Sherry welcomes ceasefire in Balochistan Says it is vindication of PPP stance

Federal Information Minister Sherry Rehman said on Wednesday that the announcement by the Balochistan militant organisations to suspend their activities for indefinite period would help restore peace in the province.

"Our government has repeatedly stressed that violence is not answer to the problems of Balochistan, which are essentially political in nature," she said while talking to newsmen here. She said the announcement vindicates the government's stand that violence in Balochistan was the result of injustices perpetrated by the previous regime. "This is the key difference between a political government and a non-representative regime as a political government will always strive for negotiations and all political forces will be receptive to its efforts because of its legitimate position," she added.

She said the PPP government's message of reconciliation has received a very positive response from the people of Balochistan as well as the political leadership of the province. She said the government firmly believes that the country's stability lies in reconciliation and we want to work with all the political forces to address the grievances of their constituencies and move together on a progressive path.

She said the previous government's policy of confrontation had brought the situation to a point of no return, causing incalculable damage to the nation. "The province has long been kept low on the priority list of the earlier regimes because of its small population," she added.

She said this approach itself is fraught with risks because it seeks to alienate a certain section of the population on the basis of its numerical strength. "As we have all seen, it has only widened the Centre-Balochistan rift," she added.

She said that healing the wounds of the bleeding province has been the top priority of the government as well as the PPP. "Starting from tendering an apology to the province on behalf of Pakistan by the party's Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, our government took forward the agenda of reconciliation to start a process of dialogue with the political leadership of the province," she added.

She said cases against Sardar Akhter Mengal and Shahzain Bugti were withdrawn and they were released within weeks after the PPP government took over. She said the prime minister has reiterated the government's commitment to redress the grievances of the province.

She said that the measures announced by the government last week, including removing of FC checkposts, directing law enforcement agencies to work under the chief minister, releasing political prisoners and withdrawing non-criminal cases against them, are in response to the long-standing demands of the province. "The government has an obligation to address all legitimate demands of the province."