KARACHI, Feb 5: Opposition leader in the Balochistan Assembly Kachkol Ali Baloch has described the current situation in Balochistan as 'alarming', claiming that the government had now started arresting political activists.

Talking to journalists at Karachi Press Club on Saturday, he said it had now become obvious that the government was not serious in finding a negotiated settlement of the issue, rather, it was bent upon resolving it by using force.

Expressing his concern over the alleged crackdown on political activists and the house-to-house search in this regard in Quetta, Turbat and other parts of the province on the pretext of 'a hunt for suspects', Mr Baloch said: "It is now clear that the government is heading for a big showdown and creating anarchic conditions in the province."

Gravity of the situation, he pointed out, could be gauged from the fact that the report of the parliamentary committee, sorting out the problems, had not been submitted to the government as yet, and the Balochistan opposition was also not aware of its contents.

Mr Baloch, representing the National Party, accused the rulers of pursuing 'a policy of loot and plunder' in that province, and held the federal government responsible for the backwardness of Balochistan.

He accused the Centre of having usurped the natural and sea resources of Balochistan under the federal legislative list. Not only that, he added, the federal government had also deprived provinces of their residual powers, thereby weakening the provincial governments.

He alleged that the rulers were planning to uproot Baloch population from their native lands, and in this context he cited the example of Lyari, Gwadar and Sui.

He vowed to resist any attempt to shift Baloch people from their ancestral lands in the name of development work.

Tracing the country's history, he said that all successive rulers had trampled over the constitution and never accepted its supremacy, thereby killing the basic spirit of federation and undermining the country's integrity.

"Regretfully, the judiciary could not play its due role and had to support the usurpers in their unconstitutional acts which ultimately tarnished its image," he observed.

Kachkol Baloch stressed that no federation could survive without a legal system which alone could settle disputes between federation and federating units. In Pakistan, he deplored, this role had been adopted by the Establishment which stripped provincial governments of all their powers, including financial powers which were vital for a federating unit to manage its internal economy.

The over-centralization of powers had made the provincial governments 'stooges of the federation' supposed only to pursue its agenda.

Kachkol Ali Baloch gave a detailed view of violation of constitution, and asserted that the federation could not remain intact unless financial autonomy was granted to provinces.

He demanded that the provincial governments be given control of their natural resources and the interference by federation in the internal affairs of the federating units be stopped.

Making an impassioned appeal to nationalist and democratic forces, particularly those of smaller provinces, for their support to the national struggle by Balochistan people, he said that the struggle was aimed at attaining legitimate rights of the entire population of Pakistan.

In reply to journalists' questions, he said the crisis in Balochistan could be resolved by recognizing Pakistan as 'a multi-nations' state, ensuring internal autonomy, including financial, to provinces, and handing over control of natural resources of each province to its respective government.

When asked why a requisition session of the provincial assembly was requested to be summoned to discuss the Sui gang-rape incident and the ensuing development, the opposition leader pointed out that a number of opposition legislators had not yet returned from Haj. However, he added, the speaker had been approached in this regard and the assembly might meet sometime during the current month.

Commenting on the role Sardars in Balochistan politics, he said that majority of them was supporting the Establishment and was, therefore, ignoring the interests of local population.

He contended that Nawab Bugti, Nawab Marri, Sardar Mengal and Mazari had emerged as leaders of the Baloch people because of their contribution to the Baloch national movement.

In reply to another question, he dispelled the impression that Baloch Sardars were wealthy, saying that except for few, all were mediocre if compared to middle-class citizen of a city.

He also corrected a journalist, who had suggested that b Nawab Bugti was receiving royalty from the federal government, by saying that royalty was a constitutional provision and could only be paid to the provincial government. In the same breath, he clarified that what the Nawab had been getting from the Centre was lease money pertaining to the land being utilized by the government.

He alleged that the false impression had been disseminated by the federal government to discredit Baloch nationalist leaders. He further stated that it was the duty of the government to withdraw any illegal privileges if granted to the Nawab.