Irresponsible Statements Adding Fuel to Balochistan Crisis, Says Senator Maulana Abdul Wasay
QUETTA: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Balochistan chief Senator Maulana Abdul Wasay and provincial General Secretary Agha Mahmood Shah have said that irresponsible statements amid the province’s deteriorating situation are “adding fuel to the fire” and urged those holding responsible positions to act with seriousness and restraint.
In a joint statement, the JUI-F leaders said Balochistan’s problems had become so complicated that issues which could have been addressed through serious national dialogue a decade ago had now become extremely difficult to resolve.
They warned that if the current approach continued, even space for dialogue on these issues could disappear in the future.
The leaders said the Balochistan issue had been treated since the 1970s not as a genuine political and national issue requiring a lasting solution, but as a matter of ego, stubbornness, political indifference and short-term interests.
As a result, they said, unrest, uncertainty and mistrust in the province had continued to grow.
They said the involvement of women in the ongoing conflict and the spread of violence from mountainous areas into markets and urban centres were clear signs of the seriousness of the crisis.
According to the JUI-F leaders, the fundamental cause of the crisis was the continued lack of seriousness and the persistence of flawed policies. They said practical proposals for a lasting solution had been presented in every era, but instead of addressing the core issues, authorities repeatedly ignored them and developed new justifications and artificial narratives.
They also described the “hybrid system” as a failed experiment, saying both the people and the state were paying a heavy price for it.
The leaders said the manner in which the public mandate had been disputed and undermined during the most recent general elections and previous electoral processes had contributed to the political unrest, instability and mistrust currently prevailing in Balochistan.
They argued that if the state genuinely wanted lasting peace, political stability and national unity in Balochistan, the solution did not lie in force or further political experiments. Instead, it required a functioning political process, respect for the public mandate, transparent, free and impartial elections, and restoration of the people’s right to govern.
The JUI-F leaders criticized attempts to malign political leadership and hold it responsible for all problems instead of reviewing government policies and decisions. They described such practices as contrary to democratic values and dangerous for the country’s political future.
They said political engineering, artificial majorities and transactional politics had repeatedly pushed Balochistan deeper into crisis.
The leaders stressed that the time had come to ensure that the Constitution, democracy, parliamentary supremacy and people’s authority were not compromised.
JUI-F Balochistan described the current situation as extremely alarming and made clear that dialogue and meaningful negotiations were the only viable path toward resolving the crisis.
They said the party had already offered cooperation for every positive and serious effort aimed at promoting peace, political stability and confidence-building in Balochistan despite its political reservations.
They maintained that narrowing the growing gap between Balochistan and the federal government required confidence-building measures, political dialogue and respect for public opinion.
The JUI-F leaders also rejected the narrative that parliament could not effectively resolve provincial issues, saying genuine public representation and strong parliamentary institutions provided the constitutional and political means to address such challenges.
They called for lessons to be learned from past mistakes and urged all stakeholders to prioritize serious negotiations, confidence-building and genuine public representation over confrontation, ego and political expediency.
