QUETTA, July 7: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday warned the militants barricaded in Lal Masjid to surrender or be prepared to get killed. “The government has the power and could do everything, including killing them, but it is demonstrating great patience to save human lives,” he said.

The president was talking to journalists in the Sani Shoran area of Balochistan after visiting the flood-affected areas of Jhal Magsi, Jaffarabad and Bolan districts.

He said the people barricaded in the mosque had defamed Islam and Pakistan, but the government had exercised restraint despite having capability of ousting and killing them. “We want to save the lives of women and children trapped inside the mosque.”

He said that 1,200 to 1,400 people, including women and children, had come out of the masque so far.

“The people inside the masque should come out and surrender, otherwise I am saying it here they risk being killed,” Gen Musharraf said. He said his government would not compromise on peace and the writ of the government.

In reply to a question, the president said that during his visit to the flood-hit areas, he saw huge losses and destruction and added that people had lost their houses, livestock and crops.

He announced a relief package of Rs30 million for Bolan district and said Rs15,000 would be given to each affected family as an immediate relief.

He said the government would provide all help to the marooned people. “We will provide them assistance more than the losses they had suffered so that they could construct their houses better than the lost ones,” President Musharraf said.

He announced that two dams would be constructed in Bolan and one in Jhal Magsi to save the districts from floods in future. He said that the Kachhi canal would be completed in three years.