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Baluchi chief minister not ruling out Iranian, al-Qaeda involvement in unrest
Mir Jam Muhammad Yousaf, the Balochistan chief minister, has said he will not rule out the possibility that Iran or an extremist group is behind the recent disturbances in the province.Talking to a private television, the chief minister said he suspected that either Iran, Al Qaeda or another foreign power or extremist groups opposed to the government's policies could have been involved in the recent attacks by tribesmen on gas installations in Sui. A report in the Sunday Telegraph claimed Pakistani officials believed Iran was instigating an insurgency in Balochistan, but the Foreign Office has denied the report, saying it blames no foreign power for events in the province and has a very good relationship with Iran. Yousaf said there was no military operation in progress in the province and the government had no plans to launch one either. He said security forces were only there to guard natural gas installations in Sui. Tribal chiefs have said the attacks were sparked by public outrage at the alleged gang rape of a woman doctor by army personnel, but Yousaf said the incident had sparked no such public outrage. He said many women in other parts of the country had been subjected to such crimes, but never had there been such a reaction. He said soon after getting wind of the crime, the provincial government was ready to take action against the alleged rapists, but Pakistan Petroleum Limited authorities denied police permission to question the victim. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-01-26 |
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