PTI’s APC on Balochistan emphasizes political dialogue

ISLAMABAD:

An All Parties Conference (APC) organized by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on the situation in Balochistan has called for resolving the province’s long-standing challenges through political dialogue rather than “use of force”.

The participants demanded recovery of “missing people, fair elections and equitable distribution of Balochistan’s natural resources among local communities”.

The conference, organized by PTI Balochistan at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad on Wednesday, was chaired by Akhtar Mengal.

It was attended by opposition leaders and representatives of several political parties, including Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Asad Qaiser, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, National Democratic Movement (NDM) leader Mohsin Dawar, National Party (NP) Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi, Balochistan Awami National Party (ANP) Chairman Asghar Khan Achakzai, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). Maulana Salahuddin Ayubi, Maulana Shakir of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and others.

The APC also issued a joint statement on the Balochistan issue.

Calls for the recovery of missing people

Addressing the gathering, Maulana Shakir said Balochistan was witnessing increasing number of widows, orphans and graveyards, attributing the situation to prolonged violence and instability.

He argued that poverty and unemployment were pushing young people towards crime and that conditions in the province were worse than those in Jammu and Kashmir and Gaza.

He called for immediate recovery of the missing people and said Balochistan lacked real political leadership.

Closure of borders criticized

JUI leader Maulana Salahuddin Ayubi criticized the closure of the Chaman border post with Afghanistan, saying the authorities had justified the decision by fighting terrorism and smuggling. However, he argued that violence had increased despite the border being closed over the past two years.

Ayubi said restrictions on cross-border trade were causing significant losses to Pakistani traders and negatively affecting both countries.

“Balochistan is a political issue”

NP Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi described the conference as an important initiative and said Islamabad had “systematically failed” to treat Balochistan as a serious political issue. He said successive governments had failed to keep their promises to reduce the “role of state institutions in the electoral process”.

Referring to the province’s representation in the National Assembly, he said Balochistan’s 16 seats offered little political clout.

Buledi said that although constitutional forums such as the Senate, the Council of Common Interests and presidential elections ensure equal representation, he regretted that “constitutional principles are not implemented in practice.”

He stressed that Balochistan’s problems could not be resolved through security approach alone and required a political solution.

The ANP expresses its concerns about governance

Balochistan ANP Chairman Asghar Khan Achakzai said constitutional guarantees had been weakened in the “quest for control of resources”.

He said “terrorism was being encouraged to facilitate plunder of resources, adding that the Constitution of Pakistan was being distorted to allow access to resources of the oppressed people.”

“The current problems facing Balochistan cannot even be discussed today. The Balochistan Assembly is the only provincial assembly where everyone was on the same page, right from the adoption of the budget to the legislation.”

He further claimed that one billion rupees had been allocated to each district for deputy commissioners.

Asghar said an ordinary Afghan could neither run a business nor earn a living in Pakistan and alleged that narcotics networks continued to operate under official patronage.

Dawar criticizes security policy

NDM leader Mohsin Dawar said successive caretaker governments had continued to “approve deals” involving Balochistan’s mineral resources while trade routes with Afghanistan remained closed.

“A unique policy is currently being pursued across the region to push people to violence. The establishment is prepared to wage proxy wars. The Taliban now in power in Afghanistan continue to receive [official] protocol in Pakistan,” Dawar said.

He added that none of the key Taliban figures were killed in any of the operations in Pakistan. He also claimed that Pakistan’s attacks had strengthened the Afghan government by increasing its public support.

“The terrorists took control of the entire Dera Ismail Khan district, but did not enter Punjab. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is also complicit in the deteriorating security situation in the province. Conditions in KP are even worse than in Balochistan and the decisions taken during the peace jirga held there are yet to be implemented.”

Dawar called for the release of all political prisoners in Balochistan.

Khokhar warns of institutional collapse

Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar warned that governance and political institutions were gradually weakening in Balochistan. “State power is eroding in Balochistan.”

Khokhar said the province’s deteriorating law and order situation reflected broader structural failures and warned that illegal economies, including narcotics trafficking, were expanding.

Drawing comparisons with conflict-affected countries like Syria, Libya and Yemen, he urged political actors to resolve the crisis before it becomes irreversible.

He argued that the first step towards resolving Balochistan’s problems should be holding free, fair and transparent elections, while calling on mainstream political parties to pay greater attention to the province despite its relatively low number of parliamentary seats.

The APC has called for the formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the province’s grievances. He also demanded the release of PTI founder president and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Mahrang Baloch, Ali Wazir, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Imaan Mazari, Hadi Chattha and other political prisoners.

The conference also urged authorities to prevent the alleged misuse of the Digital Rights Act (DRA) and other laws, while reiterating that the province’s current crisis was the result of “unrepresentative government.”

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