QUETTA: President of the National Party (NP) Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo has said that Balochistan has become a hub of “international conspiracies” as “external forces” are involved in destroying peace in the province.

Speaking at a meeting of the central executive committee of the party here on Saturday, he stressed the need for courageous action to foil the conspiracies. “We will not allow anyone to implement his nefarious designs on the land of Balochistan.”

The meeting was attended by members of the committee, parliamentarians belonging to the NP and leaders of the party from the four provinces.

It discussed different issues, including law and order situation in Balochistan, incidents of killing of NP leaders and supporters and the party’s organisational affairs.

Hasil Bizenjo says ‘external forces’ are involved in disturbance of peace in the province

The meeting paid tribute to the lawyers and other victims of the Aug 8 Quetta carnage and termed the deaths a great loss for Balochistan.

“It will take dozens of years to fill the vacuum created by the death of those lawyers who were also intellectuals and acted as think tanks for Balochistan,” the meeting observed.

Mr Bizenjo, who is also federal minister for ports and shipping, said that people of the province were facing multiple challenges, including terrorism, extremism and poverty. “We all will have to play our due role to solve the problems,” he said.

He said that “negative forces” were uniting against the NP and underlined the need for preparing the party’s ideological workers to meet the challenge through spreading the party’s programme and ideology among the masses.

“It is the responsibility of the party’s leaders and workers to shun minor differences and jointly work to make the NP a stronger party, Mr Bizenjo said.

He said that the NP was a mainstream party of the country which had roots in the four federating units. “The party is the hope of people.”

Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, former chief of the party, said that the NP was struggling for protection of “national and economic rights” and the coast and resources of Balochistan.

He urged the party workers to prepare themselves for facing coming challenges.

The former chief minister said that he would soon visit different areas of Balochistan, particularly its eastern region, to launch a mass contact campaign.

Akram Dashti, president of the provincial chapter of the party, and other leaders also spoke at the meeting.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2016