QUETTA, March 24: Jamhoori Watan Party secretary-general Senator Shahid Hasan Bugti has condemned the burning and bulldozing of houses in Dera Bugti by the security forces and stated that bombing and shelling continue in different areas of the district.

Speaking at a press conference at the press club on Friday, he claimed that in the last 15 days, 60 houses, including the personal residence and guesthouse of party leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, had been demolished.

He alleged that the security forces were not allowing tribesmen to return to their homes in Dera Bugti and maintained that the paramilitary forces had threatened them to lodge cases if they tried to return.

Senator Shahid said that security forces might temporarily suppress the political movement, but history had witnessed that political struggle enjoying the support of the masses could not be put down.

The JWP leader said children and women were badly affected in the shelling in Dera Bugti and Kohlu areas, and claimed that the security forces were working on planned genocide of Baloch.

He also said Balochistan was not a military problem, but confronted with a political issue, saying that political matters could not be settled through the use of state apparatus.

Asked if the JWP would be ready for political dialogue, Senator Bugti said the party had presented proposals to the parliamentary committee to resolve the issue, but the rulers were least interested in resolving problems.

He said the government did not take the media team to the towns of Dera Bugti, Pirkoh and Loti and stated that the visit would have exposed the oppression of security forces in those areas.

Answering a question, Agha Shahid clarified that the JWP was struggling for the national rights of the people instead of dismembering the state. Baloch wanted ownership right on their resources and maximum autonomy to the provinces, he said.

About the collective struggle by the Four-Party Baloch Alliance, the JWP secretary-general said if the alliance had jointly launched movement, the message would have been conveyed to the rulers that Baloch were united against the oppressors.

He said the intelligence had picked up party members Abdur Rauf Sasoli, Saleem Baloch and Saeed Baloch in Karachi, however, the family members had approached the quarters concerned. The families were reluctant to give details, he said.