QUETTA, Jan 22: Nuclear scientists are being debriefed in the larger interest of Pakistan and there should be no doubt in this regard, says Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.

He said this while talking to journalists here on Thursday after attending the session of the Balochistan Assembly. "Let the government to do its job and nobody must challenge its jurisdiction. We are doing everything in the interest of the country," Mr Jamali said.

The government, he said, was not restricting anyone from commenting on the issue but it was not conducting the debriefing for personal gains, adding it (the government) did not harbour any grudge against any of the nuclear scientist.

"In my opinion we should all endure this situation with patience," he said, adding the Bar councils and other professionals should fulfil their responsibilities and let the government to do its job.

"Without any justification, scientists' debriefing should not be made an issue," Prime Minister Jamali advised lawyers and leaders of opposition. Referring to the issue of allowing two former prime ministers of the country, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said that he never said that Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif could not come back to Pakistan.

"They are free to come back whenever they want," he said, adding they should face cases pending against them in courts. He said that both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif wanted come back to Pakistan but not ready to face cases. " This government did not file any case against them. The cases pending against Benazir Bhutto were filed by Nawaz Sharif while cases against Nawaz Sharif were filed by the previous (military) government," Mr Jamali said.

Commenting on the passing of a resolution by the Balochistan Assembly against the setting up of new cantonments in the province, he said that members of every assembly could take up any issue for discussion but so far as the federal government was concerned it looked into the overall concept of any issue.

"(The federal) government always sees the interest of the country and provinces," Mr Jamali said. Discounting the possibility of a package providing relief in gas rates for Balochistan during winter, the Prime Minister said that such packages should be forgotten.

The government, he said, was introducing a "tax and utility bill-paying" culture in the country. However, he said that the government would fulfil its responsibility if the complaint about the billing of gas in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan being based on its heating value was found to be true.

Referring to Balochistan's financial demands in the NFC, the prime minister said that a team, headed by the provincial finance minister, was pleading the case in the National Finance Commission meetings.

"I am also ready to help Balochistan in this regard as I have the experience of representing my province in two previous NFC awards," the prime minister concluded.