DPC demands arrest of Bugti’s killers

The Difa-e-Pakistan Council has demanded the government bring to justice the elements involved in the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Baloch missing youth and take practical steps on the national level to recover missing persons.
Addressing a press conference at the Quetta Press Club on Sunday, Maulana Samiul Haq, chairman of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council, said the sole purpose of forming the DPC was to steer the country out of crises and prepare the nation to confront external threats. But the council had now focused on Balochistan so that its grievances could be addressed.
He said the people of Balochistan were their brothers and they wanted to remove their complaints and grievances. Haq said the council had contacted all political and religious leaders, ulema and tribal leaders and they would raise voice on all forums for seeking a solution for Balochistan. He urged the rulers to open their eyes, while attributing Pakistan to a body whose head was Balochistan.
“If the head is separated from the body, the body is dead.”
Haq said if Balochistan’s issues were not addressed and it no longer remained part of Pakistan, the country would not be able to survive.
The DPC chairman said the deteriorating situation of Balochistan was a result of irresponsible attitude of former army and civilian rulers and demanded the murderers of all Baloch youth and Nawab Bugti be brought to justice.
He also demanded incidents of forced disappearances come to an end, as use of force was not a solution to the present problems.
Haq said the relatives of those who were killed in Balochistan should be given compensation and those involved in the “kill-and-dump” policy be exposed.
Referring to US interference in Balochistan, he said one should not be mistaken about US friendship, because history was witness to the fact that the US always served its interests and left allies in the lurch.
To a question, he said if the US and other forces interfered in Balochistan, they would surely wage jihad against them. He said the incumbent government had betrayed parliament and the constitution by restoring NATO supply. At a separate press conference at the press club, JI senior leader Liaquat Baloch said the army and political leadership were responsible for bringing Balochistan to a point of no return.
Baloch said enforced disappearances and recovery of bullet-riddled bodies had further aggravated the already grim situation of Balochistan.
He said statements by Interior Minister Rehman Malik regarding missing persons had only poured fuel on to the fire blazing in the province. Baloch said the incumbent government had no solution to Balochistan’s issue, demanding that excesses against the Baloch nation be stopped forthwith.
He said the army and political government had ignored the longstanding problems of Balochistan and demands of its people for the last 64 years, and subsequently, external powers were trying to destabilise the country and trying to find an opportunity to play their nefarious game.
The JI leader said political leaders never tried to address the grievances of Balochistan and always relied on announcements of packages and stuck to rhetoric.
He also criticised the government for not taking action against the murderers of Nawab Bugti, saying delay in arresting Nawab Bugti’s killers had further increased resentment among the Baloch youth.
He regretted that women were also being whisked away in Balochistan, while the blatantly denied such reports. Baloch said appropriate steps should be taken to resolve the issues of Balochistan and all stakeholders of the issue, including Baloch and Pashtuns, should be taken into confidence.