Staff Reporter Islamabad
Pakistan Muslim League-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz took a jibe at Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday for trying to redress grievances of angry Baloch and said the premier should first visit the often-targetted Hazara community.
Addressing a gathering in Gwadar a day earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan said he is mulling to hold talks with angry Baloch so that hostile elements, including India, could not use them to spread chaos.
“Balochs are as much Pakistani as you and I and [we should strive to] keep them bonded with the country. Their reservations should be addressed,” Maryam remarked.
She went on to add that the premier should have visited the Hazara community first before talking about taking the Baloch dissidents onboard.
“They were calling for you but you had said at the time that you wouldn’t be blackmailed by bodies,” she said while referring to an earlier protest by the community against the killing of their community members.
When asked about the government’s alleged backdoor contacts with Israel, she said, “I feel the same. A state’s foreign policy is not an individual’s policy.”
She further stated that foreign policy should not be viewed in light of the domestic political situation.
“You should first pay attention to [setting your] own home [in order]. [The rulers] shouldn’t lie to the people or deceive them,” she maintained.
The PML-N leader ruled out any deal with the establishment. “People bring up a ‘deal’ all the time,” she said and added, “Why would there be a deal and with whom.”
