FC warned against mocking Baloch dresses

QUETTA, July 31: Nationalist groups would take strong action if Frontier Corps personnel continued to ridicule the Baloch dress code and insult Baloch elders and youths for wearing certain clothes, chief of the National Party Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said here on Friday.
Addressing a press conference, he said that Baloch people were being humiliated for wearing a different type of Shalwar-Kameez which was a serious matter.
He urged provincial government to take action against FC men who were victimising Baloch youths.
He accused the FC of turning Quetta into a war zone and said that the Baloch people faced the wrath of FC personnel whenever any incident occurred even in the city’s suburbs. He said that they had hoped that things would improve with the PPP-led government, but the situation had worsened in Balochistan. Instead of ending military operation and freeing political workers, the government had intensified punitive actions, he added.
He condemned target killings and said it was the responsibility of the government and law-enforcement agencies to arrest the culprits. Dr Malik said that although he was not prepared to to mediate between the government and militants, he would fully back talks to resolve the Balochistan issue. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/fc-warned-against-mocking-baloch-dresses-189

Senators concerned over FC ‘excesses’ against Baloch youth
The Daily Times, July 29, 2009
ISLAMABAD: Senators from Balochistan on Tuesday expressed concern over what they claimed “excesses” of the Frontier Constabulary against Baloch youth and demanded the government take notice of the situation.
Those who spoke on the issue on points of order included senators from the treasury and opposition. They said the already fragile law and order situation in the province would worsen if the government did not take corrective measures.
Senator Abdul Malik Baloch, who was the first to raise the issue, said that the Frontier Constabulary was picking up Baloch youth without registering cases against them and keeping them in custody.
“If this practice continues, the situation will deteriorate,” the senator warned.
Demands: Senator Ismail Buledi asked the government to immediately halt the operation by the Frontier Constabulary in Balochistan and produce the people still missing.
Federal Minister Israrullah Zehri went further, accusing government agencies of protecting the people involved in target killing instead of punishing them. Hasil Bezinjo said that on one side the government was talking of resolving problems of the people of Balochistan, while on the other, the Frontier Constabulary was “committing excesses against them, barging into their houses and picking up innocent people”.
Referring to a recent statement by Interior Minister Rehman Malik about the Baloch, Bezinjo said “There should be a difference between the policies of former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf and Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik. “The government should move forward and try to find solutions to the problems instead of having them suppressed by the Frontier Constabulary,” he said. /www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\07\29\story_29-7-2009_pg7_4