ISLAMABAD: The Special Committee of the National Assembly on Karachi and Balochistan decided on Thursday to meet the estranged Baloch leaders, some of whom are living abroad, to seek their support for restoring peace in the province.

Talking to reporters, the chairman of the committee, Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khursheed Shah, said the meeting had decided that members of the committee would visit Quetta next Thursday to meet members of parliament and the provincial assembly, ministers, tribal sardars and members of the civil society and the Baloch leaders who were not willing to talk to government’s representatives.

He said nationalist leaders Khair Bakhsh Marri and Ataullah Mengal and all others who had been refusing to meet anyone belonging to the government would be welcome to meet the committee in Quetta.

The committee was briefed by the Balochistan home secretary and Frontier Corps chief on the law and order situation in the province and steps taken by law-enforcement agencies.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik attended the briefing for some time but did not take part in the discussion.

Mr Shah said the committee would later visit Karachi to assess the situation there before preparing its recommendations for parliament.

Replying to a question, he said leaders of the parliamentary groups would be asked to nominate their representatives for the proposed oversight committee on the implementation of the resolution of the all party conference.