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RAW involved in Karachi unrest: Sarfaraz Bugti

By Shamim Bano
April 20, 2016

Balochistan home minister says separatist Baloch elements are terrorists and will continue to be recognised as terrorists

KARACHI: Sarfaraz Bugti, Home Minister of Balochistan, has said that the Indian agency RAW is involved in disrupting the law and order situation in Karachi and denied infiltration of terrorists from Balochistan into the city.

He was addressing a discussion titled, “Understanding Balochistan: Challenges, CPEC and Security”, which was organized by a private television channel in collaboration with the Karachi Press Club at its terrace here on Tuesday.

Shahzad Shah Jilani moderated the programme.   The minister discussed the Balochsitan situation in detail and said he believed that the angry Baloch or the separatist Baloch elements were terrorists, and he would continue to recognize them as terrorists.

There was no issue of rights in Balochistan. Rather, it’s personal, and the poor people were being used in this fight, he said. Sarfaraz Bugti said the leaders of Balochistan were enjoying their lives in London and Dubai, and the poor people were forcefully given arms in their hands.

The minister said that dialogue was the only solution to Balochistan, and Balochistan would be made completely peaceful, and the government had taken measures to ensure foolproof security for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

He said that the law and order situation in Balochistan had improved satisfactorily because of the joint civil and military efforts.  About the economic corridor, the minister said nobody would be allowed to sabotage this project.

Sarfaraz Bugti said there was a remarkable decline in the incidents of terrorism and heinous crimes.  The minister said the civil and military officials had submitted a security plan which focused on providing complete security to CPEC and the projects related to it and on restoring lasting peace in the province.

He said that Balochistan had a bright future, and it would be the main beneficiary of CPEC projects.  The minister said that the “Pur Amn Balochistan” plan for bringing the angry Baloch back into the national mainstream had been planned by the prime minister.

He said the economic turnaround in the country was being acknowledged even by international financial institutions which were now ready to work with Pakistan, and investors were also ready to come to Balochistan.

He said that a meeting presided by the prime minister took a decision of reconciliation policy in the province and said that sense of security prevailed among the people after better coordination between the law-enforcement agencies, adding that abandoning violence and adopting peaceful living was a positive step. 

The government of Balochistan had already announced a reconciliation policy a few months back to pave the way for the resolution of issues relating to the province which had been under the grip of violence for over a decade, the minister said.

“We want to resolve conflict through dialogue, but if they become violent then we will react,” the minister added. He said Balochistan faced three types of problems: banditry and    street crimes particularly in Quetta; religious extremism; and separatist movement. He said the government with the help from the military had been successful in controlling these serious problems.