July 02, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 16, 1428

ISLAMABAD, July 1: The People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) on Saturday proposed the setting up a special department with the name of Military Accountability Bureau (MAB) to carry out the accountability of military persons.

The proposal was made by PPP vice-president and former federal minister Mir Baz Mohammad Khan Khetran while speaking at a news conference here on Saturday.

Mr Khetran said unlike the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the proposed MAB should be headed by a civilian and references against military persons should be tried in regular courts instead of special courts.

He said army officers should volunteer and declare their assets before the MAB as it would help reduce hatred among the masses for the army.

The PPP leader asked President Musharraf to jump into the political field after quitting the office of the army chief. He said it was surprising that there was no general in the Pakistan Army other than Gen Musharraf who could become army chief. He said there was a need to appoint a new army chief.

Mr Khetran condemned the government for not taking prompt action to provide relief to the cyclone- and rain-affected people of Balochistan.

He rejected the ‘tall claims’ of the government regarding relief operations in the province, saying the people have been waiting for relief and assistance for the past many days. He said the people did watch aeroplanes and helicopters hovering over them, but they were not getting any assistance.

The PPP leader said the Coastal Highway and Mirani Dam were the only two major projects completed by the government in Balochistan in the name of mega development. However, he said, the recent rains had badly damaged the highway and the dam thus exposing the ‘corruption’ of the regime.

He said the people of the province called the National Logistic Cell (NLC) as the ‘National Looting Cell’ and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) as the ‘Fraud Works Organisation’.

Mr Khetran welcomed the statement of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Qazi Mohammad Farooq that it was inappropriate for the president to address the political gatherings.