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LAHORE - A senior leader of Jamhoori Watan Party has set eight conditions to restore confidence between Balochistan and the federation, and address the growing unrest among the separatist Baloch youth, who want to see their province as an independent state.
In an interview with The Nation, JWP provincial president Shahzain Bugti said the situation in the restive province could be controlled by taking action on the demands made by him.
These demands are: roll back the ongoing military operation; withdraw all forces; cancel the plan to set up cantonments in Suit, Kohlu and Gwadar; no more mutilated bodies; recover and release the missing persons; withdraw all baseless cases registered during the Musharraf period; end all no-go areas in the troubled province; and arrest all the accused responsible for killing Balochi women and children in Karachi.
These steps, he said, would pave the way for talks between the alienated Baloch leaders and the federal government.
He made it clear that the people of Balochistan were in favour of a united Pakistan, of which the occupied Kashmir should also be an integral part. Similarly, he said, they wanted the solution of all their problems within the framework of the federation and the 1973 Constitution.
Shahzain Bugti is the son of Talal Bugti and grandson of the assassinated leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.
In response to a question, Shahzain said Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Brahamdagh were the people who should be consulted to normalise the situation in Balochistan.
Asked who in his opinion was involved in killing the Punjabis, the JWP leader said it was for the government to determine. He, however, said the attack on Quaids Ziarat Residency could not be blamed on the Balochs as the incident had taken place in a Pashtoon area.
He alleged that Balochs were unnecessarily being involved in such incidents. He recalled that a Punjabi professor was killed in 2009 and during investigations an IB (Intelligence Bureau) card had been recovered from the accused.
Responding to a question, Shahzain Bugti said Chief Minister Dr Malik could set the situation right, provided that the federal government extended him due cooperation and the attitude of intelligence agencies in Balochistan was similar to the one it had in the other federating units.
He held the PPP government, led by Aslam Raisani, responsible for the prevailing situation in Balochistan as it had done nothing during its five-year tenure expect making money.
Answering a question, he said he had heard of the Balochistan Liberation Army but did not know who was running it.
He said improvement in the Balochistan situation depended to a large extent to normalcy in Dera Bugti. Peace in Dera Bugti would send a very positive message across the province, he emphasised.
About the activities of Brahamdagh Bugti in Switzerland, he said he was not aware of them. According to him, his information about Brahamdagh was limited to what the media was reporting.
Brahaamdagh, he said, was saying that he was not training anyone in Switzerland for use against Pakistan.
Shahzain said if the government took steps to normalise the situation in Dera Bugti, the separatists would salute Pakistans flag and return to their homes.
He was critical of the performance of the former PPP-led provincial coalition, and said it had failed to do anything for the already backward province during their five-year term. All roads and dams for which it received money were just on papers, he alleged.
He demanded that politicians involved in corruption should be disqualified for any public office for good, kept behind bars for 25 years and their properties should also be confiscated. Similarly, the bureaucrats involved in corrupt practices should be debarred for any office and their family members should also be disqualified for any government job.
Asked what solid proof the JWP had about former president Pervez Musharrafs alleged involvement in the murder of his grandfather Nawab Akbar Bugti, Shahzain said the general had said in a TV interview that he would hit the Baloch leader with such sophistication that he would not even know what had happened to him. After such a categorical statement, he said, there was no need for any more proof against him.
In response to a question about the likely role the Gwadar port could play in the development of Balochistan, the JWP leader said the project would deliver only after the situation in the restive province was set right.
He said if outsiders were brought to run the project, locals would be reduced into a minority and this would be a situation not acceptable to anyone. Locals have the foremost right to use their resources, he argued.
He proposed that the Gwadar port should work under the administrative control of the provincial government.
He made it clear that the JWP would take part in the local government elections provided they were free and fair. We recognise the Constitution of Pakistan. Well live and die in this country.
He rejected as baseless allegation that the Sardars, Nawabs and Waderas were responsible for backwardness of and illiteracy in Balochistan. He claimed that there were 850 schools, 20 of them secondary level, one college, four airports in Dera Bugti district alone. Then, he said, roads constructed in that district were much more durable and long lasting than roads in other parts of the country.
