KARACHI, Feb 5: National Party chief Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch has said the government does not sincerely want to resolve the Balochistan issue as it has written off all political options.
According to him, the ‘gunboat diplomacy’ pursued by the government has not only complicated the issue, but has also increased the bitterness between it and the people of that province.
Talking to Dawn, the NP leader argued that the present government was the most powerful authority as it was vested with all powers and could take appropriate measures to resolve the issue through peaceful political means. However, he regretted, the government’s attitude clearly indicated that it was bent upon using force. This, he warned, was detrimental to the country’s interests.
In reply to the question that why his party was not offering mediation in the matter, the NP leader said the government had evidently closed the doors of a political dialogue.
Had the government been sincere in resolving the issue, it would not have used the force and hurled threats at Baloch nationalist leaders, he contended.
Dr Baloch said his party believed that the problem could still be resolved politically but it was possible only when the government desired so. He maintained that a political dialogue could not be held under the barrels of gun.
He stressed on an immediate halt to the military action, withdrawal of armed forces from the troubled areas, release all the innocent people and withdrawal of all ‘false’ cases registered against political leaders, including Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, to pave the way for such a dialogue.
He described the government’s contention, that the problems in Balochistan were actually related to sardars, as ‘propaganda to misguide people’.
Dr Hayee Baloch said the government must accept the reality that the people of Balochistan had been denied all basic facilities made available to the people of the rest of the country and this deprivation was the root-cause of the unrest prevailing in that province.
He said it was the government’s responsibility to address the grievances of people and its duty to take appropriate steps in this regard.