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ISLAMABAD: A decision has been made in principle by President Pervez Musharraf that the Chief Minister of Balochistan, Jam Yusuf, is to be relieved of his post with two serious contenders Tariq Magsi and Jan Jamali having a good chance to step into the chief ministerâ?Ts house.
"The meeting agreed that there was nothing wrong with Jam Yusuf as a person and he has an excellent personality but he has a very weak administration and the emerging situation inside Balochistan and the gathering storm are not something that he can tackle", says an informed source privy to the high-level meetings.
President Musharraf was quoted as saying that he was not at all satisfied with the performance of Jam Yusuf who had failed to control the law and order not only in Quetta but also in the far-flung areas of Balochistan.
Also not being ruled out is the fact that Musharraf could impose governorâ?Ts rule in the countryâ?Ts largest province as the incumbent Governor, Owais Khan Ghani, is very close to the president.
Recently the governor has emerged from his laid back position and come into the front with some very strong statements regarding lethal arms being smuggled from Afghanistan into Balochistan to create unrest there.
It is to be seen whether Owais Ghani would feel comfortable with the likes of Tariq Magsi and Jan Jamali as future contenders to head the government in Balochistan. As all eyes focus on the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan, the presidentâ?Ts house has held several high-level meetings with President Musharraf in the chair and the countryâ?Ts top-level officials from the civilian and military establishment as well as selected parliamentarians in attendance.
These meetings with Musharraf were held much before the Wednesdayâ?Ts meeting that the president held with the PML senators. "One thing is very clear. There will be three-pronged strategy for Balochistan as proposed by Musharraf. First and foremost is there will be no military operation in Balochistan. But at the same time the president insists that the writ of the state will be enforced", a senior official confided to The News.
The president was of the view that one battalion of nearly 1000 soldiers would remain in the province to ensure security to the strategic installations. More Baloch would be inducted into the army and the military barracks would be set up at Sui to station this battalion, which would be commanded by a colonel, the official disclosed.
As the centre looks for a strong political administration it appears that for the time being at least the PML-MMA coalition will continue for some time unless the centre can make the right moves towards the nationalists who would then have an option to "serve" their province instead of simply staying out and criticising the system.
Meanwhile, President Musharraf has also expressed his impatience with the final parliamentary report, which still has not seen the daylight as with the passage of time its relevance is being pushed in the back.
Musharraf raised this issue in the last meeting and prevailed upon Senator Wasim Sajjad to expedite this report, which should reach the presidentâ?Ts office no later than two weeks.
However, Musharraf made it clear that he was ready to give the Balochistan province maximum provincial autonomy and that there should be a complete review of the 47 items in the concurrent list. The president thought that with the cooperation of the opposition, the â?~73 constitution would be revived, giving the centre only defence, communication, economy, provincial coordination and foreign affairs.
Saturday will see the final meeting under Wasim Sajjad to wrap up this report once for all. Interestingly the former Chairman NRB, General Tanvir Hussain Naqvi had already carried two sstudies on this precise issue.
"President Musharraf made it abundantly clear that the present problems in Balochistan will be tackled politically, by removing the chief minister, continuing with political dialogue and ensuring security in the region.
So far the highly respected nationalists such as PKMAP leader Mehmud Khan Achakzai, who in the past had been hounded by agencies, appear to be getting some breathing space. If the military establishment plays its cards right, it will be nationalists like Achakzai who will not only be successful to deliver but also to diffuse the situation.
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