HARIPUR, Feb 5: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao has made it clear that military reinforcement was possible if the situation remained tense and vital installations in Balochistan under threat.

He said this while speaking to reporters at a reception hosted in his honour by Ejaz Ali Khan Durrani of the PPP-S on Saturday.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Aneesa Zeb Tahirkheli (MPA) Nisar Safdar Khan, former provincial minister Syed Akhtar Hussain Shah, District Nazim Mansehra Syed Hussain Shah, Nazims and political workers of different allied parties were also present on the occasion.

He said that the law enforcement agencies and military forces were sent to the Sui area on the request of the provincial government and would stay there for the protection of installations.

He said the government believed in peaceful solution through dialogue rather than by force. However, he said the development of Balochistan and security to the vital installations in the area were of paramount importance for the government.

In reply to a question, he said that since the opponents of the government's programme were armed with sophisticated weapons the reinforcement of military forces in Balochistan could not be ruled out.