26 January 2005	Wednesday	15 Zilhaj 1425

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KARACHI, Jan 25: Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain held talks with veteran Baloch leader and chief of the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement Sardar Ataullah Mengal here on Tuesday to seek his help to defuse the Balochistan situation and find a political solution.

Although Chaudhry Shujaat said after the meeting that his talks with Sardar Mengal were positive, the latter said that he had told the Pakistan Muslim League leader that in the present situation Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was the right person with whom he should discuss the issue.

"I have told him that whatever Nawab Akbar Bugti suggests, I would accept," Sardar Mengal said while talking to Dawn after the meeting. Chaudhry Shujaat had especially come to Karachi to meet the Baloch leader and discuss ways to resolve the Sui situation and discuss a plan to find a political solution of the Balochistan issue.

He was accompanied by Pakistan Muslim League Secretary-General Mushahid Hussain Sayed. The meeting started at 4.15pm and lasted till 6pm. Mr Mengal said he had made it clear to the Pakistan Muslim League leaders that the situation had deteriorated because of the incidents that had taken place in the Sui area.

He was of the view that since the government had imposed a 'war-like situation' in the area, it could only be defused by creating a congenial atmosphere and holding talks directly with Nawab Bugti. The meeting with Pakistan Muslim League leaders was also attended by Sardar Mengal's sons, Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Javed Mengal.

Later, talking to newsmen, Sardar Akhtar Mengal said that it had been suggested to the Pakistan Muslim League team that the government should pull out troops from the Sui area, stop the house-to-house search operation and release all political workers, if it was sincere in resolving the Balochistan issue politically.

Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who heads the Balochistan National Party, said the Pakistan Muslim League leaders were also informed about BNP's reservations over a parliamentary committee constituted to find a political solution to Balochistan's problem. He said talks could not be held with the government unless the military operation was stopped in Balochistan.

MAZARI: Earlier, the PML leaders visited the Mazari House where they held talks with Sardar Sherbaz Khan Mazari, who is closely related to Nawab Akbar Bugti and Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, to seek his cooperation.

The PML leaders told Sardar Mazari that being a respected personality of the Baloch community, he should play his role in defusing the situation in the Sui area in the larger interest of the country.

Sardar Mazari assured the PML leaders that he would support all political moves aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the problem and for this purpose he was ready to talk to Nawab Bugti and Nawab Marri.

However, Sardar Mazari said the Sui problem was complicated and threats being issued by army generals would further aggravate the situation. He warned that any crackdown would be dangerous for both parties, saying that the government must take the problem seriously and recognize it as a political issue and solve it politically.

Sardar Mazari said that he had asked his son Sher Ali Mazari to play a role in finding a peaceful solution of the problem. He appreciated the role of Chaudhry Shujaat for initiating a dialogue on the Balochistan issue.

JAM YOUSUF: The PML leaders also visited Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf at his residence and exchanged views with him on the issue. Later talking to newsmen, Jam Yousuf said that Chaudhry Shujaat was the leader of the PML and whatever decision he would take on the issue, he (Jam) would abide by it in the interest of the country and the province.

He agreed that negotiations could be held on certain problems of the province, like gas royalty, Gwadar port project and the role of paramilitary forces. In reply to a question, Jam Yousuf said that the possibility of involvement of foreign hands in recent blasts could not be ruled out.

Chaudhry Shujaat, at his press conference held at his Clifton residence, said that Sardar Mengal pointed out the issues facing Balochistan and assured him of his cooperation. As far as the Sui issue was concerned, it would be taken up with Nawab Bugti to find a solution, he added.

"We have also taken into confidence Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Yousuf about the talks and would also meet Nawab Bugti after the return of Mr Mushahid Hussain from Malaysia," Chaudhry Shujaat said.

The PML chief said that neither any operation had been launched in Balochistan nor was any such move being considered. People had not yet forgotten the operation of 1974, he added.

He was optimistic that a negotiated solution of the Balochistan issue would be found. Chaudhry Shujaat said the government was striving to solve the problems of Balochistan and other smaller provinces. "We are assisting them in finding a solution on the negotiation table and we would prove that problems could be solved through talks in a democratic manner."

Earlier talking to a group of journalists at Jinnah Terminal on arrival from Lahore, the PML chief denied reports about refusal of Nawab Bugti to meet him and said that he had come to Karachi to meet Sardar Mengal, Sardar Mazari and others and hoped that a solution would soon be found.

Chaudhry Shujaat also said that he had not come to bargain with Baloch leaders because the country belonged to them as much as to others and the issue of Balochistan would be solved amicably.