Gilani orders Balochistan to Improve Law and Order

QUETTA: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday directed the Balochistan chief secretary and home secretary to take steps to improve law and order situation in the province.

Talking to a delegation of Hazara community at Governor's House, the prime minister said that a concerted strategy must be evolved to ensure peace in Balochistan. He said any leniency on part of law enforcers would not be tolerated. He also expressed his sympathies with the families of six people killed in a gun attack in Quetta on Sunday.

Separately, Gilani said he had directed the Balochistan chief secretary to identify 35,000 graduates of Balochistan to be given jobs by the government.

"Fifteen hundred jobs in Federal Levies Force have already been provided to the people of Balochistan," he said while talking to a PPP Balochistan delegation led by its provincial president Mir Sadiq Umrani.

"1,500 more jobs will be created in the Federal Levies Force in Balochistan this year," Gilani said, adding that the government would further recruit 10,000 youth in different departments. Out of them, 5,000 would be sent abroad to acquire required skills in their respective fields, the prime minister added.

He said that under the 18th Amendment, provisional autonomy had been granted to provinces in order to empower them. He said that under the 7th National Finance Commission Award (NFC), the share of Balochistan had reached Rs 120 billion as compared to Rs 40 billion in the past. He said the government had allocated Rs 6 billion to provide scholarships to the youth of Balochistan.

End.

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Pak Army's Staunch Efforts for Prosperity in Balochistan

QUETTA – The development and prosperity of Balochistan will contribute towards a peaceful and progressive Pakistan, and the Army would continue to play its part in the security of the country, said Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani during his visited Sui Cantonment Monday.

He inaugurated Military College and also announced establishment of Education City in Sui. The Governor and the Chief Minister Balochistan inaugurated Academic Block and Hostel of Balochistan Public School, Sui respectively. A large number of parliamentarians, Baloch tribal elders, military officials and locals were present at the occasion.

The governor and the Chief Minister Balochistan appreciated the efforts of the Army in bringing education and social development to remote areas of Balochistan.

In his address, the COAS spoke about various projects initiated by the Pakistan Army, with the support of locals and the provincial government. In the education field, he said that presently 22,786 Baloch students are studying in the Army- and Frontier Corps-run educational institutions. In addition, 4,268 Baloch students are benefitting from Chamlang Beneficiary Education Programme, whereas 662 Baloch students are studying in reputed institutions of other provinces.

To enhance technical skills of Baloch youth for better job opportunities, Balochistan Institute of Technical Education (BITE) managed by the Pakistan Army, has thus far trained 1,673 individuals. In this regard, Gwadar Institute of Technical Education will also start functioning soon. The COAS hoped that establishment of Education City at Sui will open new avenues for the development and prosperity in remote areas of Balochistan. With regards to Army’s contributions in development of other social sectors in Balochistan, the COAS mentioned about Chamlang Project which created job opportunities for approx 74,052 locals. Besides, a 50 bed hospital is being constructed at Sui under Army’s supervision and with the support of Pakistan Petroleum Limited, to improve health facilities in the area.

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Balochistan's Road towards Prosperity

ISLAMABAD: Whereas the steps being taken by the Pakistan Army for the establishment of peace in Balochistan and to remove the sense of deprivation among people of the province are yielding positive results, the growing Taliban threat has forced the Indian spymasters to shift from Afghanistan to the Gulf states where they are operating as businessmen.

“The steps being taken by the army under the guidance of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to establish peace in Balochistan and remove the sense of deprivation among the people of the province are yielding positive results, causing distress to the Indian intelligence agencies,” an official source said here on Wednesday, requesting anonymity. “A positive change is being witnessed in the thinking of common Baloch people because of the recruitment of Baloch youths in the army and other security institutions on priority basis,” he said.

The source said the worries of the Indian intelligence officials are, however, growing because of the change in thinking of the Baloch youths while the recruitment of the Baloch youths in the army and security institutions on priority basis has saved Pakistan from a battle front, which was more dangerous than Waziristan because lava was boiling there. He said the Indian spying network, which was targeting Balochistan since long, has almost been defeated now because the Balochistan policy of General Kayani has shattered the Indian policy of misleading the Baloch youths. “When he had taken over as the army chief, General Kayani faced the toughest and the biggest challenge of establishing peace in Balochistan and also defeating the Indian campaign of misleading the Baloch youths,” the source said. “General Kayani was extremely serious in addressing the Balochistan problem and he took pragmatic measures, which are now yielding positive results,” he remarked.

The source revealed that the country’s top security agency achieved highly important successes during the past three years but details of those successes could not be made public because of their sensitive nature. He said these successes also helped other security agencies of the country to achieve their goals. He said the powers that wanted to pit the Baloch people against other provinces and national institutions were behind the kidnapping and target killing incidents in the province during the past few years.

“The foreign elements have been involved in planning the killing of passengers of public transport in different cities and districts of Balochistan and the most prominent among these elements were the Indians. The term of Baloch Liberation Army was also introduced by the Indian intelligence agencies because India wanted to infuse into the Baloch youths the hatred against other provinces and the army,” the source said.

