ISLAMABAD – Minister for Inter-Provincial Cooperation Mian Raza Rabbani on Monday had to face embarrassment after getting into an argument with former Balochistan governor Abdul Qadir Baloch for ‘not resigning against the army operation by Musharraf regime’.
Soon after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani delivered a policy statement on Balochistan, Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch, on a point of order, said the statement had no relevance with the ground realities of the troubled province.
He also came hard on Raza Rabbani for being ignorant of the fact that he was appointed governor Balochistan in year 2001 and he had resigned in 2003 after developing differences with General Musharraf. “For setting the record straight, let me inform Mr Rabbani. I resigned in 2003 while the military operation started in Balochistan in May 2005 after the media reports on Dr Shazia Khalid case. After my resignation, my phones were tapped, the only plot allotted to me in Karachi was cancelled and all my relatives serving in different positions were fired,” he added.
He said the premier’s speech was aimed at painting a rosy picture on the government’s efforts to bring peace to the province; however, there was nothing visible on the ground. “The government has no writ on more than 60 per cent area of the province and neither the Pakistani flag can be hoisted nor the national anthem played,” he said.
