ISLAMABAD: To end insurgency, the federal government needs to take concrete measures to restore its credibility in Balochistan, prominent Baloch leaders said on Sunday.
“The hopes of peace which emerged after the revival of democracy have died and the distance between the province and the center is the greatest,” Lashkari Raisani, Pakistan People’s Party senator, said while talking to Pakistan Today.
“Some ministers have sabotaged the reconciliation process initiated by the PPP and now the provincial and the central leaderships are at distance from each other”, Raisani, who recently resigned as PPP provincial chief, said adding that the situation in Balochistan was beyond the control of the Frontier Corps and police.
“The FC, deployed by Musharraf, were withdrawn immediately as a part of the plan to resolve the issue politically,” he said, claiming that the provincial government was completely redundant. If the federal government shows sincerity and commitment, all Baloch nationalist leaders could be brought into mainstream politics, he said, adding that Agaz-Haqooq-Balochistan (AHB) was a political programme which had been rendered useless because of the use of force alongside.
Certain forces in the country, which he could not name, were working against the interest of the country and were promoting imperialism. “If PPP goes beyond cosmetic measures, things can still be repaired,” Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch said while commenting on Balochistan-center relation. “Balochis are not beggars, they want their political and economic rights,” he said.
Senator of Jamhori Watan Party, Shahid Bugti said the credibility gap between the centre and the province was of an unprecedented nature. “No one in the province trusts the center now and PPP’s provincial leadership admits its powerlessness”, Bugti added, saying that the there was a conflict between the center the provincial government which spoke volumes about the credibility of the government.
Baloch insurgency – the centre’s deadly slack
