By Irfan Ashraf
‘It is Pakistan who embraces us even after our notorious acts, no country in the West would ever witness that’, one of the Ferraris said while surrendering arms to the government of Balochistan. CM Zehri who said he himself has lost three of his beloveds in the wave of terrorism in the region spoke to these people with high hopes and assured them that he will support them in all possible ways and encouraged them to ask others to surrender.
The people who surrendered to the government were dissatisfied with what they were doing in the armed groups. They were denied basic rights and some of them were also going through major conflicts with the leadership. One of the Ferrari’s who spent 9 years with the armed group in Balochistan exchanged his views and sentiments as well as details of the activities he was involved in under his ex-leader. He said that he, in no way, will accept his generations to do what he did and requested government to not only provide for his children but also to bring justice for his brother who was killed by the same armed groups. He said that number of people working in the armed groups is more than what he could count and was also not sure if they will surrender likewise. He said that they (the armed leaders) won’t listen to their (Ferraris) call and will not surrender.
Another Ferrari said that we had to go through empty stomach for number of days. There was no comfort for these people whereas the leaders were enjoying a normal life. He said he knew nothing where the support for the leaders was coming from. While talking about the training, he said that he never went to Afghanistan for training as the commander used to visit them and train them wherever they were staying. One of the Ferrari’s Fazal Muhammad who was a commander of Balochistan Republican Army (BRA) for 11 years in Naseerabad pointed out at the negative propaganda and said that he was being told by the ex-leaders that Army will never forgive him. He had to gather a lot of courage to take this step. He also invited others to surrender and seemed hopeful about his upcoming life. Another one said that he owes a lot to Gen Raheel Sharif as his initiative gave them this unapparelled opportunity of choosing a new path.
This province enriched with natural resources has been on a continuous target list of the world’s agencies. One of such instances appeared with the revelation of Kulbushun Jadhav who infiltrated deadly and pervasive terrorism in the largest province of Pakistan, Balochistan. Jadhav directed terrorist activities at the behest of RAW; he carried out meetings with Baloch insurgents and instigated the Baloch Liberation Movement (BLM) against the peace and order situation of the country. The aftermath of his arrest speaks of his deadly insurgencies as the law and order situation of Balochistan saw a significant difference. In almost 1-yearmore than 2000 Ferraris have laid down arms to government. A ceremony held in Balochistan assembly witnessed 77 new Ferrari’s surrenderingto the government who along with more than 300 others were provided financial aid in form of packages for their rehabilitation.
The Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Zehri said that it is a good omen that a significant number of Ferraris have surrendered and we welcome them. He said that in form of 18th amendment the provinces are enjoying provincial autonomy and we are making the best use of it by such acts. He further added that those sitting in Switzerland and United Kingdom or any other lavish placeliving a luxurious life cannot hinder the peace of the country by exploiting these innocent people and using them for their evil ends.
One of those evil acts was the attack on Police Training center in Quetta that faced bloodshed as a result of heated wave of terrorism. Deputy Commander said that the Center built up the same morale and stood up even stronger. Almost seven hundred recruits were present in the hostel at that time and the remains of the blasts can still be seen outside the barracks that engulfed the innocent lives. The ruins in the Training Centre still speak of the dreadful intensity of those blasts that were planned to target as much people as possible. Deputy Commander said that first two blasts were not enough to satisfy the terrorists and the third terrorist exploded himself and engulfed the life of Captain Rooh Ullah. Most of the martyrs were around 18 years old, he said. The recruits never thought that the training of almost eight months will cost them their entire lives and to most of them their physical abilities. The recruits who thought to stand up for their country were left dependent due to the lifelong injuries. Balochistan police stood up steadier even after the attack and were on duty the very next day.
Balochistan police stood stronger and with the efforts of Army, the terrorists couldn’t reach the last barrack who remained untouched by the terrorists’attacks, Deputy Commander said.It speaks for the efforts of police and army who werecriticized for not being able to defend the training center. It also spoke of the strong preplanning of the terrorists and how army was still able to fight back these insurgents.
The continuous efforts of the law enforcing agencies have given hope to the victims of the aforementioned attack. They have struggled hard to bring them all the justice. And now the exit of these Ferraris from the militant groups has mended the path of peace and has provided hope not only to the Baloch community but to the entire country.