Punjab Unaware Of Baloch Culture

"The crux of the problem is the Baloch identity and their struggle for its recognition, just as now the Pakhtuns are struggling for Pakhtunkhwa and the people of Hazara are fighting for Hindko in order to prove their identity", he said

ISLAMABAD: Punjab, which has always been at the forefront of governing Pakistan, is completely unaware of the Baloch culture, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Senator Lashkari Raisani said on Wednesday.

The senator made these remarks while addressing the concluding ceremony of a two-day national conference on "Balochistan: Rationalisation of Centre-Province Relations", organised by Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF). Raisani, who is also the PPP Balochistan president, said he condemned the incidents of target killing, which were happening in different areas of the country. "Colonial treatment of the establishment is a major cause of the preset unrest in Balochistan. Its genuine leadership was eliminated so corrupt people, smugglers and drug mafia came forward to fill the vacuum. Consequently, Balochistan is being ruined by those who have no sympathy with the Baloch people", he lamented. Senator Raisani appealed to all the intellectuals and think tanks to stress upon the need for educating the youth of Pakistan.

A representative of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said the organisation had conducted a survey in Balochistan and found out that the people of the province were hostile towards Pakistan. "The crux of the problem is the Baloch identity and their struggle for its recognition, just as now the Pakhtuns are struggling for Pakhtunkhwa and the people of Hazara are fighting for Hindko in order to prove their identity", he said

Balochistan Intellectual Forum President Abdul Wadood said that all local government elections were held during military rule, so that they could replace the political parties and the parliamentary system by introducing party-less rule of individuals and caste politics.

Former provincial minister Fazila Aliani held the provincial government responsible for bad governance and lack of development in the province. "This was due to the establishment's role in elections, which sent those people to assemblies who did not represent the Baloch masses", she said.