Baloch leaders reject new provinces proposal

Political leaders in Balochistan have strongly opposed proposals for creating new provinces on administrative grounds, alleging that such moves were aimed at gaining control over the province's natural resources. They also warned against attempts to mislead public opinion through unelected and non-political individuals on sensitive constitutional and political matters. The leaders were speaking at a condolence reference held at the Quetta Press Club to commemorate the Babara massacre of Charsadda. The event was attended by representatives of the Awami National Party (ANP), National Party, Balochistan National Party (BNP), Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party, National Democratic Movement, Hazara Democratic Party, Jamaat-i-Islami and other political and lawyers' groups. They said terrorism was not a natural calamity that had suddenly struck the region but the consequence of wrong policies and decisions, the cost of which had been paid for decades by Pashtun, Baloch and Hazara communities with their blood. The speakers strongly criticised what they described as the marginalisation of Parliament, undermining of the public mandate and questionable electoral practices. They said installing unelected individuals in positions of authority posed a serious threat to democracy. Suppressing the people's vote and preventing Parliament from becoming an effective voice of the public, they added, would deepen political unrest and erode public trust in state institutions. The leaders said attempts to target politics, journalism and the judiciary would be resisted. They also condemned arrests, restrictions and the use of the Fourth Schedule against political workers, saying dissent should not be criminalised in a democratic society. Paying tribute to the leadership of the ANP, they termed the gathering of genuine democratic and political forces on one platform a positive and historic development. They said unity among Pashtun, Baloch, Hazara and other democratic forces could effectively counter attempts to divide communities for political purposes. Recalling the sacrifices associated with August, the speakers said thousands of unarmed Khudai Khidmatgars and democratic activists had faced repression before and after the creation of Pakistan, but their political ideals and struggle could not be eliminated.