Balochistan Has Become a Graveyard Due to Federal Policies, Says Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman Baloch
PASNI: Jamaat-e-Islami Balochistan Emir and provincial assembly member Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman Baloch has strongly criticised federal policies, alleging that Balochistan is being treated as a colony rather than a province.
Addressing a press conference at the Pasni Press Club, Hidayat-ur-Rehman said the real issue facing Balochistan was Islamabad. He alleged that federal policies had turned the province into a “graveyard” and deprived its people of political and democratic rights.
He claimed that the Balochistan Assembly was powerless and that, in some areas, a subedar wielded more influence than elected representatives. He alleged that democratic freedoms were severely restricted and that parliamentarians and elected representatives had limited authority.
The JI leader said he had raised the issues of not only Gwadar but the entire province on the floor of the Balochistan Assembly. He claimed that he had repeatedly been removed from the assembly floor after speaking against alleged injustices.
Hidayat-ur-Rehman said he was the only elected provincial assembly member from Balochistan whose membership had been suspended and that three cases had also been registered against him. He maintained that he had stood with the people in the past and would continue raising his voice for their rights.
He said efforts had been made to curb corruption and nepotism in Gwadar and to address the problems faced by fishermen, although he had encountered significant difficulties in doing so.
According to Hidayat-ur-Rehman, the Balochistan bureaucracy had refused to recognise him as the elected representative of Gwadar for nearly a year, forcing him to spend considerable time asserting his mandate.
He said that despite these challenges, he had continued working for the people of Gwadar and would keep striving to improve education, healthcare and other basic facilities. He also pledged continued support for the protection and rights of Gwadar’s fishermen.
The JI leader said the federal system in Pakistan was not limited to individual political leaders but represented a broader structure centred in Islamabad. He alleged that federal policies were responsible for the deterioration of conditions in Balochistan.
He further alleged that the same approach was now being imposed on Gwadar in an attempt to bring the area under greater federal control. However, he said, the people of Gwadar did not want to remain under federal administration and wanted to remain part of Balochistan as a provincial unit.
