QUETTA: Baloch nationalist leaders have rejected Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s announcement about withdrawal of cases against Brahamdagh Bugti and Harbayar Marri and said the Balochistan issue cannot be resolved without recovery of missing persons and bringing to justice the elements involved in dumping bullet-riddled bodies.

National Party’s vice-president Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo said on Thursday that Brahamdagh Bugti and Harbayar Marri had already said they did not recognise the state and if the government wanted to negotiate it should first hand over Balochistan to them.

He said that 360 bullet-riddled and mutilated bodies had so far been found and thousands of people were still missing.

He said that first of all the practice of throwing bullet-riddled bodies must be stopped and all missing persons should be brought to courts if they were involved in any case.

He said that cases should be registered against elements and forces involved in kidnapping people and throwing their bullet-riddled bodies.

“Progress can be made if Mr Malik initiates an investigation against forces involved in kidnapping people and dumping their bodies after killing them,” Mir Hasil said, adding that if he had the courage to do so he would pave the way for negotiations.

He said he could not understand what the government hoped to achieve by convening an all-parties conference on Balochistan when the killing of missing persons was continuing and no step had been taken to resolve the issue of missing persons.

Balochistan National Party president Sardar Akhtar Mengal also rejected the APC and accused the government of being involved in the killing of innocent political workers, students and other people.

He said Islamabad cheated the Baloch nation when it used the Holy Quran to persuade Nawab Nauroz Khan to leave his mountain shelter and then imprisoned him and his sons and companions and later executed them.

With such an experience and with the situation prevailing, who would take the interior minister’s announcement seriously? he asked.

Sardar Mengal said the government demonstrated little seriousness about resolving the Balochistan issue over the past four years.

He said that those now making announcements about withdrawal of cases against Baloch leaders should tell the Baloch people what action would be taken against those responsible for killing the Baloch youth and dumping their decomposed bodies on roads.

Mir Israrullah Zahri of the Balochistan National Party (Awami) called the announcement about withdrawal of cases a pack of lies.

He said the interior minister who had no authority to remove a single checkpost of coastguards from Balochistan could not be expected to withdraw the cases.

He said that his party despite being an ally of the PPP-led coalition government would not attend the APC unless the culprits involved in the killing of the wife and daughter of MPA Nawabzada Bakhtiar Domki were exposed.

Sardar Sanaullah Zehri of the PML-N said the Balochistan issue could not be resolved by giving some jobs and withdrawing some cases.

“Withdrawal of cases, he said, would not compensate for the atrocities and injustices meted out to the people of Balochistan.

“Without solving the basic problems faced by Balochistan it would not be possible to restore peace and improve the situation,” Sardar Zehri said.

He said that the elements killing the youths and dumping their bodies would have to be brought to justice.

Acting President of the Balochistan National Party Dr Jahanzaib Jamaldini said that the rulers started talking about the Baloch issue because of the sock of the tabling of a resolution in the US Congress calling for Balochistan’s independence.

He said Baloch parties had all along been demanding end to the cruelty and excesses against the province, but to little avail.

Now, he said, things had come to a point of no return.