“ Kal bi Bhutto katal tha …aaj bi Bhutto katal hey”
I could not overlook a placard in the hands of three young girls in front of Quetta Press Club today during a protest rally:
“ Kal bi Bhutto katal tha …aaj bhi Bhutto katal hey”
[ Bhutto was a murderer yesterday…Bhutto is a murderer today].
The girls, who carried this placard, were Baloch from the Marri tribe whose town, New Kahan, in the outskirts of Quetta, had been raided by the Pakistan Army two days ago. The slogan inscribed on the placard was in response to the popular slogan of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which says:
“Kal bi Bhutto zinda tha …aaj bhi Bhutto zinda hey”
[Bhutto lived yesterday… Bhutto lives today]
There are different dimensions of Bhuttoism. But Bhutto lives in Balochistan with both faces. He is alive. He is a killer. The ladies should have in fact said that Bhutto was alive yester day as a killer and (s)he is alive today as a killer. The PPP has not changed its policy of genocide towards Baloch people. One does not still understand what the actual need was for conducting a raid in New Kahan two days ago.
Now that the Baloch armed groups have announced a unilateral ceasefire, one sees no justification for such an unprovoked act. It was simply a very wrong decision taken by whosoever that took it.
The silence of Baloch Governor, Chief Minister and the Baloch nationalists over unprovoked search operation is disappointing. I have been to New Kahan and seen kids roaming with bare feet. They don’t have access to clean drinking water. Their mud houses do not have electricity. They have no hopes to get medical facilities. How come these people pose a threat to Pakistan? This operation was simply wrong and inhuman.
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