Federal minister smells Indian hand in Balochistan unrest

By Our Correspondent

QUETTA: Federal Minister for Livestock and a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly from Balochistan, Mir Humayun Aziz Kurd, has said India is sponsoring the separatist movement in Balochistan which is being waged by some elements who are working on a foreign agenda.

Speaking at a news conference at his residence on Monday the federal minister said the government would never negotiate with the people who were talking of independence for Balochistan because they could not become the friends of Pakistan. The PPP government will thwart all plans which are intended to disintegrate Pakistan.

Kurd, who is associated with the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, said India was directly involved in creating disturbance in Balochistan. Otherwise, Nawabzada Bramdagh Bugti and Nawabzada Hairbayar Marri had already disassociated themselves with the bomb blasts and elements carrying out target killings in the province. Therefore, India was behind all violence and trouble in Balochistan. The murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti was a conspiracy hatched by General Pervez Musharraf to pit the people of Balochistan against the country’s military.

“The PPP government is willing to negotiate with everyone who is seeking rights for Balochistan while living in the federation of Pakistan. There is no way we could negotiate with the people who are working on a foreign agenda and demanding separation. Our government is determined to negotiate with a handful of Baloch leaders who are living abroad and bring them back to the national mainstream,” he said, adding that the newly announced Balochistan package was meant to empower Balochistan.