QUETTA: The army and security forces deserve all the credit for restoring peace and order to the province, said leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Balochistan.

They added that nationalist parties were trying to take the spotlight by claiming credit for the change, although they played no role in this regard.

The party’s provincial president Ali Madad Jattak, general secretary Syed Iqbal Shah and Haji Asharf Kakar said this while speaking to the party workers and supporters here on Friday evening.

Prominent lawyer Syed Zahoor Agha, Sajid Samalani, Naveed Ahmed and Murtaza Khan announced their decision to join the PPP, along with their colleagues, on the occasion.

They reposed confidence in the leadership of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari. Mr Jattak said the security forces had played an important role in eliminating terrorism from the province under the command of the Commander Southern Command.

According to him, the PPP had lost the leadership after former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, but it never compromised on the issue of extremism and terrorism.

The PPP’s Balochistan president claimed that the people of Sariab had never supported nationalist politics and politicians because they had failed to solve people’s problems.

He said that it was the PPP which secured the rights of the provinces through the 18th constitutional amendment and made the people the real owner of their resources.

The party’s provincial general secretary Syed Iqbal Shah said the PPP was the true representative of the people as its leadership always stood for the rights of the poor people and provided them with employment.

He added that the present government had failed to provide jobs to the youth and had not solved problems being faced by people in the country.

“It (the government) has even failed to appoint a full-time foreign minister for four years,” Mr Shah said, adding that currently Pakistan did not have good relations with its neighbours, but the PPP-led government had always paid attention to improving relations with other countries.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2017