Islamabad: Pakistan recorded the first large-scale voluntary surrender by separatist militants in its restive Balochistan province on Friday as the 180 million-strong nation celebrated its 69th independence anniversary with countrywide festivities.
Around 400 fighters from different ethnic Baloch militant groups involved in a long-running insurgency reportedly laid down their weapons before authorities at a ceremony in Quetta, capital of the southwestern province.
At the ceremony, held in an exclusive police area in Quetta, authorities warmly welcomed the surrendering militants and schoolchildren handed them miniature national flags, footage on local television channels showed.
“You have laid down your weapons as per your free will,” Commander Southern Command of the army Lt Gen Nasir Khan Janjua said on the occasion.
Provincial government home minister and officials were present at the function, which followed a recent announcement of a new “peaceful Balochistan programme”, approved by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to persuade estranged Baloch youth to join the mainstream community.
Janjua said, those who have given up arms “are our brothers and Pakistanis, and they will be settled in their homes.”
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti thanked Sharif and Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, for the Peaceful Balochistan Programme.
Officials said the event marks the success of the reconciliation policy in the province plagued by violence for more than a decade.
Baloch separatists demanding more autonomy and control over gas and mineral resources have frequently targeted security forces and police for years.
Local media reports said those who renounced violence chanted slogans of “long live Pakistan” during the ceremony.
For their rehabilitation, the government of Balochistan has announced grants of rupees 500,000 to 1.5 million (Dh18,034 to Dh54,104) along with jobs for adults and education for children.
National flag-hoisting ceremonies were held in major cities across the country on Independence Day amid tight security because of fear of terrorist attacks.
In a speech, President Mamnoon Hussain declared that no compromise would be made on the security and defence of the homeland.
The president said Pakistan desires peaceful coexistence with all its neighbouring countries including India, but any threat to its security would be thwarted.
Pointing out that Pakistan is in the middle of a war against terrorism, he said terrorists and those working on the agenda of foreign enemies “are trying to sabotage the peace in the country.”
He said that the “robust campaign” being pursued by the armed forces and the government to eliminate terrorism is showing positive results and that terrorists are on the run.
The president said the campaign against terrorists would continue until the menace has been eliminated.
President Hussain regretted what he called recurring “acts of aggression” on the eastern border, a reference to incidents of cross-border firing by Indian troops that have spurred tension between the two neighbours.
As he spoke, the military’s public relations wing reported that Indian forces indulged in “unprovoked firing” on the occasion of Indpendence Day in Rawalkot area on the Line of Control in Kashmir. Pakistani troops gave a “befitting” response, it said.
In his speech, the president expressed satisfaction that despite multiple challenges, the government had progressed towards economic stability in the country while strengthening democracy.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, speaking at a function in Islamabad, said Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves will cross the mark of twenty billion dollars (Dh3.6 billion) in the next few weeks.
The minister said that the world is starting to recognise Pakistan as a stable economy and it has been predicted that Pakistan will become 18th-largest economy of the world by 2050.
