The Special Parliamentary Committee on Law and Order in Karachi and Balochistan has not met any of the angry Baloch leaders so far to initiate dialogue with them for bringing peace in the province per its promise, parliamentarians from Balochistan told Pakistan Today on Sunday.
The special committee, which included 17 members both from the treasury and the opposition benches, had been formed in August last year to suggest measures for improving law and order in Karachi and Balochistan and complete its task within the stipulated period, that is, two months.
In its meeting on October 13, 2011, the committee pledged visiting Quetta and meeting the angry Baloch elders and other stakeholders from the province to get firsthand information and ponder on how to establish peace in the province. It had also resolved to contact the Baloch leaders in exile in this regard.
MNA Mir Hadamdan Khan Bugti told Pakistan Today that the committee had ceased to meet after a few meetings immediately after its formation. “Had any of the members or the head of the committee met any of the angry Baloch leaders or contacted them, I must have been aware of it. The committee has neither met any of the Baloch leaders nor any meeting of the committee has been convened in this regard, with exception of few initial meetings,” Bugti said.
When Haji Khudda Bukhsh Rajar, who is also member of the committee, was contacted, he confirmed that no meeting was held after November owing to members’ personal and political engagements, adding however that the committee would soon meet again and decide when it would meet the Baloch leaders.
Asked about the requirement of reporting to the National Assembly within the stipulated time, Rajar said many members had gone for Haj which had delayed the meetings.
When PPP MNA Noor Alam, who is also member of the committee, was asked why the committee did not meet the angry Baloch leaders, he refused to comment saying only the chairman of the committee, Minister for Religious Affairs Khurshid Shah, could comment on the issue.
PPP MNA Nasir Shah said the committee did not meet any of the angry Baloch leaders nor had it met any of the provincial or other leaders regarding proposals for peace in the province. “I demanded that the committee include representatives from Balochistan if it was serious in resolving the issues of law and order in the province but I was not heard. The committee has neither visited Quetta, which it promised, nor has it met any of the Baloch leaders,” Shah said.
