ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: Speakers on Monday called for halting military operation in Balochistan and warned that the country would drift toward dismemberment, if a solution to the crisis was not found.

Speaking at a interactive session on “Balochistan Crisis: Issues and Solutions” here on Monday, Balochistan National Party (Mengal) Secretary General Habib Jalib advocate, BNP Central Committee Member Malik Abdul Wali Kakar, Hazara Democratic Party Secretary General Abdul Khaliq, Malik Siraj Akbar, and Baloch Student Organisation president Wahid Rahim Baloch highlighted different aspects of the Balochistan crisis.

The discussion was arranged by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

The speakers stressed on the need for a coalition between the civil society and the media to develop pressure on the rulers not to deviate from their mandate and also to act as a counter-pressure to those external factors who tried to influence the government policies.

Habib Jalib strongly condemned the “ongoing military operation” in Balochistan and demanded “a halt to the killing of innocent people”.

Criticising the new government, the Baloch leader said it seemed helpless before President Pervez Musharraf, the establishment and the intelligence agencies.

“Instead of bringing change, ending the operation and releasing all political prisoners, the operation is still going on, innocent people are getting arrested and the activists are missing.”

Giving historical background and empirical evidence of exploitation of the Baloch and Balochistan’s natural resources by the establishment, Mr Jalib said there was no viable solution to the crisis in the present system.

He said firstly, there must be a conducive environment for reconciliation and a neutral force like the UN Security Council could play an important role in this regard. After creating an enabling environment, efforts should be made to restore the confidence of the people and then we can negotiate with the local people, he added.

Mr Jalib said ongoing so-called mega projects had been rejected by the local people due to the fact that neither local people were consulted nor their interests were taken into account in planning and execution of these schemes.

Malik Siraj Akbar, a journalist, said the youth were loosing faith in the present political system and they were raising extremist slogans due to the ill-treatment of Baloch political leaders like Nawab Akbar Bugti by the establishment.

He said that the intelligence agencies were playing the main role in the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan. He said the media persons were facing all kind of threats and there were many cases about harassment and torture of Baloch journalists and writers.

Abdul Khaliq leader of the Hazara Democratic Party pointed out the role of the establishment in destroying the peaceful environment of Balochistan by instigating sectarian, ethnic and cultural differences.

He said his community, which was predominantly Shiite, was forced to take out religious processions under tight curfew. “Before this we had peace and religious tolerance,” Mr Khaliq said.

Malik Abdul Wali Kakar said the Balochistan problem was not a new one but it started at the time of the partition, when Balochistan was forcefully annexed to Pakistan.

He said there was no terrorist in Balochistan. There are deprived citizens, who are waging resistance for their due rights. The conditions of hospitals, schools and other civic facilities are very poor and Balochistan has been producing gas but the provincial headquarters still lack it, Mr Kakar added.

Portraying a bleak picture of education in Balochistan, Wahid Rahim Baloch said the educational facilities were comparatively meagre than in other provinces. The Baloch students are very sensitive and did not keep quite over the great injustices to the Baloch people in this regard. He said the syllabus, which used to be taught during British colonial era, was still used in education institutions of Balochistan.