Baloch nationalists on Monday apparently disassociated themselves from Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) a day after the government banned the organisation for its alleged involvement in terrorist activities in the province.
They condemned the move 'half-heartedly' and termed it a design to curb a political movement they claimed was gaining momentum for provincial autonomy.
"Islamabad is scared of both Balochistan and Baloch people and it can go to any extent to demoralise those who dare to raise voice against exploitation," Senator Sanaullah Baloch of Balochistan National Party (BNP) said when asked to comment on the government move to ban BLA and objectives behind it.
Sanaullah was quick to add: "It (the ban) is a move aimed at terrorising genuine political organisations struggling to pull Balochistan out of the jaws of exploitation." Baloch was talking to Business Recorder on telephone from Quetta.
Asked whether there existed any such organisation in the province and whether nationalists owned or backed it, he tried to skip the question and said the government should make public if it had any information in this regard.
"It would have been better had the government first tell people what the BLA is, who are its members, what is it fighting for," Sanaullah, a firebrand Baloch nationalist, told Business Recorder.
Another BNP MNA Abdul Rauf Mengal also attempted to distance himself from BLA and evaded when this correspondent asked whether his party had any link with the organisation.
"I can only tell you this government is not interested in resolving Balochistan issue," Mengal said. Rather, he added, Islamabad was making the issue more complicated by such moves. Both Sanaullah and Mengal also refused to comment on the surrender of armed men allegedly belonging to Nawab Akbar Bugti's personal army. "Only people belonging to Bugti's party (Jamhoori Watan Party) can tell you about this," commented Sanaullah and repeated Mengal.
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