QUETTA, Aug 13: Balochistan opposition parties have declined to accept a proposal for holding an all parties conference to develop a consensus on contentious issues, including that of establishing cantonments , and said that the problems concerned the federal government and the meeting would be fruitless.

The idea had been floated by the speaker of the Balochistan Assembly. Members of the opposition, who refused to call off their protest until the acceptance of their demands, agreed to discuss issues related to the allocation of PSDP funds with Speaker Jamal Shah Kakar, who chaired the assembly session on Friday.

Opposition leader Kachkol Ali Baloch and Sardar Azam Khan Musakhel of the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party informed the speaker that army operation in different areas of the province and establishment of cantonments were issues that concerned the federal government.

They were responding to the speaker's query in connection with the all parties conference. Mr Kachkol said that the federal government had approached the opposition in this regard but avoided telling further details. He said that it was better to wait for the outcome of these contacts to become apparent.

Stressing the need for fair distribution of the Public Sector Development Programme funds, he said that members of the opposition would continue to protest until the funds were distributed on merit.

He accused the chief minister, senior minister and finance minister of forming what he termed a troika and said that newly- created posts in government departments were being filled by people from their respective districts, adding that the people from other areas were being neglected.

Mr Musakhel said that it was difficult to believe that the speaker could convince the federal government to accept the proposed conference's recommendations when he was unable to convince even the members of the treasury benches to accommodate members of the opposition in PSDP projects despite assurances extended by the leader of the house.

Terming the accommodation of the members of the opposition in PSDP projects a test case for the Balochistan Assembly speaker, he said that they would consider participating in the proposed conference only if the chair succeeded in diverting funds allocated for projects in the troika's constituencies to uphold merit.

On the chair's insistence, the minister for services and general administration department Mir Abdur Rehman Jamali conceded that the members of the opposition were justified "to some extent" and said that funds should be uniformly distributed in the province so far as the PSDP allocations were concerned, adding that it was important to remove the grievances of the opposition for the smooth running of the house.

Mir Jamali said that it was vital for the government to devise a policy of accommodation to strengthen the political system. He also urged the opposition members to avoid agitation and said that such an attitude hindered the assembly's proceedings, adding that he had always obliged members of the opposition whenever they had approached him.

Leaders of the opposition also declined the speaker's offer for setting up a committee comprising members from both the treasury and the opposition benches to discuss the PSDP allocation issue and said that they would inform the speaker in a couple of days, adding that they wanted to discuss the idea among themselves.

Later, they staged a walk-out from the assembly. The assembly passed a resolution of Jaffar Khan Mandokhel that was moved by former Balochistan chief minister Mir Jan Jamali, urging the federal government to complete the road between Quetta, Zhob and Dera Ismail Khan besides calling upon it to improve the road between Quetta and Zhob, adding that a new road should be constructed on the model of the National Highway.

The house approved a bill relating to the speaker's and deputy speaker's salaries, allowances and privileges. The assembly adopted the Balochistan Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2004 that was also tabled by the minister for S&GAD. The session was adjourned till Monday.