Missing persons: Stand up for Balochistan, speakers tell Punjab

Speakers from different schools of thought unanimous that there was no sectarian strife in province.

QUETTA:

Political and religious leaders of Balochistan called upon the people of Punjab on Saturday to stand by their brothers and sisters in Balochistan.

They expressed these views in an All Parties Conference (APC) organised by the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-i-Hadees on Saturday.

Speakers belonging to different schools of thought were unanimous that there was no sectarian strife in the province. They blamed foreign countries for promoting such conflict for their own interests.

They urged the people and the intelligentsia of Punjab to also raise their voice for the missing persons and their families. The speakers underscored the need to put a stop to enforced disappearances of Baloch youth and the dumping of bodies.

They also urged the government to eradicate the sense of deprivation from the province and improve health, education and communication sectors. The speakers also demanded a budget increase for the underdeveloped areas of Balochistan.

They said that peace was inevitable for the progress and prosperity of any country and added that the situation, which Balochistan was facing currently, was due to the poor law and order situation.

They said that the sense of deprivation was the leading cause of the breakdown in law and order, adding that the right of the people over the land and its resources must be accepted.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2014.