Seminar held to mark one year of former separatist Gulzar Imam as law-abiding citizen
Pakistan
The seminar was held to promote peace and reconciliation in Balochistan
QUETTA (Dunya News) - A seminar was held at Balochistan University of Information Technology to mark the one year of former Baloch separatist Gulzar Imam alias Shambe’s surrender to the state.
The seminar titled ‘A journey towards peace and stability in Balochistan’ was held at university’s Markhor auditorium.
The seminar was held to promote peace and reconciliation in Balochistan.
A detailed discussion was held narrating the story of former separatists and militants who surrendered before the authorities.
Balochistan Governor Sheikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhel, Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove, MPA Zahoor Buledi, spokesperson of Balochistan government Shahid Rind, Vice Chancellor Dr Khalid Hafeez, former federal minister Zubaida Jalal and former militants Sarfraz Bangulzai and Gulzar Imam Shambe attended the seminar.
The ceremony was also attended by MPAs Meena Majid, Prince Agha Umar, Raheela Hameed, Rehmat Saleh and Zareen Magsi.
Also Read: From a terrorist to a law-abiding citizen, a year of Gulzar Imam's life
Senior journalists Shehzada Zulfiqar, Saleem Shahid, Asim Khan, Commissioner Quetta division Hamza Shafqat and Senator Kamran Murtaza were also present on the occasion.
A Profile
Gulzar Imam Shambe, who was dubbed the leading force of a cluster of militant organisations active in southern Balochistan, was arrested following a highly sensitive and lengthy intelligence operation in April last year.
Born in 1978 in Prom village of Panjgur district, Gulzar worked as a contractor and a local newspaper reporter before joining a terrorist group in 2009.
In 2017, he undertook a long trip to India on forged documents where he was given money and advanced training in terrorism to fuel the militancy among the more naive and emotional Baloch youth.
Until 2018, he was the deputy of Brahmdagh Bugti in Baloch Republican Army (BRA). He has been a hardcore militant as well as founder and leader of the banned outfit Baloch National Army (BNA) which came into being by merger of Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and United Baloch Army (UBA).
He played an important role in the activities of militants in the whole province, especially in southern Balochistan.
According to ISPR, the media wing of Pakistan Army, BNA had been responsible for dozens of violent terrorist attacks in Pakistan including attacks on law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) installations in Panjgur and Noshki.
Gulzar was also instrumental in formation of Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS) and remained its operational head. His visits to Afghanistan and India are also on record.
He had links with Hostile Intelligence Agencies (HIAs). Reportedly, HIAs also tried to exploit him to work against the state of Pakistan and its national interests.
Gulzar expressed great regret, while talking to media after his arrest, on his 15-year terrorist activities. He acknowledged that the path he took for the rights of the people of Balochistan was not correct.
