QUETTA, April 29: The chief of his own faction of the Jamhoori Watan Party, Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti, has said the JWP will soon name four elders to represent it in a committee formed to resolve the Balochistan issue.

He said in a statement here on Tuesday that names of two elders each from the Bugti and Marri tribes would be sent to the PPP leadership after consultation with Nawabzada Gazan Marri, adding that the representatives would not be government employees.

Mr Bugti said he would not go to Sui or Dera Bugti without his nephews, family members and Bugti tribesmen. “I cannot forget the sacrifices rendered by my family, Bugtis and other Balochs in the struggle for the rights of people of the province.”

He denied reports that security forces were being withdrawn from Dera Bugti and Sui and said that such rumours were being spread by intelligence agencies. Mr Bugti said if the present government was serious about peace and wanted a ceasefire, it must withdraw troops and stop setting up new police stations in Dera Bugti and Sui areas.