March, 23 2005	Wednesday	12 Safar 1426

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DERA BUGTI, March 22: A 15-member delegation of parliamentarians from the ruling coalition and opposition held talks with Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti here on Tuesday in a bid to end a confrontation between the government and local tribesmen. Although nothing concrete appeared to have come out of the meeting and the veteran Baloch leader refused to hold talks with the government, some members of the delegation were optimistic about finding a way out of the standoff. Nawab Bugti told the delegation it was up to the government to take steps to resolve the current crisis and end confrontation between troops and his tribesmen.

Talking to the delegation which met him at his residence in Dera Bugti, he said he himself had no compromise to offer. It was for the government to come up with ways to end the standoff. “I am not prepared to talk to them,” he told the delegation.

However, Minister of State for Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Mohammad Ali Durrani expressed the hope that the delegation’s meeting with Nawab Bugti would be helpful in resolving the crisis.

He told PTV on telephone from Balochistan: “Today’s meeting was good. I hope this will be helpful in resolving the Balochistan issue.”

He said the delegation had visited Sui and other places and discussed all relevant matters with the local people and Nawab Bugti who expressed his viewpoint.

The delegation discussed how to move forward for the betterment of the people of the area and the country, the minister added.

Answering a question, he said it was the policy of the government to resolve the Balochistan issue through dialogue and that was the reason Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain sent the delegation to Balochistan. Begum Mahnaz Rafi of PML said Balochistan had a vital role ion the country’s socio-economic development and both government and opposition wanted to see peace, prosperity and development in the province.

PML Senator Nisar Memon said Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had taken personal interest in resolving the issues, besides other legislators who had also been included in the parliamentary delegation.

In the talks with the delegation Nawab Bugti accused the troops of having killed 62 of his people, including women and children during an operation early this month.

Nawab Bugti said it was his land and the troops had killed his people and, therefore, it was for the government to come up with suggestions to defuse the situation. Earlier, the delegation visited the gas-producing town of Sui where it was briefed by the paramilitary Frontier Corps Commander, Brig Salim Nawaz on the ‘seriousness’ of the situation in the area. “The situation needs to be controlled as soon as possible” in order to avert a major crisis, Brig Nawaz told reporters.

He said his forces had the capability to remove tribesmen who had attacked an FC convoy on March 17, were blocking roads and laying siege, “but we are exercising full restraint so the situation does not get messed up”. He said that advanced equipment and ammunition worth millions of rupees had been distributed in Sui and Dera Bugti tribal area in a bid to sabotage the national assets there.

Nawab Bugti, however, denied his men had attacked the convoy, alleging that the clashes on that day had been ‘deliberately’ triggered by security forces as a pretext for launching a military operation in the area.

One news agency quoted him as saying: “The government forces used machine -guns and helicopter gunships, they fired on us with all the weapons that the army has except nuclear devices. But I presume, if need be, nobody would give a second thought about using them (nukes) to exterminate the Baloch.” He showed the MPs marks and debris left by mortar explosions in his compound. The delegation also saw a temple which was littered with abandoned sandals.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources Muhammad Naseer Khan Mengal called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and discussed the political situation in Balochistan.

The minister briefed the prime minister on the activities of his ministry and plans to exploit mineral resource.

Mr Aziz told the minister that Balochistan was gifted with vast mineral resources and underlined the need to accelerate efforts to exploit them for the benefit of the country and Balochistan. The prime minister reiterated that his government believed in public-private partnership for development of the country.—Agencies