MUZAFFARABAD, July 19: Federal Minister for Water and Power, Kashmir and Northern Areas Affairs Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has denied that the federal government is involved in destabilizing the MMA government in the NWFP, but said it is the centre’s right to ask the religious alliance to pay attention to the province’s uplift.

“We never want to take any unconstitutional step in the NWFP, but they must bear in mind that the people are suffering and will suffer (as a consequence of their policies),” he said while answering to local newsmen’s questions here on Friday night.

“If this is taken as the federal government’s opposition to the MMA government, this is incorrect. People have given mandate to the MMA and we do not want to violate that mandate. But we do want that they should move in the right direction,” he said.

He recalled that Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali attended the swearing-in ceremony of the NWFP chief minister and later he as well as President Musharraf addressed the NWFP cabinet with a view to giving a message that the federal government was not against the alliance’s government.

However, on the contrary, the NWFP government created an atmosphere which revived the apprehension of Western nations about them, he said, citing the “smashing of billboards and passage of Shariat bill.”

Smashing of billboards might be a trivial thing for us but it was an alarming thing for the Western countries and international donors, he said, adding it was due to the MMA government’s policies that the World Bank deferred and Germany cancelled their loans for the NWFP.

“The NWFP is part of Pakistan and if there is no development there it will affect the rest of the country,” he said.

The minister was however cautious while replying to questions on Kashmir and offered brief answers.

When asked if Pakistan would endorse the APHC chief Maulana Abbas Ansari’s call to the Mujahideen and the Indian government for a ceasefire for the success of the peace process, he said it was an issue on which only the prime minister or the foreign office could give a response.

On the launching of bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, he said resumption of Lahore-Delhi bus service was a beginning and this process could be advanced gradually.

“We want normalization of relations and that all the issues should be settled through peaceful means.”

He, however, declared that Pakistan would not budge from its principled stand during talks with India for the settlement of Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions.

He said the UN resolutions on Kashmir should be implemented because it was the only way to amicably move towards the settlement of the issue.

To a question that how Pakistan viewed the armed struggle in held Kashmir he said Pakistan wanted to get the festering issue resolved through peaceful means “but when there are atrocities, there will definitely be its reaction (in shape of armed struggle).”

He said Jammu Kashmir State property in Pakistan was Kashmiris’ property and he would ensure proper utilization of its income and also look into any practicable suggestion for its handing over to Azad Kashmir.

Mr Sherpao parried a question on the construction of Kalabagh Dam and instead named some other dams which were being constructed.

“We will ensure that we meet our water requirements,” he said.