Deadly insurgency: Baloch people pushed into rebellion says Nawaz

Says a free election alone could resolve the issue; threatens to boycott polls if interim govt isn’t neutral .

SUKKUR/ QUETTA:

Blaming successive governments for the ongoing separatist insurgency in Balochistan, Nawaz Sharif, the chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said on Sunday that the Baloch people have been forced to “rebel” against the state.

“An East Pakistan-like situation has been created. And the Baloch people have been driven to take up arms,” Nawaz told a gathering in Dera Murad Jamali tehsil of Naseerabad district on the second leg of his tour to the flood-affected areas of the country.

The current bout of Baloch insurgency, which started in 2004, became deadlier following the killing of Jamhoori Wattan Party chief Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation in 2006. The operation was ordered by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who had toppled the Nawaz Sharif government in a coup in October 1999.

However, Nawaz said the incumbent PPP-led coalition government was equally responsible for the situation in Balochistan. “Our Baloch brothers have been further alienated by the incompetent government,” he added. Nawaz called upon all political parties to come forward and play their role in restoring calm in the restive province.

The PML-N chief also endorsed the six-point charter of Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the chief of Balochistan National Party, saying the issue was “critical” and warranted immediate and serious attention by the federal and  provincial governments.

According to him, the only solution to the Balochistan crisis lay in holding transparent elections which, he said, were not possible without a neutral caretaker government. He, however, warned that his party would boycott the election if they were not conducted by an impartial interim set-up.

Nawaz also visited Dera Allah Yar, Jafarabad and other areas in Balochistan where he was received by Sardar Sanaullah Zehri. Earlier he visited Adam Khan Panhwar village of Jacobabad with nearly a dozen truckloads of relief goods for the flood-affected people.

Nawaz told the flood victims that he sympathised with them and appealed to the government to pay immediate attention to their plight.

“Many areas of Sindh and Balochistan have been badly hit by the recent torrential rains. People need immediate attention otherwise their condition will deteriorate further,” Nawaz said, adding that the government should pay Rs100,000 to each affected family.

“But we will not leave the affected people at the mercy of an indifferent government,” said Nawaz, adding that the Punjab government had always stood by the abandoned, while the PPP had failed to deliver despite tall claims.

Nawaz said his party would fulfill its commitment to easing the suffering of flood victims, adding that relief goods had been sent to Dera Murad Jamali, but were having difficulties getting past flood water accumulated near Dera Ghazi Khan.

The PML-N chief also distributed cheques for Rs200,000 to each family that had lost a member to the flood torrents. While efforts to provide relief to the flood victims won the favour of people from both the provinces, Nawaz also spoke on Sindh-centric issues, such as the local government system in the province.

Nawaz took a swipe at the local government system, saying separate systems for Karachi and the rest of the province were fuelling resentment among the people of the province.

He went on to pledge unconditional support for nationalists opposing the ordinance, saying the government was only trying to pacify its coalition partner (MQM).

(Read: Which way for Balochistan?)

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2012.