LAHORE, Nov 7: District Nazims of Lahore, Sialkot, Sargodha, Jhang, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan have unanimously condemned the killing of innocent civilians in incessant US attacks on Afghanistan.

In a joint press conference here on Wednesday, they said massacre of innocent children and women in Afghanistan was against all international laws.

They, however, endorsed the policy of president Gen Pervez Musharraf on the Afghan issue. Unanimous in their opinion, they said Pakistan was left with no option but to side with the US in its war.

They said the country’s role had been appreciated all over the world while the sanctions imposed on it after nuclear explosions in May 1988, had been lifted.

Answering a question, Lahore Nazim Mian Aamir Mahmood said there would be no bar on observing a peaceful strike on Nov 9 and the district government would not force them to retreat.

He said one party (PADC) wanted a go on a strike on Nov 9 and the other party (traders and transporters) did not wish so. “Our job is to avert a clash between the two parties and protect both of them against each other,” he added.

Mr Mahmood denied that any fund had been allocated to compensate the loss, if any, of the traders and transporters who would dare to side with the government by not observing strike on Nov 9.

Sargodha Nazim Malik Amjad Ali Noon said 90 per cent of the intellectuals and people he met had endorsed Gen Musharraf’s decision of supporting the US after Sept 11 incident. “

‘Pakistan would have to face the fate of Iraq if it had decided otherwise.”

Replying to a question, he denied that district Nazims had offered the President to select them as his electorate.

After the press conference, Jhang Nazim Sultan Hameed told Dawn that he was trying to change the “sectarian” image of his district.

He said unemployment was the main cause behind sectarianism in the area and he was working on a plan to woo investors, especially Chinioti biradari, to his area. He said he had urged upon the Chinioti investors spread all over the country to direct some of their capital towards their own district for initiating an industrialization process there.

Bahawalpur Nazim Tariq Bashir Cheema said he was working hard to check the ill effects of the killing of 11 Christians in a church in the district.

He said even the Christian leaders did not rule out a foreign hand in the incident as there was no Muslim-Christian tension prevailing in the area before it that could lead to such an incident.