JWP leader tells how separatist Baloch youth can be satisfied
In an interview with The Nation, JWP provincial president Shahzain Bugti said the situation in the restive province could be controlled by taking action on the demands made by him.
These demands are: roll back the ongoing military operation; withdraw all forces; cancel the plan to set up cantonments in Suit, Kohlu and Gwadar; no more mutilated bodies; recover and release the missing persons; withdraw all baseless cases registered during the Musharraf period; end all no-go areas in the troubled province; and arrest all the accused responsible for killing Balochi women and children in Karachi.
These steps, he said, would pave the way for talks between the alienated Baloch leaders and the federal government.
He made it clear that the people of Balochistan were in favour of a united Pakistan, of which the occupied Kashmir should also be an integral part. Similarly, he said, they wanted the solution of all their problems within the framework of the federation and the 1973 Constitution.
Shahzain Bugti is the son of Talal Bugti and grandson of the assassinated leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.
In response to a question, Shahzain said Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Brahamdagh were the people who should be consulted to normalise the situation in Balochistan.
Asked who in his opinion was involved in killing the Punjabis, the JWP leader said it was for the government to determine. He, however, said the attack on Quaids Ziarat Residency could not be blamed on the Balochs as the incident had taken place in a Pashtoon area.
He alleged that Balochs were unnecessarily being involved in such incidents. He recalled that a Punjabi professor was killed in 2009 and during investigations an IB (Intelligence Bureau) card had been recovered from the accused.
Responding to a question, Shahzain Bugti said Chief Minister Dr Malik could set the situation right, provided that the federal government extended him due cooperation and the attitude of intelligence agencies in Balochistan was similar to the one it had in the other federating units.
He held the PPP government, led by Aslam Raisani, responsible for the prevailing situation in Balochistan as it had done nothing during its five-year tenure expect making money.
Answering a question, he said he had heard of the Balochistan Liberation Army but did not know who was running it.
He said improvement in the Balochistan situation depended to a large extent to normalcy in Dera Bugti. Peace in Dera Bugti would send a very positive message across the province, he emphasised.
About the activities of Brahamdagh Bugti in Switzerland, he said he was not aware of them. According to him, his information about Brahamdagh was limited to what the media was reporting.
Brahaamdagh, he said, was saying that he was not training anyone in Switzerland for use against Pakistan.
Shahzain said if the government took steps to normalise the situation in Dera Bugti, the separatists would salute Pakistans flag and return to their homes.
He was critical of the performance of the former PPP-led provincial coalition, and said it had failed to do anything for the already backward province during their five-year term. All roads and dams for which it received money were just on papers, he alleged.
He demanded that politicians involved in corruption should be disqualified for any public office for good, kept behind bars for 25 years and their properties should also be confiscated. Similarly, the bureaucrats involved in corrupt practices should be debarred for any office and their family members should also be disqualified for any government job.
Asked what solid proof the JWP had about former president Pervez Musharrafs alleged involvement in the murder of his grandfather Nawab Akbar Bugti, Shahzain said the general had said in a TV interview that he would hit the Baloch leader with such sophistication that he would not even know what had happened to him. After such a categorical statement, he said, there was no need for any more proof against him.
In response to a question about the likely role the Gwadar port could play in the development of Balochistan, the JWP leader said the project would deliver only after the situation in the restive province was set right.
He said if outsiders were brought to run the project, locals would be reduced into a minority and this would be a situation not acceptable to anyone. Locals have the foremost right to use their resources, he argued.
He proposed that the Gwadar port should work under the administrative control of the provincial government.
He made it clear that the JWP would take part in the local government elections provided they were free and fair. We recognise the Constitution of Pakistan. Well live and die in this country.
He rejected as baseless allegation that the Sardars, Nawabs and Waderas were responsible for backwardness of and illiteracy in Balochistan. He claimed that there were 850 schools, 20 of them secondary level, one college, four airports in Dera Bugti district alone. Then, he said, roads constructed in that district were much more durable and long lasting than roads in other parts of the country.
JWP leader tells how separatist Baloch youth can be satisfied
