QUETTA - Fazila Baloch, the wife of Baloch militant leader Allah Nazar, along with her daughter was released by the Balochistan government on Friday.
The women and children taken into custody by the security forces from Balochistan border city of Chaman on October 30 were released on the orders of the provincial government.
“The spouses and children of Dr Allah Nazar Baloch and Aslam Achu, militant leaders, have been freed,” Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti said, addressing a press conference at the CM House on Friday.
The home minister regretted a propaganda campaign was launched on the social media against the security forces for rounding up women and children of Dr Allah Nazar and AslammAchu and their detention was treated against the established norms of the province.
“Dr Allah Nazar Baloch heads the outlawed Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) in Balochistan, which targets not only the state installations but also spearheads attacks on the security forces and challenges writ of the state.
“On October 30, the security forces took women and children of Dr Allah Nazar and Aslam Achu into custody at Chaman border while crossing into Afghanistan illegally,” revealed Bugti.
He added during the interrogation, it was found these women were involved in distributing funds among the banned organisations of Baloch Liberation Front and Baloch Liberation Army.
Sarfraz Bugti told the media that the wife of Allah Nazar has left for Karachi along with her brother Meharullah.
Bugti alleged these people were using the Afghan soil against Pakistan, but the chief minister directed him to release the women and children taken into custody from the Chaman border.
Responding to a query about the killing of Dr Allah Nazar, the Balochistan home minister said he had no confirmed report in this regard. Reportedly, Allah Nazar had fled to Afghanistan, Bugti said.
Bugti was quoted as saying there were directives of the federal government to Frontier Corps to strengthen border management, as a result of which 11,000 people had been detained while illegally entering Afghganistan.
Earlier, the released women and children called on Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri who gave them Balochi shawls and rewards.
PILGRIMS REMAIN STUCK AT BORDER
A convoy of pilgrims from Punjab going to holy places in Iran and Iraq has been stuck at the Sindh-Balochistan border for the second consecutive day because the provincial government has not given it security clearance.
Women and children are also in the convoy, which had left Quetta five days ago. The pilgrims told the media that they had all legal travel documents, but the Balochistan government was not allowing them to go ahead. “All these pilgrims want to go to Karbala to attend the Chehlum of Karbala martyrs that is just a few days away,” said one of the pilgrims.
The pilgrims also staged a sit-in to raise the issue. Naseerabad DIG Mir Hussain Ahmed Lehri and Jaffarabad DPO Tariq Elahi reached the Sindh-Balochistan border for talks with the pilgrims. They told the convoy leaders that there was an immigration issue in Taftan; therefore, thousands of pilgrims were awaiting immigration.
The Balochistan government said it was providing security to pilgrims up to Taftan from where they were leaving for Iraq and Iran. According to the Home Department, more than 30,000 pilgrims have reached Taftan by 550 busses from Quetta after coving a distance of 700 kilometres.
The home department said 1,500 pilgrims are brought to Taftan border from Quetta every day. The provincial government however took the plea that the burgeoning number of pilgrims this year can create problems for them. The government said that no more pilgrims would attend the Chehlum in Karbala.