KARACHI, March 20: Supporters of Jamhoori Watan Party staged a rally here on Sunday evening against government action in Dera Bugti, Balochistan. Holding banners and placards, JWP activists representing different parts of the city converged at Karachi Press Club where they were addressed by party leaders. Waving party flags and portraits of party chief Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, they raised slogans against the army action in Dera Bugti. They condemned the military action in Balochistan and reaffirmed their pledge that they would fully support their brethren in the struggle of national rights.
The speakers said that the recent attack on Dera Bugti, in which they claimed that more than 50 had been killed, was aimed at targeting Nawab Akbar Bugti. However, they made it clear that Baloch people would in no way surrender their due rights.
They urged the government to give up the policy of exploitation and ejection of people from their ancestral land. They maintained that Balochistan was the land of Baloch people and they would no longer accept the loot and plunder of their natural resources.
Expressing concern over the current situation in Dera Bugti, they said that the government had besieged the area and all supplies were stopped. As a result there had been an acute shortage of essential commodities, they said.
They contended that the government had deliberately created this situation in a bid to launch a bigger operation in the area and mount a pressure on JWP chief for “a forced settlement”.
They accused the rulers of trying to create East-Pakistan like situation in Balochistan and regretted that no lesson had been learnt from the history. The JWP leaders categorically stated that they would not succumb to the pressure tactics and would continue their struggle for national rights of Baloch people.
The rally was addressed by JWP Secretary-General Agha Shahid Bugti, Deputy Secretary-General Rauf Khan Sasuli, Salim Baloch, Sher Mohammad Baloch, Shehzada Zafar Jan, Manzoor Ghicki and others.
Later talking to newsmen, Agha Shahid Bugti denied that Nawab Akbar Bugti had asked the government employees to vacate Dera Bugti. Terming it a part of disinformation campaign, he said it indicated that the government had been planning a bigger operation.
He said that the government had besieged the area and all routes leading to Dera Bugti had been blocked. He said the situation had been aggravating and forcing the people to starvation as there was an acute shortage of food items.
He feared that after capturing water resources, the government would launch a full-fledged operation which would give the situation a new turn. The JWP leader admitted that presently there was a stand-off but a tense situation.
BALOCH PARTIES: The Baloch Rabita Ittefaq Tehrik (BRIT) and Baloch Ittehad Tehrik (BIT) on Saturday expressed concern over the tragic developments in Dera Bugti area and observed that the situation there was deteriorating fast. They called upon the government to pull out armed forces from the troubled areas of Balochistan in the interest of the country.
A spokesman for the BRIT’s Sindh chapter Abdul Rauf Baloch said it was shocking to see that once again armed forces were being used to solve a political problem in Balochistan.
He said it was evident from the past experiences that Baloch people could never be subdued by use of force and whenever violent methods were employed for the purpose, this produced negative results.
More importantly, he added, the Baloch people had always sacrificed their lives in defence of their land.
He called upon the rulers to mend their ways and initiate dialogue with Baloch leaders to find out a peaceful solution to the problems concerning the troubled province and accept the legitimate rights of its people.
He also declared that there could be no peace and dialogue amid the massive concentration of troops, adding that if the government was sincere in resolving the problem, it should have to withdraw the troops in order to avoid a bigger conflict.
BIT leader Abid Brohi, while talking to this reporter, said that his party would not let down the people of Balochistan at this crucial stage. It would extend full support to them in the struggle for their national rights, he added.
He criticized the government’s role vis-à-vis Baloch population, saying that these people had been subjected to backwardness and poverty and whenever they raised their voice for their legitimate rights, force was used to suppress their move.
Mr Brohi said that exploitation of provincial resources by the Centre had been causing grievous anguish to the people in Balochistan, adding that despite being rich in natural resources, which make 50 per cent of the entire country’s deposits, Balochistan lacked even basic amenities, like drinking water, for most of its people.