March, 19 2005	Saturday	08 Safar 1426

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ISLAMABAD, March 18: The combined opposition in the National Assembly on Friday accepted a government offer to visit Dera Bugti under official arrangements to find out the exact death toll in Thursday’s clashes and to see if a military operation was under way in the area. The president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and chairman of the parliamentary committee on Balochistan, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who had proposed such a mission on Thursday, said that only opposition legislators would be in the fact-finding team. The team will comprise Imran Khan, Rauf Mengal, Liaquat Baloch, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Sherry Rehman, Syed Naveed Qamar, Ijaz Jakhrani and Mumtaz Mitiana. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan Niazi would accompany them.

Taking floor in response to a point of order by PPP Parliamentarians’ Sherry Rehman, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said: “I offer on behalf of Chaudhry Shujaat and the government to the opposition to make a 7 to 8-member fact-finding mission and visit the area through a special PIA plane arranged by the government, on Saturday morning and find the truth.”

Disputing the casualty figures given by Ms Rehman, he said eight Frontier Corps men had been killed in the crossfire with the Bugti tribesmen.

The minister said he would be arranging a team of national and international media to accompany the fact-finding team. “We will take you inside Dera Bugti to see the reality by yourselves,” he told the opposition.

Welcoming the offer, Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf said the number of casualties needed to be crosschecked as the government’s earlier claim that all the 70 persons killed in South Waziristan were foreigners turned out to be false when the tribal MNAs disclosed that it was not the whole truth.

Earlier, Ms Rehman, speaking on a point of order, referred to a report based on Nawab Akbar Bugti’s statement that 70 people had been killed and 90 others injured, and heavy shelling continued till 1.30am as against the government’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached at about 6.30pm on Thursday.

The house also debated the recent hike in petroleum prices and blamed the government’s wrong economic policies for it. Members pointed out that an increase in the prices of all essential items had followed the latest raise in the petroleum prices. They feared the trend would continue making the life for the poor even more difficult.

Petroleum Minister Amanullah Khan Jadoon, in his winding-up speech, defended the increase. He said petroleum prices were fixed under a certain mechanism keeping in view the international price. He assured the house that as soon as petroleum prices in the international market came down its benefits would be passed on to the common man.

The minister proposed the constitution of a house committee to formulate policies about

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