Pakistan: Religious scholars call for resolving Balochistan’s issues through dialogue

Religious scholars in Quetta urged dialogue and transparent probes into missing persons cases in Balochistan. Activists, including members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, also raised human rights concerns at the Asma Jahangir Conference

Quetta: Several religious scholars have called for resolving issues of Balochistan through talks and urged the Pakistani government to carry out a transparent probe into all missing persons cases and stated that any individual found guilty should be tried in open courts, while innocent people should be released immediately, local media reported on Thursday.

While addressing a press conference after a seminar on ‘Rest­oring Peace in Balochistan and Confidence-Building, the Institutional Respo­nsibilities of Ulema and Mashaykh’, the scholars — including Maulana Ata ur Rehman, Allama Muh­ammad Juma Asadi, Mau­lana Anwar-ul-Haq Haq­qani, and Qari Abdul Reh­man Noorzai — stressed that lasting solutions lie in justice, mediation, and reconciliation instead of the use of force, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.

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The scholars warned that Balochistan now stands at cross roads, where one path leads to complete separation while the other leads to a constitutional struggle for basic rights.

They demanded that people of Balochistan should be treated as partners of the state instead of suspects.

They demanded jobs for local residents to reduce frustration and anxiety among the youth and a meaningful stake in Gwadar, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and mining projects. They demanded that the majority of the revenue generated from the resources of Balochistan be allocated for local development, Dawn reported.

The clerics said the seminar proposed several measures for restoring stability, which include holding transparent elections in Balochistan, giving a rightful share of natural resources to local residents, expanding education, providing job opportunities, regulating border trade routes, drug and trawler mafias, giving more powers to the Human Rights Commission, and setting up a reconciliation council comprising ulema and respected community figures.

Last week, Baloch activists, political leaders and human rights activists voiced concerns over the situation in Balochistan, focusing on issues like enforced disappearances and political representation, during the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore, local media reported.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC) central member Sammi Deen Baloch participated in the conference and held meetings with diplomats, politicians, journalists and reporters. The BYC stated that Baloch used the conference to highlight what it termed serious human rights issues and raise the viewpoint of the Baloch people.

During the conference, Sammi Deen Baloch met several United Nations officials, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Gina Romero, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem of Jordan and the senior adviser to UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Ed O’Donovan, The Balochistan Post reported.

During these meetings, Sammi Deen Baloch stated that peaceful assembly and freedom of expression were being restricted and people were not being allowed to protest or speak out against state actions in Balochistan.

She voiced concerns about alleged violence against Baloch women, including enforced disappearances of women and minors and what she termed as unlawful arrests. She spoke about the systematic targeting of human rights activists, citing allegations of threats, harassment, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, killings and mentioned cases of Mahrang Baloch, Beebo Baloch, Gulzadi Baloch and others.

According to the statement released by BYC, UN representatives voiced concern over the reported human rights violations and announced that they would highlight these issues at relevant UN forums.