KARACHI, May 23: Secretary-General of Jamhoori Watan Party Senator Agha Shahid Husain Bugti has said that there were no signs of improvement in the situation in Balochistan and he does not see any prospect of a political settlement in near future.

He dispelled the impression created by government leaders that the situation in the troubled province had been improved to a greater extent as a result of implementation of recommendations of the Mushahid Committee or that the resistance movement had been dying.

The senator said the resistance movement was gaining momentum every day and it was not confined to few pockets as was claimed by the government. He also added that it was incorrect to say that the government had implemented 60 to 70 per cent recommendations of the committee so far.

Outrightly rejecting the government’s contention, the JWP leader termed it propaganda gimmick to mislead people, saying not a single clause of the report had been implemented. He reminded that major nationalist parties of the province had already rejected the committee’s report and expressed their serious reservations as they were fully aware of the government’s intentions and subsequent events had proved that their apprehensions were true.

He said the trouble in the province started when a major offensive had been launched in Marri and Bugti areas on the pretext of “chasing miscreants and absconders”. He claimed that since then the situation had been deteriorating and was turning from bad to worse because of brutal actions on the part of the government.

Talking to Dawn, the senator said there was no let-up in the ongoing armed conflict in Balochistan as the Baloch people were determined to continue their struggle for their national rights while the government forces were bent upon crushing the national struggle of people by sheer use of force. He claimed recently that gunships had been used in some Bugti areas and received report of injuries of civilians.

The JWP leader maintained that the government had never been serious in finding a political solution of the problems of Balochistan. On the contrary, he claimed that it was determined to subdue the Baloch people by force to control the gas, oil and coastal resources of the province.

The senator said a propaganda campaign had been launched to mislead people by tarnishing the image of Baloch leaders and branding them as black-mailers but the government’s had amply proved its real intentions.

He ruled out the possibility of any negotiated settlement under the current circumstances, saying he could not understand who actually was calling the shots in that province. He regretted that the President was openly using derogative language against Baloch leaders.

Mr Husain said thousands of people in Balochistan had been arrested by intelligence agencies and their whereabouts were still not declared. He lamented that one could not imagine in the modern world how Baloch people were being treated by the military leaders of Pakistan.