Fazl urges parliament to intervene, firefight

A day after Akhtar Mengal, the chief of the Balochistan National Party (BNP-M), announced his shocking decision to resign from his seat due to the lawmakers' apathy towards the insecurity faced by the people of his province, Balochistan dominated the proceedings of the National Assembly on Wednesday.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman rejected the notion that Afghanistan was responsible for all the problems besetting the nation. He called for introspection to find the root causes of the crises the country is facing.

Calling for addressing terrorism through political measures rather than military force, he urged parliament to hold a dialogue with the "people of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa" to address their security concerns.

Fazl's suggestion comes amid a precarious security situation in Balochistan after the deadly terrorist attacks on August 26 and discontent over the enforced disappearances issue.

Terrorist attacks across the country surged to 59 in the month of August, compared to July's 38, according to a digital database maintained by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think-tank. The majority of the attacks occurred in KP and Balochistan.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Fazl said: "I still believe that if parliament is requested to step forward and go and talk to the people of Balochistan and K-P, the situation can revert back to normal."

He said that the "government's writ in Balochistan and K-P has ended due to unrest," adding that "armed elements are now in control, collecting taxes."

"They are visiting villages, patrolling the streets, and are equipped with rocket launchers and special gear," he added.

Referring to the August 26 attacks, the JUI-F chief criticized parliament for "not taking matters seriously" and condemned both the treasury and opposition benches for their frequent heated exchanges.

"One party (the opposition) goes as far as discussing separation from Parliament. On the other side (the government), they make statements like 'we are ready to use force and will go to any extent to protect the state,'" Fazlur Rehman remarked.

"The importance of politicians is being eliminated today. Renowned, knowledgeable, experienced, and senior [political] leadership is being sidelined," he said, adding that new politicians replacing them have no experience.

"Empower politicians. Hand over matters to them," the JUI-F leader urged.

Trying to be a cure-all or a solution to everything yourself may be a wish, but it's never the answer," Fazl quipped.

He wondered whether the "government had the ability and power to make decisions on its own". "There cannot be a bigger mistake than considering parliament, political parties, and politicians unnecessary for the country," the JUI-F leader said.

The senior politician called upon parliament to "take action after taking the opposition into confidence and hold a dialogue to end the restlessness" caused by terrorism.

The JUI-F chief said that Pakistan had become a "battleground for the proxy war between the United States and China".

Highlighting that there were now "obstacles to completing the mega projects" planned under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Fazl claimed that "no development work was possible anymore in the entire region from Dera Ismail Khan to Balochistan".

Stressing that terrorism had become an extremely serious issue, Fazl said, "In some areas, even Pakistan's national anthem cannot be sung and the country's flag cannot be hoisted in some schools today".

He said he would continue to criticise the government and have differing views but his services were available if the country needed them.

Missing persons issue 'extremely important'

Calling the missing persons issue "extremely important", the JUI-F chief said, "People's loved ones have been missing for 20 years and they are not told whether they have died or are alive in jail or have fled.

"Wherever they are, it is the government's responsibility to inform their family of their whereabouts," he asserted.

Fazl affirmed that the people of each of the four provinces had the right to that region's resources.

"The people should be assured that the Constitution will be followed and under the 18th Amendment, these resources are yours. The state has no right to go and occupy them."

"I want the nation to trust the army but such actions are eroding that trust," he said, alleging that a person arrested a year before the Army Public School attack was among those hanged over the incident.

He went on to recall his visit to Afghanistan in January where he met Prime Minister Mullah Hasan Akhund, affirming that he returned "fully successful and apprised the foreign office and the authorities" of his discussions there.

Referring to the alleged involvement of Afghan nationals in the Bisham attack, Fazl questioned if it was also Afghanistan's "responsibility if the terrorists crossed the 200-250 checkposts dotted all the way from Quetta to Bisham".

"Where were we?" he asked, stressing the need for the government to "pay attention to its responsibilities as well".

Fazl also criticised the closure of government departments under the plan of "rightsizing", arguing that such actions would deprive people of their jobs while unemployment in the country was already high.

Opposition Leader Omar Ayub termed the people of Balochistan "more patriotic" than the rest of the country.

Speaking during a session on the floor of the lower house of parliament on Wednesday, Ayub, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secretary-general, insisted on taking Mengal's resignation seriously, asking for redressal of the grievances pertaining to the province's stakeholders.

"A fact-finding mission should go to Balochistan and assess the situation," the politician said, demanding the formation of a committee that could talk to Balochistan's people.

Ayub insisted that the ministers of the Balochistan government cannot talk to people and the province's youth does not want to listen to them.

"They [people of Balochistan] have a right to their resources. Talk to them," he said, claiming that the federal government doesn't want to talk to them.

"If they do not talk, how will the federation work?" he added.

Hinting at the lack of interest by the government in resolving the issue, the PTI leader said, "The tragedy is that dictation is taken from elsewhere."

The politician also spoke about the "persecution" being faced by his own party and its founder Imran Khan.

"The PTI people are being forcibly disappeared. Our prime minister [Imran Khan] is sitting in jail. The entire leadership has been put in jail in false cases."