QUETTA, Dec 13: Nawabzada Balaach Mari, son of Nawab Khair Bakhsh Mari, has rejected an invitation to attend President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s address to tribesmen in Kohlu on Wednesday and said that he did not like to sit in what he called the ‘usurper’s darbar’.

In a statement here on Tuesday, MPA Balaach Mari said that he was surprised at being invited because while the government had blamed three Sardars for creating disturbances in Balochistan, the president inviting the son of one of the Sardars to attend the official ‘darbar’.

Mr Mari said that when the Baloch people raised their voice against injustices, excesses, oppression and exploitation of their resources they were dubbed ‘saboteurs’ and ‘anti-state elements’ and it was beyond his apprehensions why the military ruler had invited him to the meeting.

He urged the Baloch people to unite against oppressors to protect their resources and the motherland.

MMA ministers: Ten provincial ministers belonging to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal did not attend President Pervez Musharraf’s address to ministers, members of parliament, nazims and tribal elders in the Governor’s House here on Tuesday in protest after security search outside the hall.

Balochistan Health Minister Hafiz Hamadullah told Dawn that the MMA ministers went to listen to the president on the invitation of Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani but they were asked to stand in a long queue for the security search.

In reply to a question, he said: “We did not boycott the function. We did not like the insulting attitude of the staff of the Governor’s House and security officials present there so we returned without attending the meeting.”