PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has called for "anti-state" protesters in Balochistan to be dealt with strictly.

His statement follows shutter-down strikes in various cities of Balochistan over the recent arrests of Baloch Yakjehti Committee's (BYC) leadership and a crackdown on its sit-in in Quetta against alleged enforced disappearances in the province.

BYC chief organiser Dr Mahrang Baloch and 16 other activists were arrested from their protest camp at Quetta's Sariab Road on Saturday, a day after they claimed that three protesters had died due to police action.

The PPP leader - whose party is in power in Balochistan - said: "I definitely think that whoever is against Pakistan or the state should be dealt with full-fledged strictness."

He added that the state would have make a decision now. "We will have to abandon leniency and be strict. I don't think a person who is anti-state or resorting to injustice can be dealt with leniently," the KP governor said.

He highlighted there were "performances every day" in Balochistan of late, to which the host asked him if he meant the protests by Mahrang, but Kundi replied that he did not wish to provide them "fame by mentioning any names".

Asked if he would prioritise holding a dialogue, the PPP leader said, "I do not think that these beings [...] the agenda they are working on [can be dealt] with dialogue."

However, answering a query on possible talks with veteran politician MNA Akhtar Mengal, Kundi said he was in favour of such a process "if senior people believe we can work together for Pakistan's improvement".

"But if they want Pakistan not to prosper and their agenda to rule; this cannot happen," the KP governor added. Speaking about counterterrorism in his province, Kundi clarified that no plans for a military operation in KP came under discussion in the recent meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).

The high-level security moot on March 18 - chaired by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq - was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, senior political leaders, military officials and intelligence representatives.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 25 2025

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