Saying that Pakistan’s military dictators, armed forces operations, and opportunistic rulers have destroyed Baluchistan, a local leader called for resources of the region to be spent on the local people.
The remarks were made by Maulana Abdul Haq Hashmi, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Baluchistan.
Hashmi further said that not giving constitutional rights to the people of Baluch, not providing employment, education, and health facilities, and letting the people face check posts and police stations have created “problems and worries”.
The leader said that due to the actions of the security agencies, even today, “Baluch suffers from feelings of injury, reaction, and revenge.”
“Unfortunately, the government never listened to the people of Baluchistan with honesty and sincerity nor did it show seriousness in giving them rights,’.
He also highlighted that the youth of Baluchistan are heading towards the mountains (taking up weapons) due to the power-hungry leaders, the failure of the rulers, negligence, incompetence, and abuse.
“This is incompetence, negligence, and failure of the federal government and the provincial government along with other forces,” he said.
He went on to call for the resources of the region to be spent on the local people than being exploited by outsiders.
“If the resources of Baluchistan are spent on Baluch, then the rights of the people will be delivered and the feeling of deprivation will decrease,”.
He added that if the rulers had brought the missing persons of Baluchistan to light in time, provided employment and education to the youth, and solved burning national and collective problems, then the conditions of Baluchistan would be much better today.
Baluchistan is a resource-rich but least developed province of Pakistan where a movement for freedom has been ongoing for the past several decades. Many Balochs believe that the region was independent before 1947 and was forcibly occupied by Pakistan.
On Tuesday afternoon, a vehicle exploded near Confucius Institute – a Chinese language teaching centre in Karachi University – in which four people including three Chinese nationals were killed.
The Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for this incident. The BLA has been resisting the Chinese investments in Baluchistan, especially under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).