May 7, 2005	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1426

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QUETTA, May 6: The chief of Jamhoori Watan Party, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, has said that the 1973 Constitution did not meet the requirements of provincial autonomy and needed ‘drastic surgery’ to conform to the wishes of the people. Talking to newsmen after a meeting with an ARD delegation in Dera Bugti on Friday, he said that he had presented his views on the Constitution when he was governor of Balochistan.

The 1973 Constitution, he said, should either be overhauled or a new constitution be made to meet the demands of the 21 century.

He said that people who had power were running this country under the ‘doctrine of necessity’.

He said that Gen Pervez Musharraf had repeatedly said that the government would give to the people of Balochistan what would be beyond their expectations, but so far nothing had been given to the province.

Nawab Bugti said that the people wanted provincial autonomy and their legitimate rights and if their demands were not met their voices could become louder and stronger.

Replying to a question, he said that the situation could not improve merely with the removal of a few checkposts and bunkers. The FC personnel were still in the Dera Bugti while troops were being deployed in other areas of the province.