NOWSHERA, Jan 28: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has said that security forces have been deployed in Sui to protect the gas field and gas installations, denying that any military operation is being carried out in Balochistan.

Addressing a news conference here, Mr Sherpao said he would be visiting Balochistan from Jan 31 to get first-hand information on the situation. He said bomb blasts and rocket attacks in various parts of Balochistan posed a threat to national solidarity and such acts would not be tolerated any more.

He said the government wanted a peaceful solution of the problem for which it had already initiated negotiations with political parties. The government, he pointed out, had deployed forces in Sui on a request of the Balochistan government.

The interior minister said that the federal government had initiated a number of mega projects in Balochistan which would bring progress and prosperity to the province.

In reply to a question, he said Pakistan would not allow any country to use its soil against Iran. He criticized the NWFP government which, according to him, had failed to resolve people's problems.

Mr Sherpao said during his stay in Saudi Arabia, where he had gone to perform Haj, he had held a meeting with his Saudi counterpart and discussed issues of common interests with him.