Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed that there was no political presence in Balochistan and the process of “pulling people off buses and killing Punjabis” has been ongoing for several years.

“There is no political presence in Balochistan. Would have been better if Dr Malik or Mengal were chief minister,” he said in an interview with Dawn News.

He was responding to Monday’s spate of terrorist attacks in Balochistan where the majority of the civilians were killed after their identity check. The deceased belonged to Punjab. The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday midnight across the province. They also targeted security personnel.

They stormed police stations, blew up railway tracks, and set fire to almost three dozen vehicles.

According to Asif, the nationalist parties in Balochistan also need to play their role for peace. Expressing concerns over the province’s situation, he said that an educated woman blew herself while mentioning the Karachi University blast.

“Political actions are needed to end these trends, party leaders or elected representatives should be visible in their constituencies, and the forces should take action against other elements,” he said.

Regarding the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, the defence minister said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be invited to Pakistan, but the SCO “will not accept any conditions from him.”

On the postponement of the PTI rally in Islamabad, Asif said the signals for postponing the rally came from the PTI itself.

He claimed that Aleema Khan was a “strong voice” in the party and the latter had a dispute with former first lady Bushra Bibi.