BALOCHISTAN ISSUE SHOULD BE RESOLVED DEMOCRATICALLY AND THROUGH MEANING FUL AND SINCERE DIALOUGE- MQM CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE

Karachi-26 June 2002
Members of the Central Co-ordination Committee of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) in a press statement said that the issue of Balochistan should be resolved democratically and peacefully through sincere and meaningful dialogue. They said that it was frightening to hear that the armed forces have cordoned off Dera Bugti while Pakistan Navy and Air Force have been put on high alert to attack Dera Bugti and other parts of Balochistan.

The Members of the Central Co-ordination Committee said that it would be a national tragedy if any type of massacre were committed on the oppressed people, not of only of Balochistan but other minority provinces of Pakistan who have been oppressed and their basic rights denied by the ruling oligarchy, ever since the creation of Pakistan. They condemned the severing of the telephone lines and other services in Dera Bugti rendering Nawab Akbar Bugti and his people a virtual hostage in their own ancestral land. They said that national integration could only be achieved through inclusion and not exclusion, and redressal of the grievances of the people of Balochistan. They demanded of the Government to hold a peaceful and meaningful dialogue with the genuine leaders of Balochistan to redress their grievances.

The Members of the Central Co-ordination Committee said that the process of occupying the minority provinces of Pakistan should now cease. The country is faced with the national crisis on the LOC and the international borders where the risk of war against India has not totally diminished, these issues need to be resolved instead of conquering the minority provinces, they re-iterated.  They further added that the energy of the Pakistan Navy and Air Force should be spared to be engaged in the event of war instead of expending it against the innocent Baloch and the people of the smaller provinces of Pakistan.

Concluding their statement, they said that President General Parvez Musharraf is calling for a peaceful negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue, he should also negotiate within the country to manifest that he practices what he preaches. They said that there would never be a military solution to the issues within the country and particularly of the occupation of the minority of Pakistan by the ruling oligarchy. They further demanded of the Government to stop all on-going actions in Balochistan, particularly in Dera Bugti.