NAWABSHAH, Nov 7: Federal Minister for Northern Areas and State Affairs Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind has claimed that President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have postponed convening of a grand jirga of Baloch tribal chiefs at his request.

Talking to newsmen in the Gaman Khan Rind village on Monday, he said that the government was serious about solving the Balochistan problem and the grand jirga would soon be held in Gwadar or Quetta.

He said that the death of Jamhoori watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti had saddened him and he wanted to call on his family to express condolences but they refused to accept condolences from Pakistan Muslim League leaders.

He said that he had worked with Nawab Akbar Bugti for nine years but had to part ways due to differences of opinion. The late Nawab Bugti was a learned person but the state had its own problems, he said, adding that elections would be held in 2007 on time.