Not Naming Terrorists Over Fear Is Wrong, Says Balochistan Home Minister
QUETTA: Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langau has strongly reacted to Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s remarks about the Saranan attack, accusing political leaders of avoiding the names of terrorist organisations out of fear and concealing facts from the Pashtun community.
Speaking to the media, Langau said a terrorist organisation had already claimed responsibility for the Saranan attack and had also released photographs related to the incident.
Criticising Achakzai, the provincial home minister alleged that avoiding the names of terrorist groups because of fear for one’s life amounted to misleading the public. He said concealing the facts from Pashtuns was not an act of friendship but rather hostility towards them.
Langau said political leaders had often been seen taking “shortcuts” by placing responsibility for every incident on the government, which, he claimed, damaged the reputation of the country and state.
He added that some leaders were reluctant to name terrorist organisations because they feared for their own safety, instead hiding the facts from the public and putting the entire blame on the government.
“The truth is known to the whole world,” Langau said, adding that those who considered themselves leaders should not be afraid.
He said a genuine leader should come forward, lead the people and communicate the truth to them.
The provincial home minister also called on Mahmood Khan Achakzai and other Pashtun leaders to raise their voices for the development and prosperity of the Pashtun people.
He said efforts to bring Pashtuns on a par with other nations in accordance with the demands of the modern world were welcome and would benefit not only the Pashtun community but the wider world as well.
However, Langau maintained that concealing facts and truth from Pashtuns and leading them in the wrong direction could not be described as friendship with the Pashtun people, but amounted to “open hostility” towards them.
