June 10, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 9, 1424

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QUETTA, June 9: The Balochistan cabinet on Monday decided to institute a judicial inquiry into the killing of 11 police recruits besides suspending the area’s superintendent police, DSP and SHO on charges of negligence of duties.

The inquiry team, it was learnt, would be headed by a judge of the high court.

The cabinet meeting was presided over by Senior Provincial Minister Maulana Abdul Wasay in the absence of Chief Minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yousaf, who was in Islamabad.

The committee, it was decided, would review various aspects of the incident and submit its report in the next meeting of the provincial cabinet.

Provincial ministers, Syed Ehsan Shah, Hafiz Hamdullah, Mir Mohammad Asim Kurd, Sardar Masood Ahmed Luni, Col. (Retd) Younas Changezi and Provincial Chief Secretary Major (Retd) Mohammad Ashraf Nasar have been nominated members of the committee.

It was also learnt that the a committee, comprising tribal leaders living in and around Quetta, would be formed to maintain peace and harmony in the provincial capital.

The cabinet also approved compensation, announced by Balochistan Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch on Sunday, to the heirs of the police recruits killed and injured in the incident.

Expressing its shock and grief over the incident, the cabinet said that it was not part of a sectarian or tribal conflicts but a conspiracy to destroy the peace in the province, adding that it was a bid to defame the provincial government.

Expressing its resolve to maintain peace and harmony in the province, the Balochistan cabinet urged the people to remain calm, adding that it was doing everything in its powers to protect the life and property of the people.

Later, Provincial Home Minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri assured cabinet members about quickly apprehending culprits involved in the Sunday incident.