KARACHI – The state and the government of Pakistan are panicking amidst immense pressure from the UN and human rights organisations to resolve the issues of the people of Balochistan and the recent statements issued by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani should be seen in this light, Baloch groups told Pakistan Today on Wednesday.
“This is all they can do. They go around spreading lies and misleading the people of the country through the media. Then people wonder why the people of Balochistan are angry, and brand every freedom fighter a ‘terrorist’,” Baloch Rights Council (BRC) chief Abdul Wahab Baloch said.
“Interior Minister Rehman Malik recently issued some derogatory statements as well, regarding the people of Balochistan and their movement for liberation. Now Prime Minister Gilani has done the same.” “These misleading statements have, of late, become more frequent because the Baloch diaspora in the US, the UK, and elsewhere in Europe has begun to hold regular protests outside embassies and UN headquarters,” Baloch said. “As such, the state and the government of Pakistan are under immense pressure from both, the UN, and other human rights organisations, to resolve the grievances of the people of Balochistan.
They’re not willing to do that. Instead, they go around alleging that Baloch freedom fighters are terrorists, or are being funded by foreigners.” Others maintained that the people of Balochistan had been fighting their battles on their own, sans assistance from what Malik frequently refers to as “foreign hands”. “If this were true, why has the media failed to unearth any evidence to support this claim until now,” they asked.
“Such statements are not going to resolve the issues of Balochistan nor are they going to improve the lives of the beleaguered people of the province,” Baloch said.
The BRC, meanwhile, has announced a protest rally for 3pm on today (Saturday). “We will march from the Arts Council to the Karachi Press Club to protest the issue of missing persons, and the dead bodies that keep turning up all over the province,” Abdul Wahan Baloch said.
“We will also protest the recent misleading statements that government and State functionaries have been issuing regarding Balochistan and Baloch leaders.”
