February 23, 2008	Saturday	Safar 15, 1429

QUETTA, Feb 22: Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, being considered here as the leading candidate for the post of chief minister, said here on Friday that the Balochistan issue should be resolved through negotiations and, therefore, military operation should be stopped.

Nawab Magsi, a former chief minister of the province, welcomed the PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s views on the issue and said that military operation and arrests of political leaders had complicated the problem.

“I was given a ticket by the PML-Q leadership but I contested the polls as an independent candidate and won the provincial assembly seat from Jhal Magsi (PB-32 ),” he said.