HYDERABAD, Feb 15: Secretary-general of the Sindh chapter of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro has said that the Balochistan issue should be resolved through negotiations and use of force should be avoided in the province.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Tuesday, he said that stability in the country was possible only when all matters were settled through consultation. He demanded exemplary punishment for the culprits of a criminal assault on a lady doctor in Sui.

Demanding provincial autonomy, the MMA leader said that only three subjects should be controlled by the centre and the rest should be delegated to provinces. He added that due importance should be given to all the provinces and supremacy of one province should be ended

He said that issues of Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP were common in nature and they did not have control over their resources. He said that people of Balochistan felt that there was an influx of outsiders in their province and indigenous population was being ignored in terms of jobs and added that same was the case with Sindh.

He called for provision of jobs at oil and gas fields to the local people. Dr Soomro said that smaller provinces and added that Sindh and Balochistan should be given due share of revenue they generated.

He further said that tribal chiefs were not true representatives of people who had rejected them because they had remained governors and chief ministers but failed to resolve problems of their constituents. He added that the chieftains had lost credibility and since local bodies' elections were approaching, they were trying to regain their lost credibility.

Opposing the Kalabagh dam and Greater Thal canal, he said that judicious distribution of water should be ensured and demands of people of Sindh over water issue should be accepted.

Calling for restoration of religion column in passport, he said that ideological frontiers should not be tampered with and dictation of foreign powers should not be followed.

He opposed attempts of making the country a secular state. He condemned an increase in the prices of essential items and demanded that people's lives and property should be protected.