Pakistan

Targeted operations to start in Balochistan: Malik

Malik said that all organisations whose names bear the words "liberation" or "lashkar" are banned.

Express September 08, 2010

Interior minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday announced that the federal government has given the chief minister of Balochistan the authority to award police powers to the Frontier Constabulary (FC) to tackle law and order situation in the province.

Addressing a press conference in Quetta, he said that every law enforcement action will be led by the police. Malik added that this is not a security operation but it is rather a targeted action based on intelligence reports.

The interior minister said that the police and FC will gather all the intelligence. He added that he never said that there would be Swat style operations in Balochistan.

He appealed to the militants not to kill innocent people for money, adding that the enemy is aimed at dismembering the country.

Malik said that it was decided in a high level meeting that every organisation whose name bears the word “liberation” or “lashkar” is banned from now onwards. These organisations include BRA, BLA, BLUF, BMBT, Lashkar-i-Baluchistan and BLF. Their accounts will be frozen and people involved in them can be arrested up to one year.

Blast in Hub

Earlier, on the same day, a blast took place in Hub that killed two people and injured six others.

Sources said unknown persons planted the device in a shop in Rind Market.

Security forces cordoned off the area and started investigations, while the injured were shifted to nearby hospitals.

COMMENTS (12)

watchdog from UK | 14 years ago | Reply It is ironical that a man of Rehman Malik's stature has been given the role of Interior Minister. Most of the time he waffles. Wherever he goes he sparks controversy. He is ready to wield stick as far as Balochistan is concerned but when he arrives in Karachi he spends his time to placate his favourites who, beyond any doubt, are involved in target killings. Isnt that a form of terrorism. He is impediment to the peace of Karachi because he uses his official clout to let the thugs go home scot free. By definition he belongs to PPP but by all standards he is MQM man. My advice to Rahman Malik would be to leave PPP and let the rule of law take its course and stop as acting MQM sector incharge of Presidency in Islamabad

Anum | 14 years ago | Reply Good decision. The Baloch militants have been attacking the non-Baloch for long, and many of them have been forced to migrate from Balochistan. Its high time that action be taken against the Baloch militants.

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Kashif Hasan | 14 years ago | Reply Balochistan is a deprived province of our country from the very first day of its formation. I think it needs long awaited durable infrastructure rather than any more aggression like past. On the behalf of assassinations and suicide bomb attacks, we can not take any strict action against the people of our own country. We have treated East Pakistan in similar manners too 4 decades ago. Now it is a separate country and comparatively more prosper than us. If we repeat same mistake of past, can loose another part of our beloved homeland.

Yasir Qadeer | 14 years ago | Reply This will be a good move because Baluchistan has seen a continuous rise in such terrorist activities. The security agencies must step up and should be moved to fight this menace.

Hamza Baloch | 14 years ago | Reply Cheema Good answers,but number 2 should be at number 4, so that people of Balochistan them self able to kick out the sardari system. But right now,sardars are the part of Balochistan govt, only one oposition men and all other members are minsiters in Balochistan cabinet...!!

Mussarat Hussain | 14 years ago | Reply Go ahead my old friend Rehman Malik. We need Pakistan and not terrorists. Pakistan is our heart, soul and spirit. It was not carved out terrorism. It was basically aimed at providing security and protection to each and every person living within its bounds. I appreciate operatons being carried out againt extremists but make sure no INNOCENT BUGTI IS KILLED IN BALUCHISTAN ANY MORE. Musharraf made biggest mistake in his life by assassinating Akbar Bughti. Being a journalist, I interviewed him first in 1988 in Chamba House Lahore. I didn't know him honestly his background and educational qualification. Being a young journalist I started extempore english thinking that "Bearded-man" man would be influenced. But the way he gave lecture on Tempest, King Lear and Poetry of Keats, I was astonished and forgot reporting. My boss late Mr. Saleem Baig, the then Bureau Chief APP Lahore told me that Bughti was educated in Oxford, London. The next time he visited Lahore, I just visited him as a courtsesy call and appreciated his love and knowledge of english literate. He was such a humble man that he said "I am still in learning process", and invited me to visit his Dera, which I could not due to pressing journalistic assignments. Baluchis and Pathans are as loyal to Pakistan as Punjabi or Bengalis It is establishmennt that differentiates among various nationalities. Mr. Rehman Malik save Pakistan and purge it from anti-state elements how powerful they are, whole nation stands behind the armed forces of Pakistan to save this country from internal and external dangers. Neither we nor the civilized world can afford Terrorism any more, enough is enough. God Bless Pakistan, Amen. Mussarat Hussain, Your old friend from APP. Washington DC

cheema | 14 years ago | Reply these sardars (three of them) are the problem. they live in extreme luxury and people (their own tribes) live is extreme poverty. Then they blame the federal government (of course they are partly to be blamed for not giving money directly to the people). Answer is simple. 1) Pay the royalties (ALL OF IT) directly into the bank accounts of the local population 2) Crush the sardars and their litter with an iron fist once in for all 3) Jobs should be given to locals only 4) Ports should be controlled by provincial gov 5) Stop controlling lives from Islamabad via the bureaucracy You do that and in five years these fraudster sardars will evaporate

Syed Nadir El-Edroos | 14 years ago | Reply Why now? Isnt there enough for the country to handle?

shamsheer | 14 years ago | Reply Half of Baluchistan is pashtun. in the rest some of the largest tribes i.e. rinds etc do not talk of breakup. so that leaves three tribes in three districts. State should give them rights to whatever is under their land. Be it gas or minerals and let them rule themselves as they see fit. If that does not work then do as indians have done in seven northern states.

The Only Normal Person Here. | 14 years ago | Reply Targeted operations if carried out carefully and accurate, always works. It is much needed to eradicated all the anti Pakistani elements from this region. Dialogues shall only be carried out with the peaceful and pro Pakistan tribes. As far as autonomy is concerned, a free and fair referendum should be held.

Malik Rashid | 14 years ago | Reply A complete autonomy leading to the right to secede must be negotiated and accorded if Pakistan wants to avoid humiliation and dismemberment. A peaceful settlement in Baluchistan would relieve the state of some of the immediate worry and the state could focus on floods, finance and Taliban. After dealing with these i.e. securing finance to run the state, helping rehabilitation of flood affected and weakening Taliban bid to take-over, Pakistan could use this moral strength derived from autonomy accorded to Baluch in pressuring India over their Kashmir problem. Peace.

SK | 14 years ago | Reply Here you go, here is yet another novel decision by govt/army/intelligence or whoever and yes of course this will further strengthen our already solid country. Thanks Mr. Interior Minister- we know you have mandate from ABROAD to break Pakistan into pieces and kill as many people as possible in the process. Agh..... not a day passes by when there is no depressing and heart breaking news

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