Govt offers olive branch to Baloch

ISLAMABAD – In a goodwill gesture and to pave the way for talks with the self-exiled Baloch dissidents, Interior Minister Rehman Malik Thursday announced withdrawal of all the criminal cases against the disgruntled Baloch leaders, including top separatists Harbiyar Mari and Barhamdagh Bugti.
Malik said all the cases, except one against Mr Marri, will be taken back if they returned to Pakistan, adding that he would himself receive the Baloch leaders upon their arrival to Pakistan. Speaking after a meeting on Aghaz-i-Haqooq-i-Balochistan, the minister disclosed he had met Herbyar Mari in London.
“Following reconciliation policy of the government, I urge that Baloch leaders including Barhamdagh Bugti and Harbiyar Marri should return to Pakistan to take part in political and development process and I will personally receive them.” Malik said.
The federal minister also announced that from now on paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) will follow provincial government’s orders and urged all the Baloch and national leadership to participate in the upcoming All-Party Conference (APC). He said the government was endeavouring for ensuring the participation of all Baloch leaders in the APC.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had announced convening the APC on Balochistan, after a US congressman tabled a resolution in US House of Representatives espousing right to self-determination for the Baloch, causing ripples across the country.
Malik opined that Balochistan issue was political in nature and there was dire need to initiate the dialogue process to save the country from any disastrous situation. He further said that the government wanted to develop the province in order to ensure stability and prosperity. “We want friends and at the same time want to strengthen Pakistan,” he added.
Commenting on Pervez Musharraf and calls from the Baloch leadership for taking action against the former president in Akbar Bugti murder case, Malik said he would get issued red warrants of Musharraf when the Balochistan government would write to him.
But Malik came up with a new version on the missing persons issue, saying those being termed as missing persons were killed during ‘jihad’ in Afghanistan. He said that the relatives and heirs of the missing persons must accept that ‘fact’. A propaganda campaign was being carried out regarding the issue, he added.
He also gave unbelievably less number of missing persons, saying there were now 42 missing persons cases in Balochistan and the figure had been exaggerated in the past. “Authorities are trying to trace those 42 missing persons also,” he said, adding that a task force had been constituted in Balochistan that would get registered the cases of such disappearances.
Informing about the decisions taken in the meeting, he said that FC would not move in any district of Balochistan without permission of the Deputy Commissioner concerned. Malik further informed that no check post would be established in the province by FC without permission of Balochistan chief minister. FC and Coast Guard will exercise powers under custom Act and strictly in accordance with law and keep their deployment restricted to 10 kilometres of the international border.
He said that15, 000 Baloch graduate and postgraduate youth would be given employed as school teachers under the prime minister’s new internship programme for Balochistan. He added that free education to current 150 brilliant students from Balochistan would be increased to 500 in the next academic year and endowment fund of Rs5 billion would be created for its sustainability.
“2,400 people from Balochistan would be inducted in the federal government jobs with the assistance of members of the parliament from Balochistan,” he said. To encourage representation of the government officials of the province at federal level, any officer coming from Balochistan getting posting here on deputation, will be given one-step promotion, he informed.
Federal Levis Force members will also be increased through fresh recruitment, the minister said. The present strength of the force is 3,500. The meeting also decided to double the number of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) beneficiaries, from 375,000 to 750,000, in Balochistan.
The minister said Capital Development Authority (CDA) would give one suitable plot to Balochistan Government for construction of one student hostel and one officers’ hostel in Islamabad to resolve housing problems of students and officers from the province.
The minister said that Pakistan Television (PTV) would air documentaries and programmes on implementation of Aghaz-i-Haqooq-i-Balochistan, regularly for general awareness and information.
The petroleum secretary speaking on the occasion informed the media that under the package, all departments of the ministry have provided employment to Baloch people more than the fixed quota. The secretary said out of total Rs120 billion, to be given to Balochistan, Rs12 billion have already been released.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Changez Khan Jamali, Minister for Postal Services Sardar Muhammad Umar Gorgaij, Balochistan Chief Secretary and federal secretaries of Interior, Information, Petroleum and Natural Resources attended the meeting besides other senior officers.
Earlier, the interior minister called on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the PM House and discussed with him law and order situation in the country, in general, and in Balochistan, in particular. The minister briefed the prime minister about a bomb blast incident in Peshawar. The prime minister expressed his sympathies with the grieved families and directed the provincial government to provide free medical facilities to the injured. Gilani directed the law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice at the earliest.