Pakistani authorities produced Gulzar Imam alias Shambay before the media on Tuesday in Balochistan’s capital city of Quetta.
The key militant commander of the Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) was produced before the press at the Sikandar Jamali Auditorium in the Civil Secretariat. Home Minister Balochistan, Ziaullah Langove, and other government officials were also present on this occasion.
During the press conference, Imam said that the fight for the rights of Balochistan is possible only in constitutional and political terms.
“I am seeking an apology from the families of all those people who died in Balochistan from both sides during my tenure as an active commander”, Imam said.
Through the press conference, Shambay urged all the Baloch freedom fighters to surrender and adopt a peaceful life.
Shambay belongs to the Parom area of Balochistan’s Panjgur district. He started his political journey at a student union, the Baloch Students Organisation, later he joined the armed groups and remained a key commander until his arrest. The sudden shift in his statements is being seen as suspicious by Baloch nationalist circles. Many argue that either Shambay has been severely tortured, or blackmailed for his family members.
The media wing for the Pakistan armed forces, the ISPR claimed that Pakistani security forces have arrested the high-value target Gulzar Imam alias Shambay in an intelligence-based operation a few months back. While the BNA, Imam’s group claimed in a statement a few months earlier that Gulzar Imam was in the custody of the Pakistan Army for a year and was arrested from Turkey on May 3, 2022.
BNA in its statements expressed fear that the state of Pakistan would try to use Gulzar Imam against the liberation movement by torturing him and spreading negative propaganda against the movement.
Related: Arrest of Gulzar Imam: Implications for the Baloch National Struggle – TBP Editorial