The Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Syed Munawar Hasan, has welcomed Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's announcement regarding troops withdrawal from Sui and Gowadar and termed it a step in the right direction.
General Kayani's statement that army would be withdrawn from Sui and Gowadar within two months and it won't take part in any operation in Balochistan in future, indicated the realisation that issues could not be solved through the use of force and military operation, he said in a statement here on Tuesday, adding that "it is better late than never."
Syed Munawar Hasan said it was the 5th military operation in Balochistan that had failed. These military operations had created hatred among the Baloch people for the army, the situation was quite serious and only the separatists had gained due to that.
The JI, he said, had always opposed the use of force against our own people, which distanced the nation from the armed forces. He said now that the armed forces had this realisation; military operation in Fata should also be stopped and troops also withdrawn from Swat and other tribal areas.
At the same time, he said, the federal government should take prompt measures for the restoration of peace in Balochistan and for setting the things right. In order to cool down the Baloch people, the murder case of Nawab Akbar Bugti should be registered against Pervez Mushrraf and the former general must be brought in the dock. Besides, the rights of the Balochis on the resources of the province should be accepted and duly granted.
Syed Munawar said General Kayani's statement that the armed forces could not defend the country alone, and the country would be strong only if the masses were strong was an irrefutable fact. Therefore, he said that to restore the public confidence and to overcome the distance between the two, Pakistan must withdraw from the so-called US war on terror, which in fact was the US war against Islam and Pakistan. Washington be told in clear terms that Pakistan could not kill its own countrymen in this war. The US drones and missiles, which were shedding innocent's blood, must be s topped.
The Army Chief, he said, had also talked of involvement of foreign hand in the Balochistan disturbances. Undoubtedly, it was India's hand which was training terrorists in its over two dozen Consulates on the Afghan-Pakistan border in Balochistan and sending them in Fata and Balochistan and also financing them. Surprisingly, he said, that the Pakistan government, in spite of clear evidence against India on this score, was keeping silent. He said this silence should end now and India's wicked and terrorist face should be exposed to the international community and suitable measures adopted to counter these terrorist and subversive activities.