Regi willing to lay down arms if Iran provides guarantees

By Sajid Hussain

KARACHI: Jundullah chief Abdul Malik Regi has agreed to lay down arms if Iran provides him guarantees that it will respect the rights of the ethnic Baloch.

In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the 28-year-old militant commander, who Iran blames is hiding in Pakistan, said that he was "determined to stop the massacre of the Baloch people in the hands of the Iranian regime".

He assures the UN chief and the world community that his organisation will abide by the international laws and human rights values. It is pertinent to mention here that Iran has blamed Regi for the October 18 suicide bombing in Zahedan that killed at least 30 people, including the deputy chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Regi has also written similar letters to US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyeb Erdogan. These letters were posted on Baloch nationalist websites.

In his letter to Obama, Regi has requested the US government to also consider the Baloch issue while formulating its foreign policy towards Iran. "I strongly request you as the president of the United States, which is defending democratic and human-friendly values, to consider the Baloch issue while formulating your government's foreign policy towards Iran. Though foreign policy is always based on national interests, I hope this time human rights values will also be considered by your foreign office." Iran has blamed US for funding Regi's Jundallah.

Recalling the traditional friendly relations between the Turkish people and the Baloch, Regi writes to Erdogan that "the Ottoman Empire was the first to recognise the independent status of Balochistan in the 17th century and it gave the title of Begler Beigi to the Baloch ruler, Noori Naseer Khan." He has asked the Turkish premier to respond to his "religious and moral" call by supporting the Baloch struggle.