Acting president of BNP Dr Jahanzaib Jamaldani stated that Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Taunsa were historically a part of Balochistan. PHOTO: ONLINE
The Balochistan National Party (BNP) on Thursday stated that they would not allow Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Taunsa to become part of the Seraiki province.
Speaking at a press conference here, the acting president of the party Dr Jahanzaib Jamaldani stated that Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Taunsa –currently part of Punjab – were historically a part of Balochistan and they will not allow them to become part of the Seraiki province.
Dr Jamaldini maintained that the sole purpose of making the Seraiki province was to provide justification for dividing Balochistan.
“We are talking about the rights of other ethnic groups in the province. If the Pashtuns of Balochistan want to live in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa they are free to do so and we would respect any decision they make.”
The BNP leader added that his party in the upcoming elections will only form an alliance with the nationalist parties who are against the military operation in Balochistan.
Responding to a question, the BNP leader said that they were in contact with the National Party and were working to form an alliance with them before the next polls.
Dr Jamaldini added that the BNP was an ideological political party which promoted good politics.
“We are a liberal party who hates politics which aggravates hatred and sectarianism. We have never spoken about the Baloch alone, we represent every ethnic group that lives in Balochistan and support their demand for their rights,” he said.
He said the efforts of the people had finally paid off with the dissolution of the provincial assembly. However, he added, that there were efforts being made by different political parties to restore the government. He claimed that the restoration of the Balochistan government would only end up in the public funds being lavishly spent by ministers.
In the same breath he added that though he was not supportive of the governor’s rule his party would not allow corrupt leaders to form a government in the province.
Regarding the current law and order situation of Balochistan Dr Jamaldini said that so far 570 bodies were found dumped in public places during the current government rule.
The president of the party Sardar Akhtar Mengal is expected to arrive in Quetta by the end of this month after which he will review the political situation personally.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 8th, 2013.
COMMENTS (12)
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@AzadBaloch finally you have accepted the fact that balochs are immigrated to this region from Aleppo Syria..ohh i guess you have read the story about how baloch reached to soo called balochistan from Aleppo.. they went to kerman in iran m i rite?? and then during safarid dynasty the king of safarid invited balochs to the neigbhouring state of kerman that was sistan rite??? and when he asked for 40 brides then baloch sent boys dressed as girls and then fled the word is "fled" towards southeast of SIstan where lies bruhi and Sindhi land.. At that time Mir Jalal Khan was the leader of Baloch people and i mean to say Baloch people not any land... and these all thing didnt happened 2000yrs back but 500 to 600yrs back... and this is not about pakistan or how old is pakistan... it is about the land where you guys came as nomads and now claiming to be independent... land belongs to Rajputs that means Punjabis, Sindhis & Bruhis... ohh if you will ask me the difference between Bruhis and Balochis that i can also tell but rite now i will just keep the history lesson upto the historical "facts" about the land which you people are claiming.. ok? by the way jews claimed israel after 2000yrs and they are living their .. you can claim Aleppo for yourself and go back and fight for it and live there.. i will support you in your cause thanx bro Ciao for now...
@imran: Well, thank you for the lesson Mr. Imran. Please don't make sweeping claims by referring to just one book by an 'unknown geographer'. Why do we have Balochistan provinces in Iran, Pakistani Balochistan, and some area of Baloch people in Afghanistan, have you ever read? These areas were gifted by the British to other rulers in Iran and Afganistan to get their support for defending the boundaries being attached by Russia. Baloch people did come originally from Syria (Aleppo) and Iranian parts around 2000 years ago (any issues with that?). Well, Pakistan dates back only to 65 years...
We have been an independent nation from the beginning and will always be. The ignorance about Balochistan, its people and culture by the majority of ruling elites in Punjab is visible from your comments. You (read: Power elites of Punjab and the Army) have been ruling us for the last 65 years, what else do you want? Do youw ant us to leave Balochistan and leave it for you? Balochistan is only a 'strategic area with lots of resources' for the ruling elites and the establishment and they only want control of it and no one talks about it's people, their way of life because that doesn't matter for them.
For the adventures of Pakistan with Balochistan, there are enough books and material. Just read this recent piece in Tribune: http://tribune.com.pk/story/188798/recalling-baloch-history/
Don't get into arguments for the sake of it. Look what Pakistan has done with Balochistan and its people? Think over it....
