When Marri was asked how he would respond to the impression that he was the real man behind Balochistan's armed movement, he retorted with a loud laughter: Why are you asking me to confess my guilt at this old age? If I were younger, I would not be sitting and giving you an interview. I have always said that the real fighters are the ones who are doing it with weapons. I wish I were younger so that I would go straight to the hill and fight for the Baloch cause."
"Baloch are a big nation. We are fighting for Baloch national liberation. We want a Baloch State which is not dependent and subservient to any other nation. Within the Baloch, some people are fighting on the political front who believe that they can achieve their goals by participating in parliamentary politics but I subscribe to the other school of thought which talks of independence and supports the armed groups."
Citing his immaturity and lack of political sagacity at an earlier age, a disappointed Marri said now he regretted his participation in parliamentary politics on the platform of the National Awami Party, NAP, as it did not yield any fruits in terms of achieving the rights of his people.
Marri was asked if he would agree to talk to the government provided that all Baloch forces, including the BLA, nominated him as their chief negotiator for talks with Islamabad, he moved his thumbs down (meaning no way would he talk to Islamabad).
Immediately, however, he said if the BLA viewed him as the elder of the Baloch nation and asked him to sit on their behalf to talk to Islamabad then he would present his terms and conditions. When asked what those terms and conditions were, he replied with a single term: Punjabis must vacate Balochistan.
"The others issues are all domestic which could be discussed later on but the foremost thing is that Punjabis should quit Balochistan," he revealed, explaining, "The Punjabis view the Baloch as a very inferior people. They think we are not competitive in any domain of life. They say the Baloch can't fly an airplane. Thus, they justify their involvement in our matters by saying that they want to develop us. I keep asking who the hell they are to develop us. We are the masters of our land. Who are you to come and teach us? If we can't fly an airplane today, we will learn it after ten years. If we don't have qualified doctors today, we will have them tomorrow. But this does not provide you an excuse to exploit our resources on the name of development."
Image: A guerrilla from the Marri tribe fires a rockets at a Pakistani military position January 29, 2006 near Kahan in Balochistan. According to rebels, the Pakistani government takes Balochistan's vast natural resources but given little in return. Balochistan is the poorest province in Pakistan. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images
Also read: 'There's no greater place to live as a human being than the subcontinent'
Advertisement
