QUETTA, Aug 24: Chief Minister Jam Yousuf has said that the duty of the security forces is to protect the rights of the people.

Speaking on different privilege motions in the Balochistan Assembly on Tuesday, the chief minister said that the government would neither tolerate injustice against the people by the law- enforcement agencies nor allow anti-social elements to interfere in the affairs of the security forces.

The session was presided over by Speaker Jamal Shah Kakar. Four bills - the Balochistan Cotton Control (amendment) Bill, 2004; the Balochistan Agriculture Production Markets (amendment) Bill, 2004; the Quetta Water and Sanitation Authority Bill, 2004; and the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University Bill, 2004 - were passed by the assembly members.

The chief minister said that the cabinet ministers had also expressed concern over the dealing of the Frontier Corps and the coast guards with the people. He said that the security forces were performing vital role in arresting terrorists, drug traffickers and anti-social elements, but at the same time their behaviour with the people should be friendly.

Mr Yousuf said that if proved that the Jaffarabad police station SHO had tortured a tribesman then he would have to face action. Regarding the delay in the funds of the prime minister drought package, he said the federal government had sanctioned Rs2 billion for the affected areas and Rs950 million had been released.

Finance Minister Ehsan Shah assured the House that his department would release the funds for drought affected areas immediately once the planning and development department had approved the projects and forwarded the cases to him.

Shah Zaman Rind, Opposition Leader Kachkol Baloch and Ziaratwal said that funds were not released despite the fact that the MPAs who had been allocated Rs10 million each from the drought package had forwarded the list of projects to the department concerned.

They said that the finance department and bureaucrats were creating problems in the completion of the projects in the specified time. Later, the assembly session was prorogued sine-die.