Wahid Baloch said there was no right for the Pakistani army to be in the province as they were committing atrocities on the residents.

“There is no reason for the Pakistani army to stay there, if they consider the Pakistani citizens why they have built these armies, Baluchistan border does not need this, its not enemy country, no animosities with Pakistan. It is next to Iran and the Persian Gulf, so what is the Pakistan army doing in Baluchistan? Genocide against ... and the Baluchistan people’s rights?” asked Baloch.

Pakistan’s government had denied the allegations and the HRCP as well last month said that interviews with local people had not provided evidence to prove a claim by Baluch opposition politicians that the military had used poison gas.

Baloch said they only want resources of the region be left for the development of their province.

“The demands of the Baluch people are simple. All they are saying to Pakistan is to leave us alone and to let us live in peace. They are saying, stop looting and exploiting our resources. They are saying the resources that come out of Baluchistan should be used for the Baluch people, not for Punjab or Islamabad, which is what Pakistan has been doing for the past 58 years. We are not asking Islamabad or Punjab that whatever comes out of Punjab should be spent in Baluchistan. All that we are asking is that whatever comes out of Baluchistan should be spent for Baluchistan and our development,” he said.

Baloch said people were longing for peace to return to the troubled region hit hard by the atrocities of Pakistani army.

“What the Baloch people want is to live in peace. And they want the resources that come out of Baluchistan to be spent on them, which Pakistan has denied for 58 years, in denying our national rights, denying our resources. And the people are living in Stone Age, hungry and poor,” he said.

The violence has posed another challenge to Musharraf’s efforts to bring stability to a nation already troubled by Islamist militancy.

Pakistan’s military launched a major crackdown on militants in Baluchistan after a rocket attack on December 14 during a visit by Musharraf. The crackdown coincided with the announcement of plans to privatise two gas distribution firms in the province.

Baloch said they want things to be sorted out in a democratic way.

“Oh! definitely in a democratic way, they want to. They’ve been a part of the democratic process. They have taken part in elections. But you cannot guarantee elections under a military dictatorship, due to the manipulation and fraudulent elections, it is hard to guarantee,” he said.

Baluch nationalists say hundreds of people have been killed. Analysts say this could be an exaggeration, but the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has accused the government of gross human rights violations in the province.

Baluchistan is thinly populated but mineral rich, and its people want to benefit more from the exploitation of those resources but the government faces trouble both from tribal militant and the secessionist Baluch Liberation Army, which accuses it of ignoring their rights.

The rebels have waged a low-level insurgency for decades, but the violence has escalated over the past year, posing another challenge to Musharraf’s authority over his turbulent nation and the military has since waged an intensive crackdown.

The offensive has also coincided with the announcement of plans to privatise two gas distribution firms in Baluchistan, which is home to Pakistan’s main gas fields.

But the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has rejected government claims that it was not using regular armed forces in a crackdown in the southwestern province launched in December after rocket attacks by tribal militants battling for greater autonomy and control of lucrative natural gas fields.