August 18, 2008	Monday	Sha'aban 15, 1429

QUETTA, Aug 17: Newly elected secretary-general of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP-Aali) Mir Abdul Rauf Sasoli has said his party will continue its struggle to protect the resources of Balochistan.

Speaking at the party’s 18th council session on Sunday, he said Nawab Akbar Bugti had stood up for the rights of the Baloch people and rendered the ultimate sacrifice.

His killing turned the province “into a volcano” and thousands of people had to migrate from Dera Bugti and Kohlu areas.

Mr Sasoli asked the federal government to give the provinces their rights, as envisaged in the 1940 Resolution.

He said President Pervez Musharraf should not be given a ‘safe passage’ after his impeachment.

He should be tried on charges of killing thousands of people in both Balochistan and the NWFP.

He said the federal government should form a committee to assess the losses caused by the military operation.

He also urged the government to take steps to rehabilitate the displaced people of Dera Bugti and Kohlu districts and pay them adequate compensation.