ISLAMABAD, March 24: Members of a parliamentary team that visited Sui and Dera Bugti have asked the government to find a political solution to the Balochistan crisis by giving the provinces maximum autonomy. Taking part in a debate in the National Assembly on Thursday, they said that in order to avert any damage to the country’s integrity, it was necessary that the Balochistan situation was resolved through dialogue. The members called for an early finalization of the parliamentary committee report and its implementation in letter and spirit.
Winding up the two-hour debate, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz informed the house that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain held fruitful talks with Nawab Akbar Bugti in Dera Bugti.
He said the talks were held in a cordial atmosphere and the credit for this went to the political sagacity of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. Mr Aziz said he met Chaudhry Shujaat in his chamber for a short time and would discuss the details of his talks with Nawab Bugti on Friday.
The prime minister termed the parliamentary fact-finding team’s visit to Balochistan fruitful which, he said, led to the meeting between Chaudhry Shujaat and Nawab Bugti.
Mr Aziz said the government wanted that facts should come out in open and that was why a strong media team was also sent with the parliamentary delegation
He said the government was committed to implementing whatever recommendations made by the parliamentary committee and if the need arose it was ready to implement it in portions.
The prime minister said the parliamentary team also witnessed that no military operation was being carried out in Balochistan.
He said Chaudhry Shujaat had sought his advice on talks with Nawab Bugti before undertaking the visit and he had told him to try to resolve the matter politically and bring to a halt rocket and shell firing from both sides to create an atmosphere of understanding.
The prime minister said the government was fully alive to its responsibilities with regard to the protection of national assets and would not allow anyone to destroy them.
Earlier, members spoke about their visit to Sui and Dera Bugti and the atmosphere prevailed in the area where troops had taken position.
MMA’s Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said what the parliamentary delegation had observed during its visit was a serious matter and required immediate attention of the government.
He said if the issue was not handled with care another tragedy could take place. The MMA leader said during meetings with Bugti tribesmen the team assured them that the issue would be resolved through peaceful means.
Syed Naveed Qamar of the People’s Party Parliamentarians said the killing of 62 people and injuries to various others on the Bugti side had turned the atmosphere tense which needed to be accorded immediate attention.
Abdur Rauf Mengal of the BNP said as against the briefing of the FC officers who claimed that the situation was normal, the fact was that the entire Sui town looked to be under the siege of the army. Area people who remained inside their houses during the team’s visit came out to protest army’s presence and in support of Nawab Bugti.
Attempts by Information Minister Sheikh Rashid to speak on the occasion were resisted by opposition members who said the debate was dedicated to the members of the parliamentary team and he could not speak.
However, in his remarks Sheikh Rashid said the members had witnessed the situation that a state within a state had been created with a heavily-equipped private army.
Sherry Rehman of the People’s Party Parliamentarians said: “We have come back more concerned about Balochistan then before we had visited the province.” She demanded representation for her party in the Mushahid Hussain sub-committee.
Ms Rehman warned that if the seriousness of the situation was not realized in time it could slip out of the hands of every one. She said that a civil war like situation prevailed in Balochistan and Mr Bugti said on one occasion that ‘Pakistan is a closed tunnel for me’.
Khwaja Saad Rafiq of the PML-N demanded investigation into the circumstances in which Sui rape victim Dr Shazia Khalid was allowed to leave the country as she was a potential evidence of a crime in which no arrest had yet been made.
He said the situation had deteriorated so much that the parliamentary delegation drove on the road from Sui to Dera Bugti after it was allowed by the armed Bugti tribesmen who had taken positions on hilltops.
Mehnaz Rafi of the PML also supported a negotiated settlement of the crisis which, she said, was a big hurdle in the development of the province.
She said the FC troops had returned the fire after they were attacked from Nawab Bugti’s fort.
She rejected the impression that Sui had been besieged as the area people had come out on roads with banners and flags and chanted slogans against the government and in favour of Nawab Bugti.
Dr Farid Paracha of the MMA said that half of Sui town did not appear to be under any one’s control. He said the government should handle the situation with extreme care as due to its strategic importance, foreign powers have taken interest in Balochistan.
Qamaruz Zaman Kaira of the PPP said that a great tragedy would occur if the Balochistan issue was not resolved through political means. He said the sardari, wadera system could not be eliminated by the use of force, adding that democracy alone was the solution.
M.P. Bhindara of treasury benches said Nawab Bugti had a 4,000-man private army equipped with modern weapons which could cost him Rs150 million. He said the team was told during the visit that six FC men died due to lack of medical help which was denied by the armed Bugti tribesmen.
Minister of State Mohammad Ali Durrani also called for resolving the issue through political dialogue.
Dr Farooq Sattar of the Muttahida gave the credit for adopting a political solution to his party chief Altaf Hussain.