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CM’s offer for talks

After being elected as the Chief Minister of Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik had made an offer for talks with the Baloch militants, sectarian groups and others for talks restoring traditional peace and amity in Balochistan. Similar offer was made by the Federal Interior Minister but with certain conditions. However, Dr Malik did not impose any condition knowing the ground realities ...

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90 years sentence

  A War Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh has handed a 90 year old sentence to 91 year old Jama’at-e-Islami leader Professor Ghulam Azam for war-crimes the court said were committed in league with Pakistan military in the war of 1971. Naturally the reason why he was not given the death sentence was because of his age and health but the ...

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Hazaras targeted again

The tragedies — and bodies — just seem to keep piling up in the restive province of Balochistan, which is now undergoing a bloody crusade of sectarian cleansing. Again the Hazara Shias of Quetta have been victimized in a target killing in which four Hazaras have been killed and two passersby have been seriously injured. Gunmen on a motorcycle laden ...

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Editorial: The Argentina Model For Balochistan? No, Thanks

A credible Pakistani Urdu-language newspaper, Express, has reported that the government is considering granting amnesty to all personnel of the security forces and intelligence agencies who have been involved in enforced disappearances, torture and killings. As a quid pro quo, these officials would assist in recovering the missing persons. The newspaper quoted ‘reliable [government] sources’ that the new administration is ...

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EDITORIAL : Not just a ‘test case’

To his credit, Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif made it a point to travel to Quetta in the wake of the suicide bombing near an imambargah on Sunday to apply balm on the wounds of the victims. After a high level meeting, the PM said in a press conference that terrorist violence was no longer acceptable. The PM directed all ...

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Editorial: B.N.P. is Back to the Parliament But Still Stands On The Wrong Side of the History

Following a month-long internal debate, the Balochistan National Party (B.N.P-Mengal) has finally decided to return to the parliament. The B.N.P. won only two seats for the provincial assembly in what it now describes as the “most-rigged elections in the history”. Headed by former chief minister and Baloch nationalist leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the B.N.P. had been cogitating for nearly a month ...

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Youth unemployment in Balochistan

Youth unemployment is the only sector which had been deliberately ignored by the decision makers for the past six decades or more. There is no significant project launched to address the issue of youth unemployment which is one of the root causes of unrest and disquiet in this Province. In recent years, the number of Universities had been increased to ...

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EDITORIAL : Bloody Sunday

  On the same day, 28 people were killed and 65 wounded in a suicide bombing near an imambargah (mosque) in Quetta, 17 people were killed and 46 wounded in a car bomb attack on a Frontier Corps (FC) convoy in Badaber in the outskirts of Peshawar, and eight people were killed and 12 wounded in bomb attacks in South ...

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Pakistan — no country for foreign journalists

A REPORTER After having lived in Islamabad for five and a half years, Rezaul Hasan Lashkar had to pack up and leave in just a little over two weeks. His sin – he was an Indian and a journalist reporting on Pakistan. And one hot day in the middle of June he was informed that his presence was no longer ...

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EDITORIAL: A report on atrocities

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has compiled a report basedupon its recent fact finding mission to the restive province of Balochistan. The revelations contained in the report are nothing new. It speaks of how human rights abuses continue unabated in the province, how the people have hope in the newly elected democratic government but still hold the intelligence ...

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