February 4, 2006	Saturday	Muharram 5, 1427

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QUETTA, Feb 3: Ttribal elder Mir Kamal Khan Marri has condemned the arrest of the principal of the Elementary College of Kalat in Dera Ghazi Khan and called it an attempt to pressurize the district nazim of Kohlu.

Addressing a press conference at the press club on Friday, he claimed that the principal, Mir Misri Khan Marri, who is elder brother of district nazim, Engineer Ali Gul Marri, had been taken into custody on Thursday night.

He said that the government wanted to pressurise the Nazim of Kohlu into supporting the government action in the district but the Nazim was unwilling to do so.

Mir Kamal said that if, according to the Balochistan governor, a few persons were disturbing peace in Kohlu then what was the justification for targeting most of the area’s tribesmen.

He said that 250 tribesmen, including women and children, had been killed and over 250 suffered injuries in the shelling by security forces since the beginning of hostilities between paramilitary forces and tribesmen six weeks ago.

Mr Marri said that the District Nazim of Kohlu was a nominee of the chief of the tribe.

When asked if he demanded a ceasefire between his tribesmen and security forces in Kohlu, he responded in the negative and said that paramilitary forces had attacked the Marri tribe and they would not surrender.