ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: The government said on Tuesday it would not relent its crackdown against what it called a momentum of militancy in Balochistan though it was ready for a dialogue to solve the troubled province’s problems. “We will not allow anyone to take law into their own hands,... fire at law-enforcing agencies, destroy electricity towers and other government installations... and block mega projects,” Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told the Senate at the end of a three-day debate over the situation in Balochistan.

In a speech that seemed more of an iron fist than an olive branch coinciding with an opposition-called general strike in Balochistan, he said the government could not sit idly while there had been “an increase in the momentum of militancy recently” with rocket attacks targeting civic facilities, police stations, airports and gas pipelines.

The government “will leave no stone unturned” to respond to the challenge, the minister said, apparently dismissing the opposition demand to end the crackdown launched after a December 14 rocket attack on Kohlu town when President Pervez Musharraf was on a visit there and machine-gun fire on a helicopter the next day that wounded the inspector-general of the paramilitary Frontier Corps and his deputy.

Opposition leader Raza Rabbani, in a speech earlier, linked the Balochistan situation to what he called “a crisis of the federation” with perceived destabilisation in Sindh and Punjab provinces as well and called for a meaningful political dialogue to solve what he said was a political question.

He accused paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies of creating a reign of terror in Balochistan, complained of an absence of civilian supremacy in governance and called for putting an immediate end to what he called the “use of naked force” whose consequences would signal danger for Pakistan.

“This is essentially a political question... (which) can only be solved through dialogue,” Mr Rabbani said, adding that “the dialogue has to be with civilian structures”.

“At this time Balochistan is demanding its right to be looked upon as an equal,” he said.

Mr Sherpao said the government believed in dialogue despite all what was happening in Balochistan that he blamed on what he called “miscreants” and “fraris” (fugitives).

“We will continue dialogue that is consensus of this house,” he said without elaborating how.

In what has become a controversy over the use of words for the Balochistan crackdown, the minister rejected the description of the events as a military operation, in which opposition senators said the government was using gunship helicopters and air force jets, with some senators from the province even reporting the use of carpet-bombing and poisonous gas.

Mr Sherpao said it was not a military operation because only paramilitary forces were operating against well-armed “frari camps” in mountains that he said had also been joined by outlaws from Sindh and Punjab provinces and being “paid heavily” by drugs mafia and certain influential people opposed to the development activity and mega projects in Balochistan.

He rejected allegations about the use of carpet- bombing and poisonous gas, saying “no such thing has happened” but did not refer to the alleged use of gunship helicopters and jets.

The minister voiced his concern over what he called a deliberate attempt to target “settlers” in Balochistan some of whom he said had been attacked and killed on Monday.

He rejected opposition’s objection against the use of the terms of “miscreants” and “terrorists” by the government for those involved in attacks and said these descriptions would be used for those responsible for 187 bomb blasts, 275 rocket attacks, eight attacks on gas pipelines, 36 attacks on electricity transmission lines and 19 explosions on railway line this year from January to date.

In a brief speech earlier, leader of house Wasim Sajjad told the house that a sub-committee headed by him — part of a main parliamentary committee on Balochistan — could not finalise its report about provincial autonomy because of a boycott by some opposition parties while another sub-committee headed by Pakistan Muslim League secretary-general Mushahid Hussain completed its report about immediate problems of Balochistan.

But he said his sub-committee had sent various recommendations received by it to the main committee headed by PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and that the government side would be prepared to “take four steps if the other side took one step” to arrive at a consensus for the required constitutional amendments.

But three opposition Senators — ANP chief Asfandyar Wali, MMA’s Prof Khurshid Ahmed and PML-N parliamentary leader Ishaq Dar — blamed the ruling party for the deadlock and pointed to the non-implementation of the reports made by other sub-committee.

The Senate will begin a debate on the controversial Kalabagh dam on Wednesday when it will meet at 3:30pm.