Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) Chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal raised the matter of fake encounters in the National Assembly (NA) in which, he alleged, innocent people were killed and presented as terrorists.
Three missing persons were found dead in Kharan on Monday. They were allegedly killed in fake encounters by the Balochistan Counter Terrorism Department.
Mengal told the lower house that the people killed by the department have been identified and all of those people were “picked up”.
“Wasim Tabish was a student who wrote a poem for missing persons. Those who speak and write are picked up,” said the BNP-M chief.
“Do not push us to a point of no return”, warned Mengal, as he urged the end of fake encounters in Balochistan.
Later, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described the issue as “Wounds of the state that have been bleeding for years”. He called for measures to address and resolve the issues and acknowledged that the problem had existed for a long time.
“Balochistan’s issues must be resolved”, stressed the federal minister.
Not only Khwaja Asif, but Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, also called for constituting a “truth and reconciliation commission” to address the unrest in Balochistan.
The federal ministers also highlighted growing concerns over the situation in Swat.
“A terrorist is a terrorist and he remains one because he took up weapons. And when he agrees to talk to you, he has pre-conditions,” said Rehman.
The PPP senator recalled multiple incidents of terrorism and said it was beyond her understanding how a compromise could be reached with terrorists. Moreover, she urged the house to call a joint session again.
Khawaja Asif called for the members to sit together on the situation in Swat, among other issues of grave importance.
He recalled that a similar situation in Swat was seen 11 to 12 years ago when concerns were raised that “those in Swat may not be too far away from Islamabad”. He warned that “Whatever is happening in Swat and elsewhere, those flames can reach us as well”.
