Balochistan operation — Rs 6b a month
Staff Report

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KARACHI: More than 123,000 personnel are engaged in the ongoing military operation for which Rs Rs 6 billion is being spent monthly and about 600 check posts for the military and paramilitary forces have been set up, alleged a Baloch leader on Sunday at a seminar on the ‘Balochistan Crisis’ organized by the Karachi-based Baloch Unity Conference and held at the Karachi Press Club.

Balochistan National Party central leader Senator Sana Baloch said that the province has 6.5 million people who were being harassed by the military forces. The military establishment was taking decisions against the people of the Balochistan that were having a negative effect on the oppressed nations of the country, he added. “It is a last war against the rulers who have not been accepting the proper rights of the Baloch since the beginning of the country,” the senator said.

He denied that the India was funding Baloch guerrillas and added that the crisis could not be tackled by military action. “Baloch political forces would not accept any demands of the government at gunpoint.”

He said that unknown young Baloch people were responsible for the bomb explosions and rockets in the province, as they had formed a resistance movement.

“I will not oppose the resistance movement in Balochistan. Its youth is putting up resistance as it is not satisfied with the government’s so-called assurances. They have rejected its offer for talks and have resolved to achieve their rights at all costs,” he said.

He said the Baloch youth believed that talks would not yield any results, as the government was not sincere. The forces of resistance had the faith that the armed struggle was the only means of achieving rights for the people of the province, he added.

Baloch said that the law-enforcement agencies were violating basic human rights and had started house-to-house searches. A number of elderly men had been tortured and beaten on fake charges, he said.

The Baloch leader demanded that all detained people should be released. He accused the law-enforcement agencies of violating the sanctity of the “chador and chardiwari”.

“The military establishment is not serious about resolving the Balochistan crisis through political dialogue. The military establishment does not want to continue the political process in the country, which is why it has already decided to establish three more cantonments in Balochistan to control its resources,” alleged the senator.

He said that Balochistan was rich in natural resources, but during the last 58 years nothing had been done for its development. Its natural resources had been used for the development of the Punjab and other areas of the country.

“More than 4,000 political workers have been illegally arrested in Balochistan,” said Ghulam Muhammad Baloch, president Balochistan National Movement (BNM).

He urged the international community to pressure the federal government to stop the extra-judicial arrests in the province. He was concerned over reports that former BSO chairman Dr Allah Nazar and other student leaders, including Nadeem Akhtar and Gohar, have been physically and mentally tortured in custody.

“The issue of Balochistan is a political one, which should be addressed through dialogue. Extra-judicial arrests would not resolve the issue, as they create a law and order situation in Balochistan,” said Yousuf Masti Khan, secretary-general, National Workers Party.

He said that the law enforcement agencies had launched an undeclared operation against the people of Balochistan. The security forces had started targeting innocent Baloch people under a pre-planned action to eliminate them, he alleged.

He warned the government against repeating mistakes in Balochistan such as the one it had committed in East Pakistan in 1971. He called upon political forces to unite to support the people of Balochistan.

Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Rafiq Engineer condemned the military operation in Balochistan. The PPP leader said that the soldiers of Pakistan are trained to test their muscle against enemies and aggressors but General Musharraf was pitting them against the country’s own people. He said that said that it was a serious issue that military regime had started treating the people of Pakistan as enemies and was bombarding their homes. Such an approach would damage the institution of the army which is why the patriotic masses have to save the country and its institution from any further damage.