Former senator Nawabzada Mir Haji Lashkari Raisani has accused Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti of acting as a representative of the Pakistani military’s media wing rather than the public.
“Sarfraz is not a public representative; he is a representative of ISPR,” Raisani said, alleging that Bugti was being used to advance the military’s position.
He also criticised what he described as the chief minister’s increasingly hard-line tone.
Referring to a recent jirga held in Islamabad, Raisani said those who attended had effectively accepted that the state would not address the rights of the people and would instead pursue a policy of coercion.
He warned that those involved would be held responsible for any bloodshed and destruction resulting from that policy.
Raisani said the people of Mastung had consistently stood by their political principles and were now being punished through threats to cut down their orchards and trees.
He said he had appealed to the United Nations over what he described as an emerging crisis of internally displaced persons in Balochistan.
Referring to historical cooperation between Baloch and Pashtun nations, Raisani said the two peoples had fought together under Ahmad Shah Abdali and later under Mirwais Hotak.
He said he had no objection to the use of the term “Southern Pashtunkhwa” and expressed hope that Mahmood Khan’s political agenda would serve the interests of the Pashtun people.
Asked about a reported drone attack on his residence in Mehrgarh, Raisani said the house had been damaged.
He reiterated his demand that Balochistan be granted what he described as its historical rights.
“We are also people of this land and will endure this pain, but we will not give up our national authority and rights.”
Raisani further warned that those acting as facilitators for the state would eventually have to answer for the bloodshed, suffering and losses resulting from the ongoing situation.