QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti has said that state’s doors are open for talks with all those who lay down arms first. Neither the state nor the movement has shut its door for dialogue, he says.

The chief minister said during a visit to Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s shrine in Bhitshah to attend the Sufi poet’s urs on Sunday that the government would welcome with open arms all those who surrendered their weapons.

Bugti said the government would hail all discussions to be held within the framework of the Constitution but violence against innocent people was intolerable. “It is unacceptable to pull innocent labourers off buses and murder them,” he said, vowing to bring all killers to justice.

He pointed out that the number of missing persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was higher than it was in Balochistan, yet media rarely discussed it. “In contrast, the issue of missing persons in Balochistan is used as a propaganda against the state,” he alleged.

He questioned why acts of terrorism in Karachi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were labeled as they were, but similar violence in Balochistan was described differently.

The chief minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to restoring peace, saying the state had entrusted him with that responsibility, which he intended to fulfill at all costs.

He pledged never to betray the trust of Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari and promised to introduce governance reforms that would directly benefit ordinary citizens.

“For the first time in history, we have acted against the powerful, proving that the law is equal for everyone,” Bugti said, adding that those responsible for the Degari incident would be brought to justice. Calling the incident an act of brutality, he said it did not reflect tribal values and reaffirmed his support for the victims.

Bugti announced plans to launch air and ferry services to facilitate Iranian pilgrims and clarified that their difficulties were not solely security-related. “During the 800-kilometre journey, we have always provided complete security to pilgrims,” he said.

He stressed the PPP’s longstanding struggle for press freedom, urging the media not to view Balochistan through the lens of a few individuals but to present the province’s true image to the world.

The chief minister was accompanied by Sindh Minister for Culture Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah and Balochistan ministers Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi and Mir Muhammad Sadiq Umrani.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2025