KARACHI, June 12: While expressing its concern over the military operation in Wana, the Sindh Bar Council on Saturday equated it with the mistakes committed by the rulers in the former East Pakistan and Balochistan.

In a statement, SBC members expressed the view that "Wana operation is being carried out at the behest of the United States to destabilize the country and make it surrender to the Bush administration."

They recalled that the military actions in East Pakistan and Balochistan had serious repercussions, "but the launching of the military operation in Wana shows that those at the helm of affairs have not learnt a lesson from the past."

They accused Gen Musharraf and his 'henchmen' of using the armed forces against 'innocent' Pakistanis. They apprehended that the military action might not lead to the arrest of terrorists, but could plunge the country into darkness.

Demanding that the military operation be stopped forthwith, they offered condolences to the bereaved of those killed in the operation.

The SBC statement was signed by Abdul Sattar Kazi, Abrar Hasan, Mustafa Lakhani, Muhammad Yasin Azad, Muhammad Aqil, Allah Bachayo Soomro, Muhammad Ismail Memon, Mushtaq Hussain Shah, Abdul Fatah Malik and Muhammad Sadiq Hidayetullah.