QUETTA: Chief of the Balochistan National Party Akhtar Mengal said on Wednesday the situation in his province was worsening with the passage of time.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of a book, entitled “Balochistan, its Politics and Economics” and written by veteran journalist Siddiq Baloch, he said: “I see no ray of hope for betterment in Balochistan in the near future.”

Mr Mengal condemned targeted killing of journalists and termed it a conspiracy. “The voice of media is being suppressed by harassing the newsmen and making them vulnerable,” he said.

He said the number of graveyards had increased in the province against the backdrop of government’s claims of launching of development projects.

He claimed that the Balochistan government had recently organised a conference in Islamabad, instead of Quetta, because of the poor law and order situation in the province. “This is proof that the Balochistan government has failed to restore peace in the province.”

The BNP leader said Balochistan had been used for logistic and military purposes since the British era in the region and the current rulers had been following the same policies. “But we will continue to struggle for the rights of people of Balochistan.”

About 60 BNP leaders and activists had lost their lives in incidents of targeted killing since “we raised our voice for the rights of the province two years ago”, he said.

He expressed disappointment over the current political situation and said he did not see any improvement in future.

He termed Mr Baloch’s book a good addition to the voices being raised for protection of the natural resources of the province. “Siddiq Baloch has always raised his voice for the rights of Baloch people. His book has highlighted the issues of Balochistan,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Baloch said he had highlighted all issues being faced by Balochistan in his book. “I have mentioned in the book in detail how the rulers denied the people of Balochistan their right to its resources,” he said.

He said natural gas was discovered in Balochistan in early 1950s and pipelines were laid across the country, even close to Indian border, but the people in most parts of the province were deprived of the facility.

He said Iran was ready to supply electricity to Balochistan, but the establishment did not accept the offer.

Mr Baloch urged the current rulers to pay special attention to Balochistan to remove the sense of deprivation among its people.

Published in Dawn January 22nd , 2015

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