Pakistan: PPP to raise in NA issue of migration from Balochistan

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The Pakistan Peoples Party has decided to raise in the National Assembly the issue of unprecedented migration of people of different communities from Balochistan.

The PPP’s legislators Dr Nafisa Shah, Shahida Rehmani, Dr Azra Fazal, Imran Zafar Leghari and Ejaz Hussain Jakhrani have submitted a call attention notice to the National Assembly Secretariat about the reported migration of over 300,000 people from Balochistan. They said lack of response from the government over the serious matter was a cause for concern. “We want to know why such a huge number of people have migrated from Balochistan and what steps are being taken by the government to deal with the situation,” Mr Leghari told Dawn.

He agreed that people had begun to migrate from the province during the tenure of the PPP-led government, but said the problem grew worse in the last 18 months.

The MNA said the PPP wanted to know about the government’s point of view on the crisis.He said it was the general impression that people were leaving Balochistan because of the poor security situation there.

“If this is true then why the government does not hold negotiations with the elements involved in killing innocent people. If negotiations can be held with the Taliban then why not with Baloch separatists and tribal people,” he added.

Mr Leghari said there were intelligence reports that India was involved in the unrest and patronising extremists and terrorists there. He said the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had failed to raise the issue at the national and international forums. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), more than 300,000 people, including Shias and Hindus, have fled Balochistan over the past 10 years due to the growing unrest there.

Media reports quoted an office-bearer of the HRCP as saying that Hazaras were hit particularly badly by the unrest, with over 200,000 of the community’s members relocating to the country’s other areas or going abroad.

At least 24 Hazara pilgrims were killed in June when their bus was targeted by suicide bombers. Two devastating bombings in Quetta targeting Shias killed nearly 200 people last year. The responsibility for the attacks was claimed by Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.

Around 10,000 Hindus have reportedly migrated from areas of Balochistan after incidents of extortion, kidnapping for ransom and killing.

About 300 Parsi families and 400 members of the Zikri sect have also left the province. Another 90,000 people who fled from the province are from Punjabi or Urdu speaking families.