QUETTA: The president of the National Party, Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, has expressed concern over rising number of religious extremist groups in the country and said if they were not checked soon there would be no space for democratic and progressive forces to do politics.

He was speaking at a function where prominent political activists Siddiq Panizai and Safeer Baloch and a large number of people from Pashtoon-dominated areas joined the National Party on Sunday.

Know more: Extent of militancy

Mr Bizenjo said that after the dismemberment of Soviet Union people having progressive thinking had joined NGOs, media or small political parties. And the situation created space for religious extremist groups to emerge and they had now become a big threat to democratic and progressive political parties, he added.

He said the National Party was formed with an aim to bring all progressive forces and people who had been part of the National Awami Party (NAP) on one platform and NAP was a party which had representation from all communities living in the country.

Prominent activists join National Party

“NAP did politics on the basis of nationalities when a military dictator was ruling the country on the basis of One Unit in which the concept of nationalities existed,” he said.

The NP chief said Balochs and Pashtoons had been living together for centuries because Balochistan belonged to all nationalities. Every individual had a duty to set the province on the path of development and reduce the prevalent hatred.

“If this goal is not achieved, doing politics would become impossible in the province,” he said.

Mr Bizenjo said all nationalities, including Baloch, Pashtoon, Panjabi and Sindhi, were part of Balochistan province and each of them should have a right to impart education to their children in their own mother language.

The NP wanted to make collective efforts to eradicate the sense of deprivation and backwardness from Balochistan, he added.

Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch welcomed the new entrants to the National Party and said it was a positive sign that the party was active even in Pashtoon-dominated areas.

He said the NP would make all efforts for resolving the problems of the masses. Dr Baloch said there was no dictatorship in NP because it believed in strengthening institutions, rather than personalities.

National Party Secretary General Mir Tahir Bizenjo, Provincial President of the party Dr Yaseen Baloch, Siddiq Panizai and Safeer Baloch also spoke on the occasion.

Former speaker of the provincial assembly Akram Baloch, Dr Yasin Baloch and Sardar Aslam Bizenjo attended the function.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2014