QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti has said Pakistan has emerged as a prominent global power after beginning its journey 79 years ago from scratch, adding that the country’s growing strategic importance was reflected in the defence agreements being signed with Pakistan.
Addressing an Independence Day ceremony held at the Balochistan Assembly lawns, the chief minister said Pakistan is now a nuclear power and the world is looking towards it. He paid tribute to President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for their leadership, saying the country is moving towards progress under their guidance.
Mr Bugti said Balochistan had its own peculiar circumstances, but the enthusiasm with which Independence Day is being celebrated across the province — from districts and divisions to villages and tehsils — clearly demonstrates the people’s attachment to and love for Pakistan. He rejected claims that Balochistan is moving away from Pakistan, saying those who believe that terrorist elements could break the country through violence are “living in a fool’s paradise”. The people of Balochistan, he said, had dispelled such negative claims through their participation in Independence Day celebrations.
The chief minister said the doors of the state and government had always remained open and would continue to remain open. He once again invited those involved in violence and terrorism to abandon the path of violence and return to the national mainstream.
“No ideology can be imposed through the barrel of a gun,” Mr Bugti said, adding that terrorist elements had pushed the Baloch people into a futile conflict and must abandon that path.
He made it clear if violence continued, the writ of the state would be enforced at all costs. The Balochistan government, security forces, Pakistan Army and Balochistan Police, he said, are not prepared to retreat even a single step in establishing the state’s writ.
He said the government is always ready for legitimate political engagement and dialogue, but negotiations could not be held with elements involved in killing innocent civilians. Examples from around the world showed that successful negotiations had taken place with forces willing to become part of the political process, not with terrorist groups, he added.
Mr Bugti stressed that bringing Balochistan’s youth into the national mainstream is an urgent priority. The provincial government, he said, is taking several measures to achieve this objective, with meritocracy serving as the key mechanism for providing equal opportunities.
The chief minister paid rich tribute to the Balochistan Police, Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps Balochistan and all civilian martyrs, assuring their families that their grief was shared by the entire province. He said their sacrifices would be remembered forever and that the state would always remain indebted to the blood of its martyrs.
He said the participation of guests from the Senate, National Assembly and other provincial assemblies, including Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and representatives from Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, conveyed a strong message of national unity and solidarity.
“Balochistan is the heart of Pakistan. Pakistan is incomplete without Balochistan, and Balochistan has no fulfilment without Pakistan,” he said. Mr Bugti prayed for lasting peace in Pakistan so that all sections of society could live with security and dignity. He also congratulated the nation and people of Balochistan on Independence Day.
Appreciating patriotic songs performed by children from various schools at the ceremony, the chief minister announced Rs1 million as an encouragement award for the participating students.
