02 March 2005	Wednesday	20 Muharram 1426

QUETTA, March 1: The four-party Baloch alliance has warned the federal government that continuing violence against the Baloch people will be resisted and that extra-constitutional steps will adversely affect relations between the centre and Balochistan.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Tuesday, leader of opposition in the provincial assembly, Kachkol Baloch (NP), former chief minister Mir Hamayun Marri (JWP) and Senator Sana Baloch (BNP-Mengal) condemned the recent raids on homes of Marri tribesmen in Quetta.

They said that violence and excesses would not succeed in ending the struggle of the Baloch people and urged the government not to repeat the mistake of launching a military operation in the province.

They criticized the speech made by President Musharraf in Multan and in the National Security Council in which he threatened to take action against the Baloch people.

They alleged that 60 Marri tribesmen were arrested and women and children were manhandled by police during the raids on their homes in Sariab area on Saturday night when in their words a drama of seizure of weapons was staged.

They alleged that the raids were aimed at defaming Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri and also to pave way for evicting tribesmen from their property in the area. They announced that the alliance would launch a province-wide protest if the government did not abandon its anti-Baloch policies.

They also said that government was not sincere in resolving the Balochistan issue through a dialogue. They also accused the government of deploying security forces in Dera Bugti and Kohlu districts to occupy land to explore oil and gas without consent of the local people.