GWADAR: Senate Deputy Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri has alleged that the nationalists have pushed Balochistan into darkness.

Speaking at the Naveed-i-Inqilab conference here on Sunday, he said the province had been ruled by Baloch chief ministers, but they failed to end the sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan.

Maulana Haidri said instead of taking Balochistan out of backwardness nationalist regimes indulged in corruption.

Nationalists had always distracted Baloch youths from their development, he said, adding that the National Accountability Bureau had recovered the looted money from their water tanks and bakeries.

The JUI F leader said Balochistan had received handsome amounts of fund from National Finance Commission awards, but it still depicted a picture of a backward province.

“People here are still deprived of quality education, basic health facilities and infrastructure. About 35,000 vacancies are yet to be filled, but rulers appoint only their favourites on these posts,” he said. The Senate deputy chairman said mistreatment with Baloch youths had forced them to pick up arms against the state.

He said India had been financing terrorists in Balochistan for fuelling violence in Pakistan. “Kulbhushan Jadhav’s confessional statement has proved Indian involvement in destabilising Pakistan. Out government needs to be more vigilant against foreign involvement in escalating terrorism in Pakistan and Balochistan.”

He said: “We will continue to strive to protect the country, despite the killing of our 26 people in a suicide attack in Mastung last year.”

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2018