“Although the Indians had initially succeeded in their nefarious designs to a great extent and their operations were on their peak following the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the strategy devised by General Kayani and implemented by the army to bringing the Baloch people, particularly youths, into the national mainstream has now completely changed the scenario,” he added.

The source pointed out that because of the growing threat of the Taliban attacks, the senior Indian intelligence officers have shifted from Afghanistan to the Gulf states in the vicinity of Balochistan, where they are posing as businessmen and are providing jobs to Baloch youths so as to create afresh an atmosphere of hate in Balochistan. This is the reason that the Pakistani establishment is trying to provide maximum job and business opportunities to Baloch youths to save them from the economic blackmailing of Indians, he remarked.

When contacted by The News for comments, former Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen (R) Hamid Gul said no doubt General Kayani is doing good work in Balochistan because the situation had worsened in that province during the Musharraf regime. He said that under a long-term policy, General Kayani recruited the Baloch youths in the army and also took other measures on priority basis to address the sense of deprivation among Baloch people.

“However, the president and prime minister too should give priority to Balochistan, as the government and civil institutions have yet much to do there and a short-term policy is also needed because India and the US do not want peace in Balochistan. Therefore, the elimination of the Indian and US influence there is utmost necessary,” he commented.

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Missing persons: ISI, MI counsel says RAW and Mossad involved

ISLAMABAD:
The counsel for Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) has revealed in the Supreme Court that Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Israel’s Mossad are active in Pakistan. He was speaking during the hearing of the missing persons case.

He said that they were behind kidnappings in the country and were being helped by terrorist groups.

The chief justice asked the defence counsel if the agencies had any credible information of the involvement of RAW and Mossad, and why they did not take any against them. “We did not bar you from taking action against RAW and Mossad.”

Terming the intelligence agencies’ reply on Adiala missing persons unsatisfactory, the apex court on Friday took suo motu notice against the abduction of a boy who used to provide food at camps set up by the relatives of missing persons outside parliament.

A three judge-bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry directed Inspector General of Police Islamabad and Attorney General of Pakistan Maulvi Anwarul Haq to submit a report of the incident by March 17 and present the abductee before the court on March 19.

Addressing Maulvi Anwarul Haq and Raja Irshad, counsel for ISI and MI, the chief justice said that this time a man was abducted right under the nose of the federal government. Advocate Tariq Asad the counsel for missing persons told the court that Omar Mehmood Khan was picked up by the intelligence agencies because he used to serve the food to the families at the missing persons’ camp at D-Chowk (in front of the Parliament).

Raja Arshad rejected the allegations, stating that the military intelligence agencies were not involved in missing persons’ episodes.

A family recently returned from Canada through a letter had informed the Human Rights Cell of the apex court that one of their family members, Omar Mehmood Khan, 24, was abducted by the agencies on March 10 near Orchid Scheme in Islamabad.

“After going through the contents of the letter last night, we issued notices to IGP Islamabad that what kind of high-handedness was underway by none other than officials of agencies, even in the federal capital city,” the chief justice informed the attorney general.

The letter suggests that Omar was kidnapped in the same style as was used in picking up many other missing persons. Men driving two double cabins with tinted glasses, a black corolla, a white Suzuki Baleno and a Suzuki Mehran picked up the boy in front of his father, mother and a younger brother.

Omar’s mother, Dr Rubina was also present in the court today. The chief justice, while calming her down, said that “we will not allow anyone to act above the law”, adding that the agencies were not above the Constitution.

Advocate Raja Irshad asked the court why all blame was leveled on the ISI and MI. The chief justice said that, “We respect our armed forces and intelligence agencies, but when they detracted then the court and media expressed concerns and you cannot stop us from this.”

During the last hearing, the court had rejected explanatory reports submitted by the lawyer of the agencies and termed them unsatisfactory, and had also sought a detailed report from the chief secretary of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The K-P chief secretary submitted a report on the health of inmates today, which was appreciated by the court.

Counsel for detainee Hafiz Majid, Advocate Tariq Asad informed the court that his client was suffering from Cancer and Hepatitis C, and asked that permission be granted to shift him to Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in Lahore.

The court was informed that the health condition of at least three prisoners was still not satisfactory. The chief justice asked Raja Irshad how the detainees were being treated. “Were they not human? Why a fair trial right was denied to them? We will proceed against you after deciding initial things – you will tell us how the four of them died in your custody.”

Advocate general of K-P will submit a report within three days on which internment centers inmates will be kept at. The court also asked him to arrange a place where relatives of these inmates could see them easily.

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America's Gameplan in Baluchistan and its Ramifications

Neo Con New Middle East Map

By Brig Nadir Mir

Recently, a resolution was passed in the US Congress to divide Pakistan and carve out an ‘independent Balochistan’. With this, an old neocon dream was revived. This time the so-called globalists and propagandists, masquerading as human right activists, are the cheerleaders. Against this backdrop, Colonel Ralph Peter’s map of the ‘New Middle East’ truncating, balkanising every country – Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan – was reproduced. Despite the fact that it was scorned and reviled even at the time of its earlier exhibition.

