Baloch insurgents involved in target killings going underground: FC IG

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Major General Saleem Nawaz claims there are no missing persons in Balochistan
* Says insurgency in province does not pose serious threat to Pakistan

By Malik Siraj Akbar

QUETTA: Baloch insurgents involved in target killings have started to leave Quetta and go underground following the “successful deployment” of the Frontier Corps (FC) in the provincial capital, Balochistan FC chief Major General Saleem Nawaz has said.

He told Daily Times in an exclusive interview that the trouble in Balochistan was caused by two individuals -- Bramdagh Bugti, chief of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) and Nawabzada Hairbayar Marri, one of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Khair Baksh Marri’s sons. He claimed they were sowing trouble on the directives of “foreign elements”. However, he added, the FC has made “remarkable headway” in dismantling the forces involved in target killings in Quetta. “Bramdagh is rapidly losing support among his own tribesmen following the appointment of a new Bugti tribal chief,” he said.

No one missing: The FC inspector general claimed there were no “missing persons” in Balochistan. “As a matter of fact, all the so-called missing persons were kidnapped by Bramdagh Bugti, who is holding them hostage in Afghanistan and forcing their families to work for him [Bramdagh],” he said, adding United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Balochistan chief John Solecki had also been kidnapped by Bramdagh. “The doors of amnesty and reconciliation are still open. If Bramdagh wants to come back as a Pakistani, I am sure the government would accommodate him in its reconciliatory process,” he said.

No threat: Nawaz said the insurgency in Balochistan did not pose a serious threat to Pakistan, as it was a “handful of people” whose sense of deprivation had been exploited by foreign elements. “No one can disintegrate Pakistan merely by burning the national flag, attacking schools or targeting national installations. The majority of the Baloch tribes are already represented in the Balochistan Assembly. So there is no threat to Pakistan at all,” he added.

He lamented that countries supporting the international war against terrorism were not cooperating with Pakistan in extraditing Baloch leaders Bramdagh Bugti and Hairbayar Marri. “We expect these countries to support us in fighting terrorism by asking these terrorists to leave their countries,” he said.

The IG said the Taliban did not threaten Balochistan, rejecting the impression that the Pushtoon areas of Balochistan were hiding Taliban activists. “The Taliban have no support among the Pushtoons, because the latter have already voted overwhelmingly for the nationalist and secular parties. They do not enjoy any kind of political, social and religious support in the province. If they were backed by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam then why would they attack the head of JUI-Fazl (Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani)?” he asked.

The FC, he added, was aware of its responsibilities to monitor the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and ensure no one entered Pakistan illegally. He said the corps needed more technological support from the government and the international community to fight the threats facing them. Nawaz also ruled out the possibility of any upcoming operations in the province, either against the Baloch or the Taliban. “Those who are airing the propaganda of an operation are in fact trying to divert public attention. They do not want us to pre-empt their terrorist designs. We will thwart all their intentions if the miscreants challenge the writ of the government,” he added.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg7_33