KARACHI, March 19: Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday condemned the government for Dera Bugti carnage which, he said, had made a suspect the regime’s declared intention to resolve the burning Balochistan issue through dialogue. In a press statement, Mr Zardari said that the martial minds that were killing innocent women and children in Balochistan were, in fact, hitting at the very foundations of the federation, adding that the people of Pakistan could not tolerate bloodshed any more.

He said that it seemed absurd that the government was trying to resolve issues with external forces through dialogue, but resorted to extreme use of force to quell internal dissent.

This undermined the very purpose for which the nation maintained its security forces, he added. He said that the derailing democracy had exposed the country to many hazards, and called for freedom of expression to be allowed to all citizens for resolving the internal issues through fresh elections. It urged the government not to resort to the measures aimed at prolonging its ‘misrule’.

He made it clear that it was only the political parties of the country which could resolve the serious issue of Balochistan through dialogue and consultation. “Using martial mind on our own people could only add to the wounds of the nation,” he cautioned.

Mr Zardari said that government’s policy of pushing popular leaders to the wall had unfolded many risks to the country, and termed the present government ‘a complete failure’ which, he said, could not fulfil even the promises it had made on the floor of house, like the one about sending opposition MNAs to Dera Bugti for an assessment of the situation.

MQM: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement coordination committee has bitterly condemned the indiscriminate firing on protesting citizens in Sui, and said it was negation of the right of dissent which was the hallmark of democratic dispensation.

In a statement, it maintained that the people of Balochistan had exercised their right to register their protest against the excesses committed by government functionaries.

It was regrettable that they were punished for doing so, it said, and asked the so-called champions of democracy that why they were silent over the inhuman treatment being meted out to the people of Balochistan today. The committee opposed the use of force against the people of Balochistan and urged all the democracy-loving forces to join hands with the Baloch people in their hour of trial.