It seems that the neocons and influential globalists of America desperately want to initiate World War III. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s interview, If you can’t hear the drums of war, you must be deaf, with Alfred Heinz on November 27, 2011, is a clear expression of this desire.

The neocon-globalist geopolitical wish list – the rationale for the so-called ‘independent Balochistan’ – is as under:

- Cripple Pakistan by separating Balochistan (46 percent of its territory with large mineral resources, besides the future global port of Gwadar).

- Balkanised Pakistan forced to give up its nuclear arsenal.

- Establish India’s hegemony over Pakistan.

- Leftover US forces in Afghanistan and US controlled ‘new Balochistan’ to act as strategic central position for multi- regions.

- US controlled Afghanistan-Balochistan to link the Central Asian energy oil and gas pipelines with Gwadar.

- Delink Pakistan and Iran by carving out Balochistan and obviate the Iran-Pakistan energy/gas pipelines.

- Establish US military presence in Balochistan for upcoming US-Israeli war against Iran.

- Block Russia-Pak cooperation with Gazprom (Russian Gas Company) reaching Gwadar.

- Balochistan and Kurdistan to be artificially created to have imperialist bases in the heartland of Islam.

- ‘Independent Balochistan’ – a prelude for Kurdistan to break away from Turkey; separate Xinjiang and Tibet from China; Siberia from Russia; and separate Makkah and Madinah from Saudi Arabia.

- US military presence in Gwadar to control the Gulf. To use the port as an alternative for USA’s 5th fleet based in Bahrain or another fleet if brought near the Gulf.

- Use Gwadar as a military base for intervention in the Saudi Peninsula.

The rationale of these ill-intentioned pseudo thinkers is absolutely absurd. According to them, since the Pakistani elite is exploiting Balochistan, so it should be balkanised. Those who believe that Balochistan should not be a part of Pakistan are geopolitical imbeciles. Indeed, the propagandists making these claims are clueless about regional realities because:

• Pakistan: It will fight a war, even a nuclear war of national survival to defend itself.

• Iran: The Iranian Seistan is part of Balochistan, which the imperialists want to carve out. Therefore, Iran will fight a war in unison with Pakistan to defend Balochistan against the US threats.

• Afghanistan: The Taliban are winning; the Americans are leaving. No Afghan – not even Karzai – will cede the Afghan territory to become ‘greater independent Balochistan’. Nor can landlocked Kabul take up fights with both Islamabad and Tehran.

• Turkey: The Turks will support Pakistan and oppose independent Balochistan. Those who are plotting Balochistan also support Kurdistan to balkanise Turkey. Turkey will oppose Balochistan splitting by Nato, even if Nato is foolhardy to play the diabolical game of neocons.

• Saudi Arabia: The Saudis, too, will support Pakistan and oppose the Balochistan movement.

• India: It has been supporting the destabilisation of Balochistan and will continue to do so. But for India to overtly support Balochistan can lead to a nuclear war with Pakistan. Besides this can also trigger freedom movements in Kashmir, Khalistan, Assam, Tamil Nadu and a dozen other places. Playing the US-Israel game will spoil its relations with Iran, Russia and China.

• China: It will support Pakistan. USA’s aim in Balochistan is to block China from Gwadar. Balochistan today, Xinjiang tomorrow! China’s defence begins from Pakistan.

• Russia: It is Pakistan’s new friend. Besides, the Pak-Iran link is supported by Moscow.

So, the geopolitics of the region negates any viability of an independent Balochistan. In addition, anti-Americanism in Pakistan has a complex dynamic. The US meddling in Balochistan will not create an ‘independent Balochistan’, but will initiate a war, perhaps, leading to World War III.

The situation in Balochistan certainly demands immediate attention. Out of 150 Baloch tribes three major ones Marris, Bugtis, and Mengals have had problems or are in conflict. The issue of Bugtis is greatly linked to the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti. A fair trial of those responsible is their demand. The Mengals can be communicated with. Some of the Marris leaders are more adamant and would need to be worked on. Pakistan needs to accommodate most of the Balochistan demands and satisfy the people, while ensuring its national interests. Half the demography of Balochistan which is Pakhtun are patriotic like the great majority of Baloch.

Bugti’s killing by Musharraf led to the present Balochistan crisis. The army or the ISI is not responsible. USA and India did not oppose Musharraf’s actions in Balochistan. This was a US-India baited gambit (to lure Musharraf into a crackdown and create turmoil for instigating independent Balochistan). Musharraf was praised by Washington and assured by Delhi of its non-involvement in Balochistan, luring him into the mess Pakistan faces today in the province. For all this time a covert war was being waged for claiming independence of Balochistan. During this period a worldwide network was established. This became overt in February 2012 as war with Iran is near centre stage in 2012. However, those who are planning war against Pakistan must be told that the choice is between peace and total war; indeed, the country will be defended at any price!

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