AWP General Secretary Bakhshal Thalho demands policy overhaul, an end to militarisation in the two provinces
News Desk
Islamabad: The Awami Workers Party (AWP) has expressed concern over the escalating violence in Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, including targeted killings, suicide bombings, enforced disappearances, and relentless military operations.
AWP general secretary Dr Bakhshal Thalho, in a media statement Wednesday, in the wake of yesterday’s militant attack on Bannu Cantonment, called for an urgent overhaul of state policy, warning that failure to act will plunge both provinces into outright civil war.
The AWP reiterated its long-standing demand for Pakistan to adopt a non-aligned and anti-imperialist foreign policy, ensuring that the Baloch and Pashtun populations were not sacrificed as pawns in a new era of ‘Great Power’ rivalry.
Thalho stated that the Bannu attack was part of a spiralling wave of violence by religious militants in Pakhtunkhwa, exposing the catastrophic consequences of the state’s support for the Afghan Taliban and so-called ‘good’ Taliban groups within Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the relentless militarisation of Balochistan, including the abhorrent practice of enforced disappearances, is fuelling an insurgency that garners increasing support among Baloch youth, he asserted.
He emphasised that the establishment’s suppression of peaceful and democratic politics had made it directly responsible for the deaths, displacements, and disappearances of thousands of innocent civilians.
“The AWP believes that the only viable solution to the bloodshed in Pakhtunkhwa is for the security establishment to abandon its misguided pursuit of a ‘friendly government’ in Kabul—a policy that has backfired spectacularly since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.”
He also called for a systematic overhaul of educational curricula, media, and other ideological tools that push youth toward religious extremism. “Instead, peaceful movements like the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) and Ulasi Pasoon must be given space to promote an alternative, democratic vision for Pashtun society.”
The AWP leader demanded an immediate end to the criminalisation of peaceful political mobilisation in Balochistan, particularly the repression faced by the women-led Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), which advocated for accountability regarding enforced disappearances and indiscriminate military operations.
The party also condemned the rising tide of ethnic violence against civilians, citing recent targeted killings in Balochistan’s Harnai and Barkhan areas as examples of deepening ethnic divides and a worsening cycle of violence.
The AWP asserted that Pakistan’s militarised ruling class is exploiting the natural resources of Balochistan and Pakhtunkhwa—from Kohat and Waziristan to Gwadar, Reko Diq, and Saindak—while fuelling geopolitical conflicts involving global and regional powers.
The party criticised mainstream political parties for their silence and complicity in the face of growing militarization and resource extraction, offering no hope to the people of Pakistan who suffer the consequences of hate-driven politics.
The AWP leader urged all progressive forces to unite against the intensifying militarisation of state and society and to build a genuinely democratic alternative that eradicates all forms of oppression and exploitation.
He warned that without immediate action, the people of Balochistan and Pakhtunkhwa will continue to bear the brunt of a failing state policy, pushing the regions closer to the brink of civil war.
He reaffirmed his party’s commitment to a just and lasting peace in Balochistan and Pakhtunkhwa, calling for an end to violence, exploitation, and the systemic injustices that have plagued these regions for decades.