KARACHI, March 23: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) on Wednesday unveiled its four-point formula to settle the Dera Bugti issue.

Presenting the formula, MMA Sindh chief Asadullah Bhutto (MNA), who is also head of the alliance’s Parliamentary Legal Committee and Naib Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami, alleged that the government was not serious in resolving the Balochistan issue.

Talking to journalists at the Quba Auditorium after his return from Dera Bugti, he pointed out that only one minister was nominated to the team which was assigned the task of conducting an on-the-spot study of the situation in the troubled area and suggest ways and means to resolve this issue of vital national interest. This attitude, he maintained, was reflective of the fact that the government was not serious in resolving the issue.

He was of the view that there should have been at least the home minister as member of the team.

He asked the federal government for serious efforts and prompt measures to resolve the issue.

The four points of the MMA formula are: 1) Both the law-enforcement agencies and Bugti tribesmen should go back to their positions of January; 2) Nawab Akbar Bugti should ensure the safety of all installations, including gas fields; 3) The Balochistan government should convene a Jirga, in accordance with Balochi tradition, on compensation to the heirs of the citizens killed in shelling; 4) The federal government should take result-oriented and practical steps to resolve the Balochistan issue in the light of the recommendations put forward by its committee.

The MMA leader revealed that the situation in Sui and Dera Bugti was ‘very tense’ with both the sides in the conflict being well-prepared for a long fight. He said that a little oversight on the part of any of them could result in a heavy damage.

Maulana Bhutto said that all roads between Sui and Dera Bugti were lying closed for about a week, and so were the schools and markets, resulting in an acute shortage of food in the affected area.

Shelling on the residence of Nawab Akbar Bugti and the places of worship belonging to minorities had further aggravated the situation.—PPI