At a high-level meeting held at the Presidency on Tuesday, the second on Balochistan in a day, the federal government authorised the provincial government to start a dialogue with all political forces in the province and identify measures to strengthen the capacity of the police, Levies and other law enforcement agencies to effectively fight miscreants.
Presidential Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the second meeting focused on law and order while the first one considered development projects in the province. Babar said the meeting was told that a large number of missing persons had been traced while the hunt was on for the remaining ones, which numbered around 50. President Zardari directed the top government functionaries to provide all necessary resources to complete the development projects ahead of schedule in order to create an atmosphere conducive to peace and security in the province.
The president said the provincial government should engage all sections of society including political parties, tribal elders, academicians and the local population to hammer out a consensus solution. He asked the administration to take appropriate measures to strengthen the law enforcement agencies to effectively deal with the issues of law and order. The meting on law and order was also attended by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani, Secretary General to the President Salman Faruqui, Senator Babar Awan, Balochistan Home Minister Zafarullah Zehri, chiefs of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), Chief Secretary Mir Ahmad Baksh Lehri and other top officials.
Raisani authorised to hold talks with militants
