Senate proceedings: ‘Proof of Afghan hand in Balochistan unrest’
'14 militant outfits including BLA receiving funds, weapons from abroad to carve way for separation of province.'
ISLAMABAD:
In an attempt to pacify the charged members, Interior Minister Rehman Malik shared his long claimed ‘documentary evidence’ of involvement of a foreign hand in the turmoil-hit province of Balochistan with the Senate on Friday.
The minister for interior, who had been castigated for the government’s failure to deal with law and order situation in the province, sought special permission from chairman of the Senate to share evidence and add points to the previous day’s policy statement claiming involvement of a foreign force in the unrest of Balochistan.
Malik dramatically started off by saying that given the opportunity he would want to reveal some astounding ‘facts’.
He said: “Let our enemies be aside but I have astonishing facts about the friends…today I am going to support my statement through authentic evidence and a follow-up of those uprisings I mentioned yesterday to satisfy my colleagues who do not believe the content given by the government.”
Showing the document on screens, Malik claimed that at least 46 training camps are operating in Pakistan where the “misled youth” are trained before being sent to Afghanistan for advanced training from where they go to Balochistan to carry out terrorist activities.
He also claimed that about 14 militant outfits including the Balochistan Liberation Army were receiving funds and weapons from abroad to carve way for the separation of the province.
Malik revealed these outfits get 5% out of the $6 billion drugs trade along the Pak-Afghan border together with other huge sums of money from abroad.
The minister urged upon the need for dismantling these camps, instead of going for a normal military operation.
He also showed proof of a number of official letters written by Afghan State government to its departments regarding providing funds, visas, passports and arms and ammunition to Brahmdagh Bugti and his operators inside Balochistan.
The Chairman of the Senate, in consultation with leader of the house and the leader of the opposition, will decide a date for an in-camera session to share information about terrorism in Balochistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2012.
In an attempt to pacify the charged members, Interior Minister Rehman Malik shared his long claimed ‘documentary evidence’ of involvement of a foreign hand in the turmoil-hit province of Balochistan with the Senate on Friday.
The minister for interior, who had been castigated for the government’s failure to deal with law and order situation in the province, sought special permission from chairman of the Senate to share evidence and add points to the previous day’s policy statement claiming involvement of a foreign force in the unrest of Balochistan.
Malik dramatically started off by saying that given the opportunity he would want to reveal some astounding ‘facts’.
He said: “Let our enemies be aside but I have astonishing facts about the friends…today I am going to support my statement through authentic evidence and a follow-up of those uprisings I mentioned yesterday to satisfy my colleagues who do not believe the content given by the government.”
Showing the document on screens, Malik claimed that at least 46 training camps are operating in Pakistan where the “misled youth” are trained before being sent to Afghanistan for advanced training from where they go to Balochistan to carry out terrorist activities.
He also claimed that about 14 militant outfits including the Balochistan Liberation Army were receiving funds and weapons from abroad to carve way for the separation of the province.
Malik revealed these outfits get 5% out of the $6 billion drugs trade along the Pak-Afghan border together with other huge sums of money from abroad.
The minister urged upon the need for dismantling these camps, instead of going for a normal military operation.
He also showed proof of a number of official letters written by Afghan State government to its departments regarding providing funds, visas, passports and arms and ammunition to Brahmdagh Bugti and his operators inside Balochistan.
The Chairman of the Senate, in consultation with leader of the house and the leader of the opposition, will decide a date for an in-camera session to share information about terrorism in Balochistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2012.