ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday claimed that 14 militant organisations were operating in Balochistan and they had strong connections with foreign countries, especially Afghanistan, and accused the neighbouring country of officially providing arms and ammunition to the Baloch separatists.

“All of them are militant outfits and it is proven,” the minister said in the Senate, while continuing his concluding speech after a debate on the law and order situation in Balochistan on the consecutive second day. “The tentacles of most of these organisations are in the foreign countries,” he further informed the house, pointing fingers towards Afghanistan and India.
According to the minister, these groups include Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Baloch Republican Army (BRA), Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Lashkar-e-Balochistan, Balochistan United Army, Jaish-e-Islam, Baloch Bande Parast, Tahaffuz-e-Balochistan Group and Mujahideen-e- Islam.
In addition to that, he said, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was operating from the area spreading from Zhob to Chaman under the leadership of Anees-ud-din Khanzada.
Malik added that the basic objective of these organisations was to destabilise Pakistan by supporting the independent Balochistan movement.
The interior minister in his speech said in 2011, a total of 2,354 incidents of terrorism, kidnapping and others were reported in the province and out of which the BLA and BRA publicly claimed responsibility for 1,014 of these.
Malik said it was a proxy war and a broader conspiracy to destabilise Pakistan and accused Kabul of providing arms to the Baloch separatist leaders, including Brahamdagh Bugti. He questioned why Brahamdagh and others separatists travelled on foreign passports.
The minister displayed the official letters of Government of Afghanistan on the TV screen installed in the Senate that directed the concerned Afghan departments to issue a passport for Brahamdagh and his deputy Riaz Gul with the cover names of Firdous and Ahmed Javed respectively. He also showed the snaps of his deputy, while visiting India.
Malik informed the house that Brahamdagh and his family members travelled to Geneva and India, while using Afghan passport with a cover name of Ibrahim Rahman in 2011.
He also shared a letter issued by the Afghan Ministry of Interior/Security Affairs that directed the concerned department for permission and dispatching of 500 Kalashnikovs to Baloch fighters to boost their ‘struggle’. Similarly, another letter was written by the Afghan Ministry giving approval to sending 25 sniper rifles to the separatists.
The minister said foreign elements were involved in the province and they had formed two pitches on this front-one at the international level and the other at the local level. These elements in connivance with BLA and BRA, at international level tried to create a situation at the UN and the US Congress.
He said 46 terror training camps were operating in Balochistan, while some others had been functional in Afghanistan as well.
Malik said the law enforcement agencies should be authorised for an operation against these camps but this should be started with consensus of all the political parties.
Funding of Militant Organization:?The minister said these organisations were receiving funding from foreign countries. “How a man can live in posh area of Switzerland and UK,” he asked while mentioning Brahamdagh Bugti and Hyrbyair Marri.
Missing Persons:?Malik informed the Senate that missing persons in the Balochistan were far less than reported publicly. He said they had proof that BLA killed their own people and claimed that there were only 36 missing persons in Balochistan.
He said out of 2,390 reported missing persons in Balochistan, the addresses of 135 such persons were incomplete, 241 had no particulars, 1,225 existed only with names and without any information, 31 were identified working in Middle East and some were identified working in Afghanistan by the government.
The minister, while giving the latest break up of enforced disappearances, said 18 persons were missing from Islamabad, with 150 from Punjab, 86 from Sindh, 202 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 36 from Balochistan, 23 from FATA and 10 in AJK with the total figure of 252.
Sectarian Violence:?He said sectarian was violence was also spread in Balochistan creating differences between Shia Sunni Muslims and similar activities were done in Malakand and Chitral areas of KP.
Karachi Situation:?He said the Karachi situation could not be separated from Balochistan, as some Baloch organisations had links with Jeaye Sindh Qaumi Movement (JSQM).
Recommendations: The minister said law and order situation in the province should be improved by reinforcing LEAs with arms and vehicles. “Additional grant of RS 5 billion would be sought for FC,” he added. He said the farrari camps would have to be closed through targeted operation, however, a Baloch senator Mir Wali Mohammad Badini said another operation should not be started in the province in the name of closure of the terror camps.
After Malik’s speech, Leader of the Opposition in Senate Ishaq Dar pointed out that everyone knew the problem and the govt should give its line of action rather pinpointing its problems.