October 20, 2007	Saturday	Shawwal 7, 1428

QUETTA, Oct 19: Baloch nationalist parties condemned the terrorist attack on the Pakistan People’s Party rally in Karachi and condoled with the families of victims. Urging PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto to review her decision to cooperate with the Musharraf government, they said she should join hands with opposition parties to launch a collective struggle against the military rule, blaming it for growth of terrorism and extremism.

Commenting separately on Friday, Dr Hayee Baloch, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Habib Jalib Baloch, Nawabzada Talal Bugti and Khudadad Khan directly blamed President Gen Pervez Musharraf for the incident and for the sense of insecurity among people and said that he alone was responsible for the political and constitutional crisis confronting the country.

Blaming the government for major security lapses, chief of the National Party Dr Hayee Baloch said that the government had failed to honour its commitments regarding fool-proof security measures for Ms Bhutto.

Doubting military rulers’ sincerity about restoring democracy, he claimed that army rulers had killed hundreds of innocent people in army operation in Balochistan.

Stressing the need for complete autonomy for oppressed provinces, he said that it was key to national political stability, adding that smaller provinces should be consulted in all major decisions pertaining to domestic and foreign affairs.

Mahmood Khan Achakzai, chief of the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, blamed the government and interferences of secret agencies in political affairs for spreading terrorism and extremism.

Accusing the intelligence apparatus and the army of interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, they said that operations in Balochistan and Waziristan had promoted terrorism and extremism, adding that only political parties that enjoyed popular support could resolve critical national issues.

Habib Jalib Baloch, secretary general of the Balochistan National Party (Mengal), said that the attack on PPP rally in Karachi was aimed at sabotaging political and democratic process to prolong the military rule.

He said that it was impossible to outrightly reject the possibility of secret agencies’ involvement in the incident, adding that the government would never tolerate opposition parties’ gatherings.