QUETTA: Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Lang­ove has said the government will not create any hurdle in the way of people wanting to participate in the ‘Azadi March’ being staged by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, he said that the JUI-F was a democratic political party and it had the right to stage a sit-in or demonstration in support of its demands.

In reply to a question, Mr Langove said that Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani had not issued any instructions to stop people from Balochistan to join the march.

Says terrorism can be controlled by making intelligence gathering effective

The home minister said that strict action would be taken against those officials who were found involved in taking bribes at the check-posts.

He said the government had taken serious notice of reports about extortion of transporters and public travelling in the interior areas and national highways. Complaints had also been received against Eagle Squad personnel about misconduct and involvement in extortion, he added.

“A special cell is going to be established in the home department to deal with such reports,” he said, adding that involvement of forces in extortion would not be tolerated.

He said from the very first day the present government had been paying attention to good governance.

“People will see a positive change in Balochistan soon as a result of steps taken by the government,” Mr Langove said.

He said the government had withdrawn 120 police personnel deployed for security of several personalities, including political leaders and tribal elders.

Talking about the law and order situation in Balochistan, the minister said that India was involved in creating disturbance in the province by spending millions of rupees on anti-Pakistan elements.

He said that maintaining law and order was the top priority of the provincial government and it had taken action against the militant Islamic State group and other proscribed organisations.

He said the law and order situation had improved to a great extent with joint efforts of security forces, including the army and Frontier Corps. “Now the quantum of terrorist activities is almost negligible when compared to the law and order situation during the past 15 years,” he said.

Mr Langove said that terrorism could not be controlled by increasing the number of check-posts, but it could be done by making the intelligence network effective and stronger.

He said the government was also making efforts for resolving tribal feuds in the province.

The home and tribal affairs department had taken strict notice of the murder of a lady constable in Gadani prison by inmates. “I have sought a report from the IG prisons, while action will also be taken against the jail staff if they found to be negligent,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2019