.Recommend
I heard imran khans interview in a BBC Asia talk show a few months back. He sounded hollow and with no substance at all. He was not offering any solution for issues. He was just giving general well meaning sound bites which maybe he thinks people want to hear. He sounded like a man with no intrinsic values. But he still built a cancer hospital for his fellow citizens. So maybe he has something of value to offer but it is not coming across right. Time will tell. It looks like he has “institutional” support so he will win.
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It is an irony that Author wants Imran Khan to confront security agencies for their alleged atrocities in Balochistan , while Imran Khan himself is protege of the security agencies.Imran Khan does not seems to be even handed towards all Pakistanis, as he ignored the appeal of Christian not to hold rally in Karachi on Christmas day AND in his Ghotki rally newly inducted former foreign minister was calling himself Md Ghori who has come to destroy hindu temple of Somnath -these things does not shows his sensitivity towards minorities.
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Very shrewd analysis by Sanaullah Baloch, the issue of Balochistan isn’t the same as that of Sindh and Punjab, but much complicated. Balochistan God an apology from PML-N, as well as PPP but both parties failed to fulfil their promises. Its not going to work with promises any more, the seriousness in Balochistan need to be considered and the slow track genocide must come to an end
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I think most of us believe that Imran Khan is a fair person. That is the basic quality we are looking for. Isn’t it? Why wouldn’t any fair-minded person be sympathetic to the Baloch cause? Can Mr. Sanaullah explain? So trust IK and give him a chance. Let him first get a toehold in the politics of Pakistan before expecting him to address big issues like Balochistan. I don’t think it would serve anyone’s cause if he started hitting at the security establishment at this stage when he and and his party are still weak. A wise person never attacks from a weak position Sir, but only when he is sure that he can win. Does Mr. Sanaullah sincerely believe that IK can do something about the Baloch cause at this stage?
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All Imran lover MUST follow Shahid Qazi’s tweets
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How can someone like Imran Khan heal the wounds of those who lost their sons in genocide by just an apology which has been given to the baloch so many times?
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@Muzaffar Iqbal: Anyone is free to join or leave a political party. Why was he in the party in the first place? He must have seen some good there. I don’t know him personally so I can’t say, maybe you do. But a party must stand for an ideology and not move to the whims of its every member. Maybe that wasn’t acceptable to him. Who knows. People like Akbar S Babar and Qasim Khan Suri are important members of the party. Would you say they don’t care about Balochistan?
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You should have paid closer attention to Imran’s speech, I don’t know what more the guy can do to appease you. In limited time there is only so much one can say in a speech (which by the way was about all of pakistan and not just Balochistan) so given that constraint I think he worded it quite eloquently.
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Give justice to those that only seek peace.
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what did he do to balochis?
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Please dont post senseless articles… What do you want Imran to do? Act like a president of the state? Once he comes into power then only we can criticise him. And do realize this that he is the only alternative and the only hope, and yes he will be the one facing harsh criticism if he does not deliver what he has promised.. Abhi se y jootay maar rahay ho, we need to test him and if he fails we can point our fingers then!!!…
Support IK, Yes We Khan!
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One statement for all you guys crtiticising the “Hallow Promise”.
Please conduct a independent referendum in Balochistan, and see if the population wants to be a part of Pakistan. I guess/hope you all already know the answer.
This is how the serious the situation is on the gournd my fellow country men. But it does not and will not affect you….none of you alll have any business interest in that province apart from getting cheap gas for your sorted heaters/geysers/cooking range at home. Thats it!
Carry on protesting for more gas…its all good!
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Though I am no politician, and have no power other than to raise awareness about plight of Baloch, sir I offer my sincere apology for keeping silent for so many years while Baloch were being oppressed. I am SORRY for that and I hope that a Baloch on the street will accept this apology from another man on the street.
We are SORRY!
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No One can convince you if you are in a mode of denial
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at Author
You should be sorry for not serving this nation properly when given the chance.And that will actually be a hollow apology. What do you want him to do? read a 10 page document on Balochistan? in a rally? And what can he do at this stage.
Just give this man a chance becuase he deserves it. If he does not deliver then come up with criticism.
Atleast this man speaks from the heart, is not corrupt, is sincere. That will do for me against any other in competition.
I would prefer a cricketer, administrator with a proven track record than an incomptetent and corrupt politician. If not him then WHO?
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I agree entirely with you, Sir! Without acknowledging the crime they commited, & without bringing the military men (who involved) into the prosecution & without their execution including Musharraf. I don’t think Baloch would be able for reconciliation.
