News
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Dialogue calls for end to operation in BalochistanStaff Report
ISLAMABAD: The speakers at a roundtable dialogue on Saturday called for end to military operation in Balochistan and starting a constructive dialogue with genuine representatives of the province.
The dialogue titled “Accommodating Differences through Federalism” was organised by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) for International Affairs.
Senate Deputy Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali, visiting former Ontario chief minister Bob Rae, Opposition Leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani and Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai addressed the seminar among others.
Jamali said Balochistan needed justice and the rights of the people of the province must be honoured. He praised the Canadian model of federal system.
In his keynote speech, Bob Rae said “there is no single model of federalism in the world but each country’s constitution always has the last word in any federal system”. He said that shared and self-rule is the basic spirit of federalism in which disputes should be settled through courts and referendums. Raza Rabbani said Balochistan was only struggling for its rights, adding that “abrogation and violation of the constitution” was the real cause of all conflicts.
He said the Council of Common Interests and the National Finance Commission must be more effective and the mindset of the civil and military bureaucracy must change.
He demanded the military operation in Balochistan be stopped, all political prisoners be released, “disappearing” people be freed or brought to courts. He called for a dialogue with the “genuine representatives” of the province. Mehmood Achakzai said Pakistan’s “multinational” status must be acknowledged.
“We do not want to break-up the country. We want to live with dignity and honour.” Balochistan National Party’s Abdul Wahid Kakar said the military had been ruling the country with the support of the western powers and it had never allowed democracy to flourish.
Courtesy DailyTimes.com.pk