London -- 13 November 2000
The Convenor of PONM and the President of Balochistan National Party, Sardar Ataullah Mengal, the Chairman of Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party Mr Mahmood Khan Achakzai and MQM Founder and Leader Mr Altaf Hussain in their joint statement have condemned the act of the present government of disconnecting power supply to the tube wells in Balochistan. They stated that the Punjabi Establishment having denied the fundamental rights to the people of smaller provinces are also adopting novel methods of atrocities upon them. They pointed out that the people of Balochistan are already living in desperate conditions because they have been deprived of the use of the resources of their own province. The unprecedented price hikes in the electricity rates and disconnection of supplies to vital areas is tantamount to denial of life to the people of Balochistan. And when they raised their voice against these atrocities, the government instead of listening to their grievances, act in a despotic manner and disconnect their power supplies. Even the tube wells of those have been disconnected who have paid their dues on time. It is usual practice of the Punjabi Establishment to blame the leaders of the smaller provinces for their calamities, but the three leaders asked who was responsible for this particular atrocity upon the people of Balochistan? It appears that the Punjabi Establishment wants to take away the right to life from the people of smaller provinces. While commenting about the hike in the rates of electricity in Karachi, the leaders pointed that this has caused great crisis for ordinary people in that city. Already interior Sindh and Balochistan have been subjected to draught and by disconnecting the electric supply to the tube wells, the Establishment has caused havoc to these people. The Establishment should have listened to the grievances of the people of Balochistan but instead they have adopted a confrontational method because the Punjab considers the smaller provinces as its colonies. The three leaders pointed out that a similar mindset in the past caused the former East Pakistan to become Bangladesh. Instead of learning lessons from past mistakes, the Punjabi Establishment continues to try to treat the smaller provinces with the same mindset leading the country to the verge of disaster. Finally, the three leaders demanded the government to restore the electricity supply to the tube wells in Balochistan and accept the genuine demands of the people of smaller provinces.