KARACHI, Oct 12: Secretary-General of the National Party (NP) former senator Mir Tahir Bizenjo has criticised the government of having adopted a biased attitude and aggressive posture towards the Baloch people, saying “this was compelling the Baloch youth to adopt the course of militancy”.

Speaking at the Karachi Press Club’s “Meet the press” programme on Monday, he emphasised the need for finding a political solution to the Balochistan issue which, he said, was basically a political problem and, as such, must be tackled through democratic means. He also suggested confidence-building measures to be taken by the government to ensure an improvement in the volatile situation prevailing in that province.

Mr Bizenjo, however, made it clear that the government would first have to get all sorts of military activity in Balochistan halted, and the military personnel withdrawn from the province in order to ensure positive results of such efforts.

He said steps should be taken for the rehabilitation of those people who had been dislodged from Marri and Bugti areas during the military action ordered by ex-president Gen Pervez Musharraf, and called for unconditional release of all those who were arrested or detained on political grounds. He said that the victims of ‘enforced disappearances’ should be located.

He condemned successive governments for the inhuman treatment meted out to the Baloch people over decades, and said situation in that province would not improve unless the government changed its “colonial” approach.

Tahir Bizenjo, the writer of “Great Game”, also gave a historical background of the Balochistan province and its international importance given its geo-political position, and said that all the big and regional powers had high stakes in that province and, therefore, had been trying to increase their influence.

Tracing the history of federation in Pakistan, he said it had now become clear that a “centralised federation” could not solve the country’s problems, adding that the experience of a strong federation had utterly failed. He deplored that Gen Ayub Khan, Gen Ziaul Haq and Gen Pervez Musharraf all tried to impose the centralised federation on the country’s population, and claimed that they only destroyed all institutions.

He insisted that Pakistan should be recognised as a “multi-nation state” as all the federating units comprised populations of diverse culture, language and historical background.

He maintained that only strong federating units with full economic and financial autonomy could make Pakistan as a strong country.

In reply to newsmen’s questions, the NP leader said that President Asif Ali Zardari had initially made efforts to resolve the Balochistan issue and also offered his apologies publicly over the injustice done by the past rulers to the Baloch people. However, Mr Bizenjo said, the “invisible forces put hurdles in the way and the issue remained unresolved as yet. “Resultantly, we are in a stand-off position,” he remarked.

In reply to a question, the NP leader agreed that some forces were opposing a dialogue with the government, but asserted that a dialogue could not be started while the “injustices and acts of barbarism” were continuing to be committed against the Baloch people.

He observed that the “invisible forces” were against finding a lasting solution to the Balochistan issue as this could undermine their policy of looting and plundering (Balochistan).

When his attention was drawn to a statement of the Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, regarding a “back channel” dialogue with certain Baloch leaders, Mr Bizenjo said he was not aware of it, adding that Mr Malik might better know about his contacts in London and Dubai.

Responding to another question, Mr Bizenjo said his party did not back calls for mid-term polls because this could not help solve the issues needed to be sorted out. He also rejected the claim that Balochistan package could help solve the Balochistan issue.

He told a questioner that efforts were being made for the setting up of a greater alliance of Baloch nationalist parties.
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