QUETTA, Nov 5: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has decided to challenge in the Supreme Court the federal government's agreement with Singapore Port Authority (SPA) for running the Gwadar port, according to sources.

They said Nawab Raisani discussed the issue with legal experts on Friday in Islamabad and decided in principle to file a petition in the apex court within the next few days. The chief minister asked the Balochistan advocate-general and the provincial law secretary to reach Islamabad on Saturday to make arrangements for the filing of the petition, they said.

According to them, Mr Raisani wanted to get the contract with the SPA cancelled in view of the reservations and apprehensions expressed about it by his cabinet colleagues as well as by other political groups in Balochistan.

The contract was approved and signed by the federal government during the regime of former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf. Under the contract the SPA is supposed to run the operations of the port for 40 years.

The chief minister has repeatedly said the contract does not protect the interests of Balochistan because the true representatives of its people were bypassed at the time of its signing.