December 09, 2006	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 17, 1427

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QUETTA, Dec 8: The Anjuman Ittehad Marri has rejected an agreement signed by the Marri and Luni tribes on the Chamalang coal zone and said that the area belonged to the Marri tribe.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, the Ittehad declared that the collaboration between the government and some ‘opportunists’ could not deprive the Marri tribe of its land, saying that the Luni tribe was their neighbours but had no right over the land.

The statement further said that the Chamalang land belonged to Marri tribesmen and resources in it were the joint property of the Baloch people. Therefore, revenue from the coalmine was the national wealth of the Baloch.

The Anjuman asserted that when the Z. A. Bhutto government had launched a military operation in 1973 the attackers bombed the Chamalang area in which hundreds of Marri tribesmen were killed but the Luni tribe did not suffer any casualty.

The statement said that in the past attempts had been made to explore coal reserves in Chamalang, but Marri tribesmen had frustrated the attempt and in future too such attempt would be foiled.