May 7, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1427

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LAHORE, May 6: The Supreme Court Bar Association has called upon the government to refrain from using force in Balochistan and seek a political solution to the province’s problem which primarily concerns greater autonomy for the largest federating unit.

A resolution adopted by the SCBA at a meeting here on Saturday with president Malik Mohammad Qayyum in the chair also sought from the government that it should iron out a political strategy for Balochistan at an all-party conference where all the representatives of political and religious organisations of the country should be invited.

The resolution said that the SCBA would be obliged to convene an all-party conference to solicit opinion of political and religious parties on Balochistan if the government failed in doing so within a reasonable time.

According to the SCBA resolution, the situation in Balochistan, the most strategic province of the country because of its location, was far from satisfactory. The use of force had created an alarming condition because the population in strife-ridden areas was being fast alienated and the disillusionment of the people in most parts of the province was at new heights. Referring to the recommendations of a parliamentary committee comprising Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shjaat Hussain and secretary-general Syed Mushahid Husain, seeking a greater provincial autonomy to Balochistan and giving it the control of the resources of the province, Malik Qayyum said that their non-implementation had further aggravated the situation in the province. He said the situation would not have deteriorated to the present extent if the recommendations had been implemented.