President Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that there was no problem in Sui and that "only one worthless man" was trying to protect his sardari in the area.
| That'd be our old friend Foster Brooks, of course... |
 Addressing a public meeting at Kasur, the president said a record number of development projects had been started and completed in Balochistan province over the last four years, but anti-social elements did not want a developed province and wanted to keep the masses backward. President Musharraf said the government wanted to resolve the Balochistan issue by political dialogue, but pot shots taken at the army or national installations would be answered with bullets. The government would safeguard its installations and the army at all cost, the president added. The Frontier Constabulary (FC) recently clashed with Bugti tribesmen in Dera Bugti and Sui, resulting in casualties on both sides. Bugti tribesmen had also besieged an FC fort. Bugti chief Nawab Akbar Bugti had claimed that FC shelling had killed several civilians, but the FC refuted the claim, saying it were the Bugti tribesmen who had misdirected their fire and killed the civilians. The FC said it fired in the area from where it was taking fire. The government then sent its representatives to meet Akbar Bugti and both parties formed a committee to resolve the situation, with Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid Hussain being a part of it. |