Islamabad, Apr 10 (UNI) Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been asked to tackle the Balochistan insurgency, which has been worsening day by day, despite attempts to resolve the issue.
The call came from a delegation of the National Party (NP), led by party president Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, amid the Balochistan National Party-Mengal's (BNP-M) sit-in, which on Wednesday entered its 12th consecutive day, according to the Express Tribune.
Nawaz Sharif, President of the reigning Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has called for a “political solution” to the issues in Balochistan, and vowed to play a key political and democratic role in fostering peace in the province, which is gripped with turmoil, according to Dawn.
Sharif made this statement during a meeting with former Balochistan Chief Minister and National Party President Abdul Malik Baloch at his Jati Umra residence on Wednesday, a day after army chief Gen Asim Munir assured foreign investors that Pakistan would provide robust security to protect their interest amid heightened unrest in the mineral-rich province.
The former Balochistan CM said that Sharif assured him he would personally take interest in the matters of the province.
“I told Mr Sharif that his role is crucial given the current situation in Balochistan. We held an in-depth discussion on the political affairs of the province. There is an ongoing sit-in in Balochistan, and many people are imprisoned. Nawaz Sharif should play his part in resolving these issues,” the former CM said, adding that the elder Sharif agreed to play his role.
He was referring to the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) sit-in led by Sardar Akhtar Mengal against the arrest of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders and activists, including Mahrang Baloch, and a police crackdown on their sit-in in Quetta,
Talking to reporters after the meeting in Lahore, PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique said that Dr Baloch shared his views and requested that Nawaz Sharif play an active role in resolving the issues of Balochistan.
“Nawaz Sharif assured that he would play his political and democratic role in promoting peace in Balochistan. When Nawaz Sharif was prime minister and Abdul Malik Baloch was CM, Balochistan that era witnessed development. Unfortunately, democracy was disrupted that led to the current situation,” Rafique said, adding that Sharif had assured him that he would personally take interest in resolving the Balochistan issues.
The Baloch insurgency recently saw fighters from the separatist Baloch nationalist group – the Balochistan Liberation Party – hijacking a train filled with citizens and military personnel, and then engaging in gun fights with Pakistani security forces, that left many personnel dead.
Despite the attempts of the Pakistan Army and its paramilitary force – the Frontier Corps which is responsible for law and order in the province, there has been no progress, as the BLA has killed several officers and has been targeting all Chinese infrastructure in the province.

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