QUETTA, Nov 2: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and both the Balochistan National Party factions on Sunday criticized the excesses of the Frontier Corps in the province and stressed that the government ensure that the law enforcement agency did not exceed the limits of law while dealing with the citizens.

Speaking at a public meeting at the Anambostan Chowk, Nushki Bazaar, the leaders of the groups said the government had failed to make the militia’s authorities act on complaints of the people regarding the behaviour of the staff, that was creating hatred against the agency.

National Assembly members Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Senator Haroon Rashid of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Senator Moheem Khan Baloch of the BNP (Awami), Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldani of the BNP (Mengal) and others spoke.

The BNP-A leader clarified that his presence was confined to the issue of excesses by the militiamen.

The MMA and BNP-M leaders lashed out at President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s policies and blamed him for the constitutional and political impasse.

They alleged that the president was making the unanimous Constitution controversial to ensure that he remained in power, that would obstruct the functioning of parliament and promotion of the democratic process.

They accused the military of ignoring the elected representatives and creating a distance between the army and the people, that would lead the country towards confrontation.

They said the opposition parties would not allow the army generals and judges to violate the Constitution by authorizing an individual to amend the Constitution. They said such acts would open the doors for autocratic rulers to bring changes of their choice to the Constitution.

They said only the parliament members could amend the Constitution with a two-thirds majority. They said the government should table the LFO for endorsement of parliament or introduce the package agreed with the MMA.