Voicing disillusionment: Mengal rejects ‘foreign hand’ in Balochistan

Challenges Rehman Malik to expose perpetrators; holds meeting with Imran Khan.

ISLAMABAD:

Balochistan National Party chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal categorically rejected on Saturday the government’s claims of foreign powers being responsible for the insurgency in Balochistan.

“We [Baloch] do not see any foreign hand at work in Balochistan. I guess they (foreign powers) are only visible through Rehman Malik’s spectacles,” he said while taking a jab at the interior minister who has repeatedly claimed elements outside the country are responsible for the current law and order situation in Balochistan.

Speaking to reporters outside the Balochistan House after a meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, Mengal said the government had failed to substantiate its claims and challenged it to expose those behind the volatility in the restive province. “Come up with satisfactory evidence. Why doesn’t he (Malik) expose them before the nation?”

Replying to a question about the intelligence agencies’ denial of the existence of a ‘death squad’, Mengal shot back saying it must be “dengue fever that is responsible for the genocide of innocent Baloch.”

He also lashed out at the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, saying it had “failed miserably” to resolve the issue. “We’ve lost hope in the present government and I’ve come here to move the Supreme Court, which is the last ray of hope for us.”

Mengal, however, voiced his concern regarding Attorney General of Pakistan Irfan Qadir’s demeanour in court.He maintained that Qadir was acting like a military general rather than the government’s chief law officer. “The way the attorney general speaks to the Supreme Court compels you to believe he is a lieutenant general.”

Reiterating his earlier views, Mengal said the people of Balochistan had taken upon themselves the responsibility of Pakistan’s creation, but were not ready to extend their support under the present circumstances. He added the province must be given its due share and not charity.

“We do not want a Balochistan package. What we need is our due rights. The National Finance Commission award for which the government takes credit has not been given to us in charity.”

Also speaking on the occasion, PTI chief Imran Khan said: “Pakistan should learn a lesson from what happened in Dhaka. It should not repeat follies which they will repent over afterwards.”

Khan also criticised the government for its dependence on the military, saying the reign of armed forces in Balochistan negated the democratic government’s ambit. “It is time to move forward and learn from our past mistakes so that decisions regarding provinces are made on the basis of justice.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2012.