@lufullah .... dera ghazi khan , rajanpur & dera ismail khan was actually derajatt that means dera of jatts not dera of balochs.. moeover magsi talpurs jatoi zardaris are living in sindh but that doesnt mean the areas of their influence was part of balochistan ... legharis khosas & mazaris travelled to Punjab for its greener pastures ... but if Punjabis 200yrs back knew about balochis intentions they wudnt have allowed them to settle in punjab...
@AzadBaloch.... i think you must study a book called hudood al alam ( the limits of the world) by an unknown geographer from iran. it clearly states the boundary of baloch areas in 10th century... and also it tells the boundary of '"the greater sindh" .... and if you to go back further in history then read about the conquest of islamic armies under 2nd caliph Hazarat Omar( R.A) and you will figure out that the ruler of Mekran Region and Sindh was a Hindu Rajput named "Raja Sahasi Rai II" ...and from the name i can tell he was not a baloch :) is it enough of the history lesson you want or you want more??
@imran: you should read (real) history of Baloch and Balochistan and then comment Mr Imran. We are natives of Balochistan from the beginning; do you know any history that tells who lived in Balochistan before us? Your knowledge of history is based on the Pakistani text books which is full of lies. Punjabis already control the country and the army (power) what else do you want? Your comments suggest that all other nationalities should leave Pakistan. It's already yours, what else do you want. Kill someone, dump their bodies and get angry when they speak of atrocities... come on, grow up.
can anyone tell our balochis brothers to read their history in this region... it starts from 15th century and onwards ... they migrated from western iran .. they are not even local to south asia or so called balochistan .. plsss leave our Punjabi land free of all your troubles thanx... we need a Punjabi nationalist party to protect punjabis in Pakistan .. and also protect Punjabi land from these politicians
dera ghazi khan original district is balochistan punjabi likes it or not are laghari khosa mazari etc arain or jatt no dear they are only baloch
A Small reminder to the Punjabis that once Punjab will be weaker in any manner then Attacks will start from all sides will start and just like Afghans attacked weaker Mughals in the past and killed thousands of Ghakkars until Ranjit Singh took revenge from them by attacking Peshawar in a similar manner from Mianwali to South Punjab Everywhere Punjabis and Punjab will be targeted and the I think the only option for Punjab will be then to revert back to its roots of Sufism and Deism and revert back to its pre 1947 Punjabi roots and be ready to embrace the Original identity with the Indian Punjab that is actually the Pure Identity and the cloak of Islam that is hindering that will already be over once people of Upper Punjab will see the real face of Nationalistic forces that Religion was a tool to control rather than to spread love and tolerance.
@Anonymous you have comprehended it all well, Setting aside all economic deprevations, Demands for greater autonomy, demands for more resouces and revenue and supression of Balochistan development, The main issue is hatred caused by the Baloch separatists. Violence and militant compains are not going to resolve any issues as it can be seen throughout the course of history, If they really want to resolve these issue the only solution if political and democratic.
@Mirza:
What about the hundreds of non-Balochi speaking people killed in the last few years in the name of Azad Balochistan? And the exodus of more than 100,000 Punjabi and Urdu speaking people from Quetta? Badshah Khan says ''hatred does not cease by hatred; Hatred ceases by love.'' In the same way, military operations will not end violence, especially the ones as murky as ours are. They will breed more violence. It is important for the ''main stream'' society of Pakistan i-e urban elites, that is convinced to know the natives more than they know themselves, to change their colonial mindset towards the people of smaller provinces and engage in a serious dialogue with them. It is equally important for the nationalist parties of these provinces to broaden their definition of nationalism, make it more inclusive, rely on reason rather than political rhetoric and stop preaching hatred against Islamabad/Rawalpindi/Lahore/Karachi. As for the establishment and its strategic assets, interference in local politics through manipulation of tribal/ethnic sensitivities, patronage of corrupt Sardars, Mullahs and Khans... No comments
The PPP for the lust of power (and retaliation against defeat in Punjab) has trigerred a disasterous debate.
Okay so why dont they protest now cause those divisions are already part of Punjab
"The BNP leader added that his party in the upcoming elections will only form an alliance with the nationalist parties who are against the military operation in Balochistan." There should only be a military operation in FATA against the terrorists not nationalists in Balochistan. What a shame those who killed more than 40 thousand civilians have more supporters than the Baloch in Pakistan.