Unrest in Balochistan: ‘No Quetta Shura or Taliban leaders here’

Condemns allegations against Frontier Corps for illegally picking up Baloch people.

QUETTA:

Inspector General Frontier Corps (IGFC) Balochistan Major-General Ubaidullah Khan ruled out the presence of Quetta Shura and Taliban leaders in the province, while addressing a news conference at the FC headquarters here on Saturday.

Since taking over as IGFC Balochistan, the major general said he has been closely monitoring the situation and contrary to American perception, Taliban leadership and the Quetta Shura was not present in Balochistan. Foreign media reports are baseless in this regard, he said. “Those who say that Quetta Shura or Taliban leadership exists in Balochistan are involved in a conspiracy to destabilise the region,” Khan added.

“There might be a communication gap but no extremist elements are present in this region. Pakhtuns living in Balochistan are different from those in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and are business oriented. They have nothing to do with extremists,” Khan said.

“Foreign forces must first normalise the situation in Afghanistan because they have failed in eliminating extremists for the past 30 years. A stable Afghanistan is linked to a stable Pakistan,” he said. “We are manning the checkpoints along the Afghan border and know about cross border activities, thus we are confident that there are no Taliban militants here.”

The major general held Afghan refugees responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan and other parts of the country. “We, the law enforcement agencies, have failed to handle the refugees in an appropriate manner thus they have become a serious threat to the security of the country”.

Refering to bullet-riddled bodies of missing persons being found, the FC officer said that many people are involved in this case and all institutions have to work together to trace the culprits. He strongly condemned allegations levelled against the FC for illegally picking up Baloch people. “FC has never been involved in such activities. Targeted action is taken while remaining within the constitutional limits and on the direction of the state,” he said.

Ubaidullah Khan said that after the restoration of peace in Kohlu and Dera Bugti districts, violence and terrorism has been spread to southern districts of Balochistan, including Kalat, Khuzdar, Mastung, Panjgur and adjoining areas.

Khan said the FC is not solely responsible for maintaining peace. “Balochistan has been the most backward and neglected province since it has been given provincial status. This is being exploited by elements that convince poor youths to pick up arms and take to the hills, while they sit outside the country enjoying foreign support,” he said.

“People of this province complain that they are denied senior and key government posts. The truth is that few people are qualified enough for them,” he said. If proper attention is given to human resource development then the sense of deprivation will be removed, he said. Although the people of Balochistan are neglected in every field, their way of fighting for their rights is incorrect and works against the stability of Pakistan, Khan added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2010.