08 February 2005	Tuesday	28 Zilhaj 1425

QUETTA, Feb 7: Hundreds of workers of the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) took out a procession here on Monday in protest against the government's indifference to sufferings of the victims of drought, especially in Pukhtun areas.

They were carrying placards and banners inscribed with their demands. The party's deputy chairman Abdul Rahim Mandokhel and other leaders led the protest.

The protesters later gathered in the Manan Chowk.

Speaking on the occasion, Rahim Mandokhel said Balochistan had been facing drought for 80 years that had destroyed agriculture in the Pukhtun areas, but the government had done nothing to compensate the losses suffered by the people.

He criticized the government for not taking steps to solve the problems of growers and landowners in the province. The government, he said, had not paid attention to construction of dams and water reservoirs to help end drought.

The PAMP leader said Balochistan had demanded Rs5 billion for drought victims, but Islamabad never responded.

He vowed that the PMAP would not allow anyone to usurp the rights of the province. The government should recognize the political, constitutional and national rights of small nationalities, he added.

He said that it was a great injustice to the people of Balochistan that despite producing gas since 1952, many areas were without gas while the whole country was benefiting from it.

The PMAP leader urged the government to set the price of Balochistan gas equal to that from other areas of the country. They would not allow the use of gas reserves recently discovered in Zhob, Zarghoon and Musakhel area without getting constitutional guarantees.

Lala Abdul Rauf, Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, sman Kakar, Naseer Ahmed Shahwani and Abdul Rehman Barozai also spoke on the occasion.