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I do not understand what the fuss is about. The Jalsa was not in Balochistan in the first place. Imran was not their to highlight Balochistan issue anyway. Besides his party has never been in power as yet. So I think apologizing to Balochistan too was not required. Imran has taken a brave step to hold a rally in Quetta and he will highlight all the Baloch problems there. I think tribune has hit rock bottom. Recommend
Imran Khan’s hollow apology on Balochistan::
I am sure it was an advise by new mentor Hashmi, Imran as newbie in politics was forced to follow without any homework.
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The author analyzed the speech of IK perfectly. IK gave the example of East and West Germany, Well Mr. IK Balochitsan is not West or East Germany, you can’t heal the intrinsic and extrinsic wounds by just a mere apology, you can not resurrect the sons of the Baloch soil, you can not bring Nawab Akbar khan along with his sons and Nawab Akbar Bugti and many other innocent Baloch’s by just a mere apology. its just like snatch all the wealth from a person, kill his family brutally and torture the rest of the family and in the end just say sorry….
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It is ironic that people distort facts to tailor their arguments. IK has publicly announced that he would call army back to barracks once and for all when he comes to power. Sana Ullah Baloch needs to correct his facts before he criticizes IK’s apology.
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I agree entirely with you, Sir! Without acknowledging the crime they commited, & without bringing the military men (who involved) into the prosecution & without their execution including Musharraf. I don’t think Baloch would be able for reconciliation. Thank you for such a wonderful article!
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Mr. Baloch we cannot solve any issues by pointing fingers… Past is bad and sad but it is useless to cry over it. Let us look to the future… When PTI will come into power InshAllah, Baluchistan will be given full provincial autonomy, and every province will have the first right over its resources. Military operations will stop automatically and there will be no reason for them when militancy stops and that will happen when people get their legitimate rights and voice, when they are empowered. This will happen soon InshAllah.
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I here encourage Sana Baloch to keep writing.This should be the forum to high lite our problems/grievances, although some have chosen a different path but i am still convinced that we should use every platform available to us to convey our message in a civilized manner. Good effort Sana keep it doing and encourage others too.
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@Chengez K:
‘hollow’ for the very reasons clearly stated by the author
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@Mirza: “Where is the SC and its judges?”
The are busy with much more important issues like Memogate.
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there’s no surprise to see Khan’s way of talking about Baluchistan because from his interview with Talat Hussain, it is clear Baluchistan is not constituency. And if you read Mr. Baluch’s article with the following blog, things should be more clearer. The best quote is Khan is Sarah Palin of Pakistan. http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/9562/dear-imran-khan-i-beg-to-differ/
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@Talha: Not sure how many speeches you have heard that are delivered at national level. These speeches never provide detailed recipes to resolve issues, instead only policy statements are given on issues to describe a party’s/ or a government’s stance. For instance, on Baluchistan IK’s stance was to acknowledge this issue/ admit our mistakes/ and to present an outline how the solution of this problem would look like.
One the other hand Mr. Zardari also made a policy statement on Baluchistan in which he insisted that there was nothing to apologise i.e. there is no wrong being done by the Government and that Baluch should initiate the dialogue.
Once you have such policy statement, detailed discussion/ debates and policy papers follow that are drafted carrying the spirit of policy statements presented by the party heads.
So yes, you may not find nitty-gritty details in IK’s 43 minutes speech as he presented over 25 main issue!
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Well-argued Sana Sahab.
Why Baloch give chance to everyone to kill them in the light of past military operations in 1948, 1960s, 1970s and current phase 2002. The primary purpose of the state is to protect its citizens from external enemies but in the modern world, the state itself has become the enemy of its own citizen in different ways such as, exploitation, deprivation, and military operation. Same may be observed in Balochistan, which has been a conflict ridden region since 1948 with the present Pakistan. The Pakistani government’s attitude to Balochistan has been repressive (the successive Pakistani regimes have admitted their excesses to Balochistan) through the course of 62 years of Pakistan-Baloch relationship pushed Baloch down to the road of alienations. This outstanding and troubled relationship emanated a conflict between the state of Pakistan and Balochistan
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Imran doesn’t criticize the use of private militant groups to wage proxy wars in other countries. He provides legitimacy to Taliban as our strategic assets. In a recent rally of banned militant organizations in Lahore, his special message was read to the public. Dialogue and withdrawal from FATA means giving out a piece of land to extremists where our strategic assets can nurture and prosper. He equates Taliban with tribals, although Taliban have killed thousands of tribal. He says that banned organizations were in the control of the military before 911, as if there is nothing wrong with having militant groups. And has no solution as to how these groups would be neutralized.Recommend
Im a Baloch from Khuzdar and me and my relatives support and will vote for Imran Khan. InshAllah .Sanaullah Baloch dont seserve to raise voice for Baloch people.Recommend
He is apologising for what? He was never been to power.
