Opposition alliance warns of deepening crisis in Balochistan and AJK

ISLAMABAD: Leaders of the Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan on Friday demanded accountability over recent violence in Balochistan and warned that the situation in both Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) could worsen if the government continued to avoid dialogue and political course correction.

The Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan is a multi-party opposition alliance led by Mahmood Khan Achakzai. It was launched as a six-party bloc including PTI, BNP-M, PkMAP, MWM, SIC and Jamaat-i-Islami, though later opposition gatherings have also included other political figures and parties.

Addressing a press conference at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief and Opposition leader Achakzai said the alliance had reviewed recent terrorist incidents in Balochistan and the situation in Kashmir before addressing the media.

Referring to the Ziarat incident which claimed at least 40 lives including 18 policemen, Achakzai alleged that security personnel had been sent to the area with “insufficient ammunition” and that their calls for support were “not acted upon in time”.

“Forty people have been killed here, but no one has been questioned,” he said, demanding the removal of officials responsible for failing to send timely help.

Achakzai said the alliance was not against Pakistan but wanted the federation to recognise the rights of its people. He said Kashmir’s resources belonged to Kashmiris, while Balochistan’s resources first belonged to the Baloch people.

Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said the country was facing a crisis of justice, citing enforced disappearances, arrests and prolonged detentions.

“How long will this cycle of oppression continue?” he asked, adding that the alliance stood with the families of those killed in Balochistan.

BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal said the situation in Balochistan and Kashmir was deteriorating and warned that government indifference would deepen the crisis.

“The issues of Balochistan, Kashmir and other disputed regions cannot be resolved without dialogue,” Mengal said.

He demanded that missing persons be recovered and produced before courts if alive. “If they have been killed, their families should be informed,” he added.

Senior lawyer and PTI leader Latif Khosa warned that the country risked repeating past mistakes if grievances in Balochistan were ignored.

“The politics of batons and bullets did not work in the past, and it will not work today,” he said, calling for an independent judiciary, free expression and transparent elections.

Former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair criticised the government’s economic performance, saying inflation, unemployment and weak investment had placed pressure on ordinary citizens.

“Economic indicators are going down, growth is zero, and yet claims of progress are being made,” he said.

Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the alliance had agreed on a set of demands, including the resignation of the Balochistan government, an end to alleged support for armed groups and the release of political prisoners.

“Our first demand is that the entire Balochistan government should resign, because every citizen of Balochistan is grieving,” Khokhar said.

On Kashmir, he said the alliance supported postponement of the upcoming elections, arguing that conditions were not suitable. “Elections in Kashmir can make the situation worse. There is a fear of bloodshed,” he said.

Khokhar said the alliance would announce a schedule for public rallies after consultations with allied parties. He added that protests would also be held on August 5, marking three years since the imprisonment of the PTI founder Imran Khan.