QUETTA, June 7: The Jamhuri Watan Party on Monday warned that tribesmen were not willing to sell their land for setting up a cantonment in Sui and they would resist if federal forces attempted to forcibly occupy the area.

At a news conference at the press club, JWP Secretary-General Agha Shahid Hasan Bugti, Balochistan JWP President Senator Amanullah Kanrani and General Secretary Sardar Naiz Mohammad Breach stressed that army should not bypass the legal procedure.

They declared that after the adoption of a resolution by the Balochistan Assembly against construction of cantonments in the province the Acquisition Act was ineffectual. They said owners of the joint property had in writing conveyed to the district administration their refusal to sell the land.

The JWP leaders alleged that the corps headquarters had directed the provincial government and the Dera Bugti executive district officer (revenue) to announce the award of land on June 8. They said the district administration would sign the award on Tuesday.

They distributed the unsigned award letter of the Dera Bugti district collector and a letter of the district nazim to the collector about complaints of Bakhlani Bugtis, who are owners of the Asreli Thal area where the government wants to build a cantonment.

They said the provincial government should have respected the law and protected the rights of owners of the land but it was ignoring all legal procedures to appease the corps headquarters.

They said 60 to 70 jawans of Sindh regiment led by a colonel were deployed in Sui on Saturday and more troops would be dispatched in a couple of days to occupy the land after the issuance of the award letter on Tuesday.

They announced that the JWP would oppose occupation of private land without the consent of the owners and the affected people would launch a resistance movement in self-defence. They said the provincial government would be responsible for the situation in the province, including Dera Bugti, if such a step was taken.

Responding to a question, Shahid Bugti said if the government and the corps headquarters ignored the sentiments of the natives and went ahead with illegal occupation of the land to construct a cantonment, tribesmen would be justified in retaliating.