17 August 2004	Tuesday	30 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

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HARIPUR, Aug 16: The government must avoid using force against the Baloch tribes as it will prove to be harmful for the country's integrity, says the provincial general secretary of the Pakistan Democratic Party, Javed Qureshi. He was talking to newsmen at his office.

Commenting on the proposed military operation in Balochistan, Javed Qureshi said that Balochistan had always remained volatile in terms of the law and order situation because of the people's conventional tribal mindset, adding that the government needed to be cautious because an ill-conceived action might provoke a severe backlash and create a sense of alienation among the people there.

Referring to past military operations in Balochistan, he said that army operations in 1949, 1962 and 1973 had failed to achieve durable solutions, adding that successive military operations had only resulted in alienating and antagonising the people.

Expressing fear of an armed tribal backlash, Javed Qureshi urged the government to exercise political shrewdness for tackling the dispute over the establishment of cantonments.

Stressing the need for taking political forces into confidence, he said that politicians should be used to persuade the people of Balochistan by giving a handsome development package. Otherwise, he said, the use of force would prove counterproductive, adding that it might lead to endangering the country's integrity.

Referring to the issue of President Gen Pervez Musharraf resigning from the post of the army chief, the PDP leader said that the party would march on Islamabad along with other opposition parties if he (the president) did not fulfil his promise by Dec 31, adding that it was vital not only in the national interest but also for army as an institution.

He blamed wrong government policies for the prevailing sense of uncertainty and insecurity in the country.