ISLAMABAD, June 2: In an attempt to restore the trust of Baloch people in the federation shattered by broken promises, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will pay a two-day visit to the province starting from Sunday.

Informed sources told Dawn that the prime minister would meet a cross-section of society to find ways and means to improve security situation in the troubled province and to address grievances of the Baloch.

On Saturday Mr Gilani chaired a high-level meeting on Balochistan. It was attended by Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani, the federal ministers for interior, finance and law, the Balochistan finance minister, legislators from the province and senior officials.

The deliberations came three days after a high-level meeting which invested the Balochistan chief minister with powers to call out the Frontier Corps (FC).

Mr Gilani’s visit is taking place at a time when the Supreme Court is grappling with the saga of missing persons. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry himself heads the bench which is conducting hearings in Quetta and Islamabad.

During the visit, Mr Gilani will review the progress on development projects launched in collaboration with the federal government and the progress in implementation of the Aghaz-i-Huqooq-i-Balochistan package. He will deliver a speech at Quetta’s Staff College on Monday. The same day he is to attend a function at the cadet college in Ormara.

Sources said the prime minister had asked the law ministry to come up with proposals for legislation regarding missing persons and to carry out amendments in the anti-terror law.

Chief Minister Aslam Raisani was advised during Saturday’s meeting to take measures for coordination between law enforcement agencies, both federal and provincial, operating in Balochistan.

The sources quoted the prime minister as having said that the government had thrashed out a strategy to address Balochistan’s problems and to assist the provincial government in speedy execution of development schemes.

Mr Gilani asked personnel of all law enforcement agencies to remain vigilant in order to foil designs of forces bent upon sowing discord in the province.

The meeting decided that no one shall be allowed to drive vehicles with tinted glasses or glazed papers and no vehicle shall be allowed to use the road without payment of customs duty.

Law enforcement agencies were authorised to seize such vehicles and to deal with the owners in accordance with law. It was also decided to cancel provisional permissions granted to car owners for using their vehicles pending payment of customs duty.

The prime minister directed the interior minister and the chief minister to meet regularly to review the law and order situation in the province, especially in Quetta, and to work out measures for restoring normality.

Mr Gilani told the interior ministry to assess logistics requirements in consultation with the chief minister with a view to augmenting capability of law enforcement agencies to curb crime rate.