QUETTA: The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) has accused the government and the Gwadar district administration of depriving the people of coastal areas of the land of their forefathers in the name of settlement.

Speaking at a rally outside the press club here on Sunday, BNP-M leaders Agha Hasan Baloch, Ghulam Nabi Marri and others warned against changing the district’s land record.

They said the administrative affairs of the Gwadar seaport should be in the control of provincial government so that it could be run according to the aspiration of local people.

They accused the government officials of fraudulently allotting land of local people in Gwadar, Pasni and Jewani to outsiders in the name of settlement.

The BNP-M leaders claimed that the land in coastal areas of Balochistan belonged to local people who had been living there for hundreds of years and that the government had no right to give their land to outsiders without their consent. They said allotment of land to outsiders would turn the local population into a minority.

They pointed out that the BNP-M was not against development but it would not tolerate the move to turn the local majority population into a minority.

Criticising the government, they said it had failed in putting extra-judicial killings to an end. They accused security forces of killing innocent people during search operations.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play