Quetta: Balochistan’s Minister for Public Health Engineering and WASA, Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, has said that the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) cannot be brought into the national mainstream through negotiations, alleging that members of the group are involved in extortion from companies operating in Balochistan.
In an interview with Independent Urdu, Khetran claimed that individuals linked to the BLA are allegedly collecting millions of rupees in extortion from companies working in Balochistan. He said that although security agencies are conducting effective operations, lasting peace has not been fully established due to what he described as leniency in dealing with the group.
Khetran stated that the BLA is not willing to abandon violence through dialogue. He added that military operations have significantly weakened the group, but claimed that when the state shows restraint, the militants take undue advantage of it. “Unless decisive action is taken against them, they cannot be prevented from taking up arms,” he said.
Commenting on provincial governance, Khetran acknowledged shortcomings in the performance of the Balochistan government, saying it had not met expectations. He also referred to the power-sharing arrangement under which the office of the Chief Minister is rotated, with the Pakistan Peoples Party previously holding the post and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) expected to take over.
It is noteworthy that Baloch armed groups maintain the position that Pakistan is occupying Balochistan and claim they are fighting as a national force to end what they describe as occupation. These groups have stated that their armed struggle will continue until they achieve what they consider complete independence of Balochistan.
