A number of articles by Mir Muhammad Ali Talpur have appeared in various English dailies, casting aspersions on the ongoing development activities and the establishment of defence facilities in Balochistan. Mir Muhammad Ali Talpur is a Baloch nationalist writer who has been away more than a decade during which he stayed in US. He has recently returned to Pakistan. Widely regarded as a learned man, Mr. Talpur is on forefront of the current wave against the federation in his native Balochistan and is spearheading the intellectual onslaught of the Baloch radicals against the Centre. His view is that the mega projects Islamabad proclaims so much were planned to deprive the Baloch people of their natural resources while the Armed Forces of Pakistan played the role of robbers. His tone is charged with emotions, his tenor totally rebellious. He laments the fact that the land of Balochistan is being used for building cantonments or ranges to test-fire missile. He also attracts the world attention to exploitation of his land demanding abandonment of various mega-mining projects to avoid environmental devastation. Playing the tune of the enemies of Pakistan, Mr. Talpur advocates a ban on sale of weapons to Islamabad "as these weapons are being used against the people of Balochistan and FATA". Notwithstanding the ill-intentioned views of the author, it appears that he has access to some official sources for getting information and data regarding projects relating to development of the province and requirements of the armed forces stationed here. It seems Mr Talpur is being fed this exclusive information by CIA or RAW. While there is a need to counter such insidious propaganda, the origin or source centres of such people also need to be tracked and choked. The Baloch figures on the extreme fringe also need to be convinced of the wrong-headedness of their pernicious view and asked to eschew the path of rebellion. There is no issue in the world that cannot be resolved through dialogue and political struggle. -F.Z. KHAN, Islamabad, via e-mail, December 23.