Dr Abdul Malik urges dialogue to address Balochistan unrest

QUETTA: National Party president Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and the party’s central leader Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi have said they will continue their struggle for Balochistan’s rights and resources, while maintaining that the province’s ongoing unrest and instability can only be addressed through dialogue and a policy based on reconciliation.

The two leaders made the remarks while speaking at a National Party meeting in Turbat. The meeting reviewed organisational matters as well as political issues relating to Tehsil Council Turbat and Tehsil Council Shahrak.

During their address, the leaders criticised the functioning of parliament and said elected representatives were not being heard there. They alleged that parliament had become a lifeless institution and argued that the situation in Balochistan had worsened further after, in their view, the mandate of the National Party and other nationalist parties was undermined.

Dr Malik said the federation and federal institutions were adopting an inappropriate attitude towards Balochistan. He said the sanctity of the public vote had been violated and added that the mandates of political and nationalist parties were not being respected by the state and its institutions, a situation he said was deepening the sense of deprivation among the people.

He further said that interference in the electoral process was weakening public trust in democracy and democratic institutions.

Call for reconciliation

Senator Buledi said Balochistan’s problems could not be solved through force. He said it was the basic responsibility of the state and its democratic and constitutional institutions to rebuild public confidence in democracy by adopting a reconciliation policy and opening dialogue with all political forces in Balochistan.

He also stressed that national and political parties should be taken into confidence in efforts to address the province’s issues.

Senator Buledi said the National Party was a political party of the people of Balochistan and represented the province’s political workers. He also said the provincial government was not of the people, and urged party workers to reconnect with the public and make the party more active and dynamic.

The meeting in Turbat focused both on the party’s internal organisational affairs and the broader political situation in the province, with the leadership reiterating its position on political rights, electoral representation and the need for dialogue as the way forward.