ISLAMABAD, Sept 7: Speakers at a seminar here on Tuesday asked the government to immediately end the ongoing military operation in Balochistan, devise a political solution to the issue and ensure that people of the province are the real beneficiaries of development projects.
Balochistan Solidarity Front (BSF), an alliance of progressive political organizations, had organized the seminar on the conflict between the state and the local resistance in Balochistan over prized resources, construction of cantonments and mega development projects.
Balochistan National Party Senator Sanaullah Baloch said land mafia in connivance with the Planning Commission had deprived the Balochis of the ownership rights to their land on which Gwadar project was being implemented.
He said the army was denying any military operation in the province and had termed it "a mere action" despite the fact that four army brigades were carrying out operation in those areas where people had raised voice against their continued exploitation.
Out of the country's total 42,000 navy personnel, the government had already deployed 28,000 along the coastline of Balochistan and was still sending more and more troops in order to usurp the resources of the province instead of sharing the benefits of the developmental projects with the poor people of the province.
Keeping in view the geo-political importance of the province after 9/11 and its natural resources, Balochistan was the backbone of the country's economy, he said. However, the Centre wanted to swallow all the resources of the province by leaving the Balochis to poverty and unemployment, which would never be accepted by the people.
The establishment, he said, was not learning any lesson from the East Pakistan tragedy and still wanted to use force against those who had already been destroyed by poverty. The desperate people would have no other option but to reciprocate with their full might against the government, which had pushed them to the wall, he added.
Mohim Khan Baloch of the BNP said the government had always used force against the political forces in Balochistan in the name of the "two nation theory" and "doctrine of necessity".
PPP's parliamentary leader, Raza Rabbani, PML-N MNA from Balochistan, Sardar Yaqub Nasir; PPP leader Qazi Sultan, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Vice-President Mohammad Ikram Chaudhry and a number of social activists were also present on the occasion.
Ikram Chaudhry said the goverment had deprived the people of their basic rights in Balochistan and had resorted to military operation there. Implementing true democratic system with strong institutions was the only solution to all the ills of the country, he added.
The seminar, presided over by Mushtaq Gadi of the PRM, discussed the history of Balochistan relations with the Centre and the repeated military operations in the province. Khaliq Baloch and Allah Bakhsh Bozdar also highlighted the "uneasy" alliance between the local elite groups and the civil/military establishment and said progressive politics had a long history in the province and the people would fight for their rights.
Representatives of the nationalists parties pointed out that they were committed to the cause of the ordinary people of the province and that the construction of cantonments and Gwadar Port were a threat to the basic rights of the local people.
