KARACHI, April 2: Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal, founder of the Balochistan National Party who has the honour of being the first elected chief minister of Balochistan, has expressed his pessimism about any positive change in the situation that prevails in his province.

“The situation continues to be grim and I see no solution to the Balochistan issue in near future,” he said while talking to this reporter here on Wednesday.

About his recent meeting with Nawab Aslam Raeesani, the PPP nominee for the office of the Balochistan chief minister, the Sardar said it was just a courtesy call, and categorically stated that the Nawab had not come with any political agenda or formula pertaining to the Balochistan problem. However, he added, “we exchanged views on various issues.”

He blamed the lingering issue of Balochistan on the past rulers, saying they never appeared serious about finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the issue because of their ulterior motives.

The BNP leader reiterated his party’s stance that it was the army establishment that could take decisions on Balochistan’s future. Elaborating, he said “there has been no initiative taken by a government in this regard.”

Regarding possibility of a dialogue on the issue with the present rulers, Sardar Mengal said: “Had they been serious about a dialogue, the situation would have been different today…. the question is, who should hold talks and with whom, notwithstanding the fact that a credibility gap exists.”

Sardar Mengal said that ground realities were quite different, adding that the Baloch people had been subjected to inhuman treatment as innocent people were being kidnapped and tortured by government agencies.

“The situation may not improve unless some confidence-building measures are taken by the government,” he said.

Explaining the confidence-building measures, he said withdrawal of armed forces from Balochistan, release of all political activists and other innocent people and release of the so-called disappeared people could provide grounds for a dialogue on the issue of maximum provincial autonomy as envisaged in the Constitution.

He reiterated his party’s stance that the Centre should keep only foreign, defence and finance portfolios with it while all other subjects should be with the provinces. “If the rulers failed to accept this, the country will continue to experience the anarchy,” he warned.

Sardar Mengal observed that the rulers represented the Punjab province and there always was a conflict of interests between the Punjab and the smaller provinces, the former being bent upon exploiting resources of smaller provinces and the latter being unwilling to surrender their right on their own resources.