Balochistan CM announces "general amnesty" for separatists

Balochistan [Pakistan], March 11 : Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti urged Baloch insurgents to quit violence and join mainstream politics, adding that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led government will announce a "general amnesty" to resolve the issue through dialogue, The News International reported.
The chief minister said he wanted to resolve the Balochistan insurgency through dialogue and his government was ready to hold dialogue with anyone ready for it, the report stated.
"Many assassination attempts were made on my life but I have forgiven all those (elements), as there is no flame of revenge in my heart," Bugti said.
"Although I am in power, it does not mean that I start settling personal scores... I did not have any personal feud with anyone," he added.
"We are announcing a general amnesty and reviving a peaceful Balochistan policy under which we will try that they (insurgents) become part of mainstream politics," Bugti said.
Bugti, who served as caretaker interior minister at the Centre before the February 8 elections, stressed that he has always stood by the state in its fight against separatists and has also lost his relatives, friends and colleagues in the conflict, according to The News International.
"But despite this, I don't have any revenge in my heart," he added.
CM Bugti also warned that if the Baloch insurgents don't become part of the mainstream and abandon violence, then he "has no other option but to establish the writ of the state".
However, the Balochistan CM refused to share the details of "general amnesty," adding that he would elaborate on the policy once things were finalised.
Responding to a question regarding the steps taken to ensure the recovery of missing persons, CM Bugti said the count of missing persons was "dicey", according to The News International.
He added that the federal government had formed a commission on missing persons, which has resolved 80 per cent of the cases.
"I am not giving any justification, as there is no justification even if a single person is missing," Bugti said.
The CM also said a "serious insurgency" was going on against the state in Balochistan, with about 70,000 to 80,000 people losing their lives in terror incidents in the country.
Many of the missing persons were killed in the terrorist incidents, he added.
CM Bugti added that Baloch separatists launched an insurgency against the state and sabotaged peace in the province, The News International reported.
"They rebelled against the state in a bid to disintegrate Pakistan. This issue is not only in Pakistan but the entire world," he said.
Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, released a report stating that militant attacks in Balochistan spiked by 72 per cent in February compared to January, totalling 57 attacks resulting in 42 deaths and 72 injuries.
January witnessed 33 attacks, resulting in 31 fatalities and 50 injuries.