Preparing for the confab: President asks Balochistan governor to mediate

I will not abandon my brothers during these difficult times, adds Zardari.

KARACHI:

President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday entrusted Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Ali Magsi to engage enraged Baloch leaders, and bring them to the all-parties huddle on the province – adding that he wants to meet all the leaders personally.

“We accept that a sense of deprivation prevails amongst Baloch leaders,” the president said during a meeting held at Magsi’s residence in Karachi. He was visiting the provincial governor to offer condolences on his mother’s demise.

“The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) wants to resolve their issues. I personally want to meet all the leaders,” the president said.

He impressed upon the governor, being the chief of the Magsi tribe, to play the role of a mediator between the government and Baloch leaders, sources said.

The president also briefed him on the efforts to bring Baloch leaders into mainstream politics.

“We are convening an all-parties’ conference on the issue. Please convince all stakeholders in the province to take part, for seeking an amicable solution of Balochistan,” sources quoted the president as saying.

Army chief calls on Zardari

Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani also called on the president at Bilawal House. The army chief was in Karachi to attend the Commanding Officers’ Conference at the Ordinance Centre in Malir, said the spokesperson for Bilawal House.

Since the president was in Karachi, the army chief paid a visit to discuss security and other issues, the spokesperson added. No party leader was willing to divulge the contents of the meeting and insisted that it was a one-on-one meeting.

(Read: Desperate times)

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2012.