The Baloch Hal News

GWADAR: Interior Minister Rehman Malik has reiterated the official stance that Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was involved in instigating the ongoing armed insurgency in Balochistan province.

He said this while talking to reporters in Gwadar on Wednesday before attending the federal cabinet meeting which was chaired by Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani.

Malik said India was supporting the insurgency in Balochistan and trying to pit the local people against their own country. The government of Pakistan would frustrate all such plans by paying full attention to the problems of Balochistan. The recently announced Balochistan package and consensus developed between the federal government and all the federating units indicated the fact that the government was constantly making progress in bridging the gap between the center and the provinces.

Replying to a question about the government’s reconciliatory plans, Malik said the government would give all genuine rights of Balochistan which were denied to the country’s largest province in the past. It is the top most priority of the government to give every Baloch his genuine rights.

When asked about the government’s strategy to deal with hardliner leaders who believe in an armed struggle and keep harping about an independent Balochistan, the interior minister said he viewed Baloch Republican Party (BRP) chief Nawabzada Bramdagh Bugti as a ‘brother’.

“We will try to convince all disillusioned forces in Balochistan. Justice will be done with everyone affected in the past. All reservations of the people of Balochistan would be addressed through democratic means,” he assured.

When asked about the strained condition of Pakistan-Iran border which had been shut since the deadly blast of October 18 in Iranian town of Pishin allegedly by Jandullah, a Sunni militant organization Iran accuses Pakistan of supporting, Malik said the Pak-Iran border would be reopened soon. Balochs living on the Iranian border complain about the shortage of edible items due to the closure of the border.

Responding to a question about the recent Karachi carnage in which around 40 people lost their lives after a suicide bomber struck a religious procession of Shia Muslims, the minister said the government was investigating the tragic incident and its aftermath that led to damaging property worth several billion rupees and the government was confident to expose the elements responsible for murdering innocent civilians.

When asked about the purpose of the cabinet meeting in the Baloch port town of Gwadar, Malik said the government wanted to develop tourism in the area. The cabinet meeting would highlight the tourism potentials of Gwadar to the people of Balochistan and rest of the world, he predicted.