LAHORE, Sept 3: Leaders of the main opposition alliances, the MMA and ARD, and senior lawyers on Sunday urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to set up a judicial commission to look into the Kohlu tragedy.

At an all-party conference held here on Sunday, the participants also urged the apex court to stop the ‘steps being taken by the military leadership against the federal parliamentary system’.

The APC was organised by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal to register protest against the military operation in Balochistan and express solidarity with its people at a time when they are mourning the death of Mr Bugti.

The Jamaat-i-Islami’s Liaquat Baloch, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) leader Riaz Durrani, Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan’s Qari Zawwar, People’s Party Parliamentarian’s provincial leader Ghulam Abbas, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) MNAs Khwaja Saad Rafiq, leaders of smaller components of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and advocates Hamid Khan and Hafiz Abdur Rehman were among the participants.

The speakers warned of ‘disastrous consequences of the killing of the Jamhoori Watan Party chief’ and other policies of the military leadership. Some ‘damage control’ measures were suggested by speakers but some of them were not included in the joint statement read out by Mr Baloch at the end of the conference.

Later, Mr Baloch told journalists that opposition legislators from Punjab would stage a sit-in outside the Punjab Assembly to protest the killing of Mr Bugti. A date for the event would be set later.

A representative delegation of the opposition parties would be sent to Quetta to offer condolences to the bereaved Bugti family.

He announced support for a Sept 12 strike call given by the Balochistan-based parties and said the central leaders of the opposition parties had been requested to ensure that the strike was observed at national level.

According to an APC decision, a public meeting will be held in Quetta on Sept 17, as scheduled earlier, although some of the participants said that the Baloch leaders were ‘not’ willing to ensure security of the invitees from Punjab.

The joint statement said national unity had been endangered by the way the military leadership had portrayed the people of Punjab as ‘rivals’ to their brethren in other federating units.

“We assure the people of Balochistan that we will defend their democratic and constitutional rights in parliament and at public level.”

The statement made it clear that Gen Musharraf was not acceptable to the nation with or without uniform.

It called for action on the recommendations made by the parliamentary committee on Balochistan and restoration of the 1973 Constitution as it stood before the 1999 takeover.

Expressing concern over reports that nuclear scientist Dr A.Q. Khan was suffering from cancer, the participants demanded his immediate release.

Earlier, Mr Rafiq said in his speech that his party was serious in quitting the assemblies within weeks. But before taking such a course, he added, it was imperative that Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rehman met somewhere to chalk out future strategy.

Mr Abbas said only the exiled leaders were in a position to control the situation at home and they should be brought back to Pakistan.

Mr Durrani said it appeared as if powers that be had taken a decision to ‘get rid of Balochistan.’ “The situation unfolding gradually is similar to the one which led to the dismemberment of the country in 1971.”