QUETTA: Nawab Ayaz Khan Jogezai, central secretary of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and convener of the Pashtunkhwa Jirga, has said Pashtoons are at a critical crossroads, facing the threat of death ahead and hunger behind.

Speaking at the concluding session of a two-day public and tribal jirga in Zhob division, Mr Jogezai said the only way to confront this grave situation is to create political awareness, unity and solidarity among the people.

He said he had 29 samples of different minerals in his office which have been found in the Pashtun belt of Balochistan alone, “but this is a pity that our children work in these minerals’ mines as labourers as there is no processing plant or industry to make finished products from these minerals in Balochistan”.

He gave the example of development and progress of China and Japan, and said that China gained independence later than us, and Japan was attacked with two nuclear bombs by the US, but today both nations are political and economic powers of the world.

He said that in the Pashtun and Baloch areas of Balochistan, the child mortality rate is the highest, and the primary cause of this is the lack of access to proper food and healthcare services.

“Our situation has become like that of African nations, where despite the presence of valuable minerals, the people are not prosperous and they are facing bloodshed and hunger,” the PkMAP leader said.

He said that in Qilla Abdullah and Pishin, 125,000 acres of land has been allotted to a non-local person “and that will result our children working as labourers in the mines beneath that land”.

He also discussed a recent strange security related incident in Gwal Haider Zai area of Qilla Saifullah and said that when local people apprehended some suspicious people hired by the Frontier Corps for protection of a local contractor’s camp, the FC high-ups when contacted, denied recognising these people.

This situation has made the people of the area confused as they do not know as to who is working for whom in their areas. To address this serious political and security situation, the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party has started holding public jirgas in different areas of Balochistan, he said.

Mr Jogezai announced that after Zhob, similar jirgas will be held in Sibi and Quetta divisions and public committees will be formed at district and local levels.

Concluding his speech, the PkMAP leader said: “Supporting the oppressed and confronting the oppressor is an Islamic duty and a requirement of Pashtunwali. The Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party has fulfilled this duty and it will continue to do so. The Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party is committed to continuing the struggle for the rights of Pashtuns and it will make every possible effort to address problems of the common people,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2024