Call for talks: Nationalists fire salvo at government

Three mainstream nationalist parties of Balochistan baulk at outright condemnation of Saturday’s attacks.

ISLAMABAD: Three mainstream nationalist parties of Balochistan have baulked at outright condemnation of Saturday’s attacks in Quetta and Ziarat, choosing instead to berate the federal government into addressing burning issues of the province.

While expressing condolences over the deaths of innocent people in the provincial capital, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) – a major partner in the Balochistan coalition government – maintained the tragedy was a result of the establishment’s 35-year Afghan policy.

“We have been opposed to such terrorism from day one when the forces dealing with the Afghan issue adopted terrorism and terrorists as their assets,” said PkMAP general secretary Akram Shah.

“A particular mindset aimed at dictating certain terms to Afghanistan is responsible for such a painful situation … Intransigents and criminals from all over the world, who have destroyed Afghanistan, have been provided a safe haven in our region,” he said.

“Innocent people are being killed in Afghanistan under the pretext of a holy war which no one knows will continue for how long… Now it is our turn since we are not willing to learn from our mistakes,” the PkMAP leader added.

The National Party (NP), another partner in the Balochistan coalition government, expressed serious anguish over unrestrained militancy by Baloch militants and sectarian outfits.

NP secretary general Tahir Bizenjo said that the federal government must take immediate steps to overcome the insurgency in Balochistan.

He maintained only the federal government could do so since the provincial government lacked the resources needed for counter-terrorism.

“The government should accept that the militancy cannot be uprooted by force alone and should undertake some confidence-building measures to address the situation,” he said. “There should be an end to the kidnapping of Baloch people and the discovery of their bodies afterwards.”

“The provincial government could also invite militants for peace talks …The political and military leadership must [however] be on the same page as nothing can be achieved without a common purpose,” Bizenjo said.

Balochistan National Party (Mengal), meanwhile, accused intelligence agencies of failing to protect the lives of common people. Instead of accusing the incumbent government, however, the party blamed the previous government for never taking the Balochistan crisis seriously.

“We do not blame Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik or Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the unfortunate tragedies,” said BNP(M) vice president Sajid Tareen. He said Dr Malik is doing his best to resolve the core issues of the province, the recovery of missing persons being the top priority.

Meanwhile, the government of Balochistan has strongly condemned the tragic incident and announced a day of mourning today (Sunday).  It also announced compensation for the families of the deceased and free treatment for those injured in the attacks. Both Balochistan Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai and Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch have condemned the attack and have expressed their solidarity with the victims and their families.

Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, a Leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Special Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, condemned the attack strongly and termed it a well planned conspiracy to deteriorate situation in the province.


Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2013.