10 February 2005	Thursday	30 Zilhaj 1425

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KARACHI, Feb 9: Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani said here on Wednesday that the government wanted all political issues to be settled politically, through dialogue.

He said he was confident that the process of dialogue initiated by the government to find a political solution to the province's problems would resume soon because some 'positive response' had been received from the Baloch leadership.

The governor said that Jamhoori Watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Bugti had recently hinted that he would be ready for talks if the real culprit in the lady doctor's assault case was arrested.

He said the government was waiting for the report of the judicial inquiry and held out an assurance that nobody found guilty would be spared. All aspects of the case would be cleared by the report, he added.

He agreed with a questioner that the dialogue could not be meaningful without the participation of prominent Baloch leaders, Nawab Bugti, Sardar Ataullah Khan Mengal and Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, and said that efforts would be made to involve all Baloch leaders in the process.

He said he had held meetings with Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, Dr Malik as Nawab Jogezai and other leaders and they had responded positively.

The governor, who arrived here from Islamabad where he had held talks on the situation in his province with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, was talking to newsmen at the Balochistan House.

Mr Ghani rejected reports that the government had launched or planned to launch any army operation in the province. On the contrary, he said, it had adopted a policy of restraint because it wanted a solution to the problem through dialogue.

However, he pointed out that certain elements wanted to sabotage the process of dialogue by carrying out subversive activities. He said the government had always ignored their activities in the broader interest of the country and exercised restraint so that the process of dialogue could continue in a congenial atmosphere. He said the Sui incident had nothing to do with politics, but certain elements exploited the situation.

He said the motives of the saboteurs could be judged from the fact that sophisticated weapons were being used in the attacks on gas installations. He did not agree that the attacks were a reaction to the rape incident.

The governor was of the view that it was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the process of dialogue. He regretted that the BNP had withdrawn its nominee from the parliamentary committee when it was to submit its report to the government.

He said the army was not called despite the fact that sabotage activities, such as the blowing up of railway tracks, electricity towers and explosions in certain parts of the province, were continuing.

He said security concerns attained a new dimension when gas installations were attacked in Sui and the provincial government had no other option but to seek the help of the federal government.

When asked if there was an insurgency in the province, he said neither there was any insurgency nor an independence movement, adding that acts of sabotage were being carried out by "a small bunch of 'terrorists' who want to derail the process of progress and prosperity in the province."

In reply to a question, the governor pointed out that Soviet- made arms had been used in the Sui attacks which indicated that arms were being smuggled into Balochistan from Afghanistan.

He said President Pervez Musharraf was keenly interested in the development of the province and wanted the Baloch leaders to play their role in this regard.

He said the president had already stated that the people of Balochistan had been victims of injustices in the past and he desired that the province should be brought on a par with other provinces.

For this purpose, the governor said, the federal government had been spending billions of rupees in the development sector, including mega projects like the Makran Coastal Highway which had been completed and the Gwadar port. Bedsides, an internal road network was being laid and water projects were being undertaken.