* Balochistan chief minister says whole country in grip of violence, province not an exception
QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani acknowledged on Thursday that his government could not stop target killings in the province.
"Law and order is not only Balochistan's issue. The whole country is in the grip of unabated violence. Therefore, we should not think that Balochistan is an exception," the CM told reporters. Raisani said the 1973 Constitution, tailored by Pakistan People's Party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had envisaged equal rights for all provinces. Under the constitution, it was promised that all powers would be granted to the provinces within ten years but successive military dictators violated the constitution.
"The people of Balochistan have suffered the most due to the violation of the constitution as they remained deprived of ownership of their own natural resources. Whenever the people of Balochistan asked for their constitutional rights in the past, their demands were quashed," he said.
Raisani said the use of brute force against the people of Balochistan alienated them. "Instead of learning a lesson from the past, some hawks within the establishment still falsely believe that the solution to the problems faced by the people is hidden in the use of force. The existing state of law and order is all due to the misuse of state force against the innocent people." The Balochistan CM demanded equal rights for all the federating units and suggested 'necessary amendments' to the 1973 Constitution. He added that a new social contract must be forged in order to get out of the existing crises. The country must move forward while keeping in view the recommendations given in the Lahore Resolution of 1940.
Impeachment: Raisani argued that the Balochistan government enjoyed the support of almost all members of the Balochistan Assembly, including those from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, in a no-confidence move against President Pervez Musharraf.
BA: The 65-memeber Balochistan Assembly (BA) will meet today at 5pm in a session to demand Musharraf’s impeachment. The CM added that the charge sheet, being finalised by the coalition partners in Islamabad, would also include the murder of former Balochistan chief minister Akbar Bugti and that of Balaach Marri, son of leading Baloch nationalist leader Khair Baksh Marri, in the supervision of Musharraf.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008 815story_15-8-2008_pg7_47
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