QUETTA, March 9: PPP leaders Dr. Azra Zardari and Fehmida Mirza have said that giving autonomy to the federating units would ensure political stability in the country.

Speaking at a joint press conference in the press club on Wednesday, they said that the army should not interfere in political affairs and supremacy of parliament should be restored.

They claimed that the situation in Balochistan and Sindh was not satisfactory due to denial of rights to both provinces. Dr. Azra stated that the PPP leadership conceded that they had committed mistakes in the past for not resolving the Balochistan issue. However, presently Balochistan was suffering due to the wrong policies of the military-led government.

She said that firing of rockets and bomb blasts in Balochistan were the result of deprivation among the people in the province, and added that the deprived masses of the province were forced to choose a violent path to achieve their rights.

She said that the PPP did not believe in violence to settle political matters. Dr. Azra warned that Balochistan was at a volcanic stage politically and the volatile situation would endanger the integrity of the federation; therefore, the sooner the problems were solved the better it would be in the interest of the nation.

The PPP leader further said that the poor people in Punjab were also confronted with poverty and other problems but the situation in Balochistan was more serious that needed urgent attention to tackle the matters politically before it became too late.

She was bitterly critical of army interference in political matters saying that a large sum was allocated in the budget for military expenditures, and the army oligarchy was establishing new cantonments with all facilities but civilians in cities were facing chronic problems.

She emphasized that all institutions should act according to their role defined in the constitution. She said that the parliament should determine policies wherein the judiciary should be independent, and added that similarly the army should remain in the barracks to defend national frontiers.

Replying to a question, Fehmida Mirza said that the PPP leadership was not engaging in any deal with military rulers. She also referred to Benazir Bhutto's statement in which she acknowledged party engagement with the government to resolve the issues through negotiations.