Unless he was a party to all those decisions that led to where Balochistan has become today.
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A sorry is not enough, and a sorry can not cure such an issue with a great intensity. One thing, you, the PTI workers would keep in mind that Balochs are in sufferings and the violence and dumping the corpse is going on, and it is not stopped yet that ur leader expresses it in past tense.
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Agreed with your comments sana but not with you. However, i have a feeling that we, the balochs, have become some what like Palestinians. Means, every party (like presidential candidates in US) gives rhetorical promises of resolving baloch grievances to get political mileage and show their acumen of resolving national issues (read internatnl. in US perspective). But haplessly do the contrary to please the Isreal of our nation, so that to remain in power. And in the end, very much like the fate of Palestinians, take small cosmetic steps, in fact gimmicks, to resolve the issue at the end of their terms (as Zardari & Gilani announced 2012 for Balochistan) but of no avail. But i believe it is the time we must by ourselves strive to change the plight of our Baloch Nation.
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@Zaid Hamid,you said”we should focus on Kashmir rather than Balochistan”.I had decided not to post any more comments on the article but as again and again I saw the number of recommendations your comment gets I can not help wondering whether they are suggestions for others to read the article or is it that more and more people are in agreement with your comment.I request you to please elaborate what is meant by you when you say that we should prefer Kashmir over Balochistan.This is important because if majority feels the same way as you do,we as Pakistanis have yet not understood what ails us.btw.This is my opinion,you may disagree but please do explain your viewpoint for a layman as I am so that I know the difference and how one is more important than the other
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Sanaullah, my dear friend, the rally wasn’t to highlight Balochistan cause. Was for unification of people in karachi.
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@yousaf
relax it was an Indian
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@Zaid Hamid:
well said, Zaid. Just because Balochistan has never been a part of Pakistan, and will never be. But you have got to know one thing: Separation of Balochistan will be the biggest and the historic economic downturn of Pakistan. Can you just estimate the total growth production of one single day of those fishing companies being operated by Chinese in Gwadar Balochistan. As far Balochistan news concerned your media is under the control of Islamabad. By Islamabad i mean Punjabi. but you gotta know that its 2012, NOT 1970 anymore.
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After reading nearly all of the comments I as a baloch and balochistani have finally realised that there is absolutely no place in Pakistan for us. When will you people get it in your thick heads that the sardars are not killing us its ISI AND MI!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Who else has to die before you people will wake up????Recommend
Entire nation need to be educated. Always busy in test trials and transmissions. Although every Pakistani chid knew Zardari was an elite CORRUPT but luckily went in testing process and became the president of the country. Now its Khan’s turn. WOW!
As far Balochistan issue is concerned all i want to say is the entire Pakistani nation should know that this is 2012 NOT 1970.
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@Ali:
hope you will stay safe.
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This is just prejudgment at its best. U cannot comare imran with zardari and musharraf simply beause both of them had power but decided to just stick to words rather than action. Imran as of right now cannot cnange much unless he comes into power. Imran like others is not a lier.
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@Umer Rasheed:
Your comment makes me wonder. You say he was not in Balochistan so he did not address the Balochistan issue. But if you forget the jalsa was in heart of Sindh. Did he utter a word about Sindh’s issues(autonomy, NFC, water etc)? No. How can he be the leader of Pakistan if he does not address the people of all it’s provinces? I am not a supporter of PPP, PML-N or MQM but I am really concerned why didn’t he address the people of Sindh in his largest ever jalsa of Sindh?Recommend
I thoroughly agree with the writer. The issue in Balochistan can not be resolved by apologies or some soft statements. First we have to address the root cause of the problem. and the root cause is extra-judicial killings, kidnappings and atrocities committed by Law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Army is practically ruling the Balochistan Province and the provincial Govt. is just restricted to urban area. They have no writ in the mountains and rural areas of Balochistan. And Imran Khan though speaks very highly of his party’s wow for change but infact, the change which is needed can not be brought by him. Because he has been supported by those who are involved in all the mess in Balochistan. So, whenever he speaks of Army and intelligence, he is very careful with the selection of words… I am afraid that people of Pakistan are again going to suffer to the hope of change….
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I think it is about time that Mr. Sana-Ullah and other Baloch leaders MUST talk about the atrocities of the Baloch sardars. It is a shame that these sardars don’t allow schools to be build in their areas but their kids attend Western schools in EU and teh USA. While Mr. Sana-Ullah and useless Baloch leaders like him drink Nestle water, Baloch kids don’t have any water let alone clean water.
Remove the sardari system and then see the proud people of Balochistan!
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