The US involvement in Balochistan unrest once again echoed in the National Assembly on Wednesday with two treasury members expressing concerns over the government’s apathy towards the gravity of the issue and sought response from Interior Minister Rehman Malik about questions raised by none other than the brother of Balochistan chief minister, Senator Mir Lashkari Raisani.
However, rather than feeling the gravity of the situation, the members took no interest in the proceedings and remained involved in group discussions and exchange of pleasantries seeming reluctant to the points raised by their colleagues. “Senator Lashkari Raisani has claimed that Rehman Malik had contacted him and urged to stage a drama that some (Baloch) militants had come back from hills to participate in negotiations with the government because the army did not want reconciliation with the militants. Malik has tried to create a wedge between the Baloch and the army. I want Malik to respond to this allegation which is of very serious nature,” claimed Humayon Aziz Kurd, who also hails from Balochistan, on a point of order.
He said the minister should inform the House why the army did not want reconciliation with the insurgents while there were reports that the US intelligence agency CIA was involved in Balochistan violence. Earlier, the PML-Q’s Nausheen Saeed set the tone about the US involvement into Balochistan, and said direct US involvement into the internal affairs of Pakistan was unacceptable.
Referring to media reports of a congressional committee meeting about Balochistan unrest and the participation of some Baloch politicians in the US, Nausheen said the report had quoted a US official claiming that if Balochistan was liberated, it could facilitate the US in NATO supplies to Afghanistan.
“The report has said not only the NATO supplies could be restored through Balochistan but Gwadar Port could prove to be an asset for NATO supplies. The report also said the US could also launch direct attacks into Waziristan through Balochistan,” she said.