QUETTA, May 7: Jamhoori Watan Party secretary-general Senator Agha Shahid Hasan Bugti has said that democracy and army rule cannot go together.

In a statement issued here, the JWP leader asserted that the government had failed to weaken the Baloch movement for national rights led by Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.

The senator said the Baloch could now differentiate between friends and foes and they knew that an army general could not be sincere in strengthening democratic institutions.

He said the government had failed to achieve its objectives in Dera Bugti and Kohlu through military operations and the Baloch were fighting fearlessly.

He said the JWP and the Baloch masses would continue their struggle to protect the rights and resources of Balochistan.

He acused General Pervez Musharraf of using parliament as a rubberstamp and deceiving the international community by prolonging his rule in the name of democracy.

The JWP leader said the United States and other western countries were ignoring the issue of democracy in Pakistan for their own objectives.