Pakistan political parties call for resolution to Balochistan's issues through talks

Pakistan's political parties Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the National Party were unanimous in calling for a solution to Balochistan's issues through political dialogue and not through military operations in the wake of a blast that took place in Karachi University in which four people were killed including three Chinese nationals.

The country's mainstream and nationalist political parties on Wednesday asked the authorities concerned to take the incident as a "final wake-up call" and resolve the issue of missing persons at the earliest as a major confidence-building measure to end the sense of deprivation among the Baloch people, Dawn reported.

PML-N Senator Mushahid Hussain said the way forward, according to him, was to "stop treating Balochistan as a political plaything, frequently picking, choosing and changing favourites, end the shameful crime of missing persons, ensure benefits of development for local communities and end border harassment and corruption".

The attack that killed three Chinese nationals and their local driver was claimed by the banned Majeed Brigade of Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which stated that this was the first time they had employed a female suicide bomber, cited sources.

Tuesday's terrorist attack was not a normal one, as the involvement of an educated woman proved how deep the sense of alienation had been penetrated among the Baloch people, the senator said further.

Talking to Dawn, a senior PML-N leader from Balochistan and a member of the party's central working committee Sydaal Nasar disclosed that the woman who had carried out the suicide attack in Karachi had been sitting outside the Quetta Press Club for the past over four years, as many of her family members were among the missing persons.

As Mushahid Hussain questioned the utility of the commission on the missing persons and termed it a "joke" with the nation, he said the missing persons' issue must be resolved immediately.

The PML-N senator, who is also the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence, described the Karachi incident as a "monumental failure and breach of security." He regretted that there were some 26 intelligence agencies operating in the country, but it seemed there was no coordination among them at all.

The senator also drew attention to the alleged harassment and corruption by the security officials deployed at the border. He said the Baloch people recently protested when the law enforcement agencies resorted to firing on the people who were accused of smuggling oil.

Similarly, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani, said, "Extreme nationalism has permeated to such an extent that educated women are willing to lay down their lives," adding that, the seeds of oppression, suppression, alienation and the sense of deprivation are so deep that it motivates violent reaction against the state and its strategic interests."

Meanwhile, National Party Punjab president Ayub Malik also urged the new federal government to take urgent steps to resolve the issue of enforced disappearances, as it was vital to restore permanent peace in Balochistan.

Enforced disappearances are used as a tool by Pakistani authorities to terrorize people who question the all-powerful army establishment of the country, or seek individual or social rights.

Cases of enforced disappearances have been majorly recorded in the Balochistan and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces of the country which host active separatist movements.

PPP secretary-general Farhatullah Babar, in a Twitter post, said a new wave of repression against Baloch was feared as a result of a suicide attack in Karachi.

"It will be a disaster if, instead of reaching out and applying balm on wounds of Baloch, they are hounded. The state hasn't yet recovered from Musharraf's humiliation of Baloch people," he added.

Including 1,200 missing in Sindh province in the last six months, over 8,000 people were missing in the country during 2021, a recent report by the US revealed.

( With inputs from ANI )

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