KARACHI, Aug 1: Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat said on Sunday that the government might mount an operation in Balochistan if 'misguided sub-nationalists' did not stop acts of violence and engage with the government in a dialogue to resolve the issues.

Mr Hayat, who was talking to newsmen at a reception given by Manzoor Panwhar, was asked to comment on the killing of military personnel in Khuzdar region on Sunday morning.

He also claimed that the government had made some headway in the probe into the suicide attack on Mr Shaukat Aziz at the Fathejang election rally. Talking about the Khuzdar incident, the interior minister referred to opposition from certain quarters to projects in Gwadar, Sui and other regions of the province.

He said some 'sub-nationalists' whom he termed 'anti-nationalist' were pursuing a particular policy. He said the Gwadar project would bring lots of benefits to the people of Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan.

He stressed that the government was trying its best to persuade such elements to engage in a dialogue, instead of adopting violent means for resolving issues. But, he made it clear that if this policy was not reciprocated the government might consider launching an operation.

He said that the government of Balochistan had been asked to take appropriate measures for resolving the issues through dialogue. It that did not work, the government would be left with no other option.

With regard to investigations into the attack on Mr Shaukat Aziz, the minister claimed some progress and vowed to chase and wipe out suicide bombers and other misguided elements who were conspiring to destabilise the liberal, parliamentary dispensation in Pakistan.

He said that the government was investigating all aspects of a website originating from Egypt and its linkages to ascertain if it really had any links with Al Qaeda. At this stage, he said it would be premature to say whether that organization had some roots or linkages also in Pakistan.

Mr Hayat said that the government had decided to give Rs10 million reward to anyone proving information leading to the arrest of the main culprits involved in the attack on Mr Aziz.

He believed that this also was the work of elements who were engaged in violent activities in Pakistan for over one and a half years. Mr Hayat claimed that there had been a decline in acts of terrorism and in this context referred to the arrest in Gujrat of a Tanzanian who carried a $25 million reward on his head.

He also claimed that there had been a decline in such activities in Karachi. Therefore, according to him, the network of terrorists had weakened over the past few months.