Pak not serious: Mengal

The Baloch nationalist leader has accused Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf of launching an undeclared war against the smaller provinces.

Baloch nationalist leader and President of the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM), Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal has said that the federal government was not serious about solving the Balochistan crisis.

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He accused President General Pervez Musharraf of launching an undeclared war against the smaller provinces, and said that nationalist forces would resist them with all their might.

He said the military and the federal forces had unconstitutionally captured the civilian government.

The present regime had broken all previous records of human rights violations in the province and was not desirous of the continuance of political process in Pakistan.

He said that in the 58 years since Pakistan's inception, the province had been exploited for the development of Punjab and other areas.

"If the federal government is really interested in the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources, including oil and gas, in the province, then it should first of all recognise in principle that these resources belong to Balochistan," the DailyTimes quoted Sardar Mengal as saying.

He further said that the Baloch people were the legal owner of their natural resources and there would be no compromise on retaining these rights.