Islamabad: Benazir Bhutto's party called yesterday for an end to military operations against insurgents in Balochistan and the release of all political prisoners in the southwestern province where the Afghan government believes the Taliban leadership may be hiding.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which will lead the new government after winning last week's elections, issued the call following a meeting between its top leaders and party officials from Balochistan, where militants have been fighting for self-rule and a greater share of royalties from the area's natural gas fields.
In a statement, the party apologised to the people of Balochistan for "the atrocities and injustices committed against them" by government forces and called for the release of all political prisoners including Akhtar Mengal, a former provincial chief minister who was arrested in a government crackdown in September 2006.
Maximum autonomy
The statement also called for "maximum provincial autonomy" for Balochistan and Pakistan's three other provinces.
The two biggest opposition parties - including Bhutto's group - together captured at least 154 of the 268 contested seats in the National Assembly and have begun talks on forming a new coalition government. President Pervez Musharraf's ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, won only 40 seats.
US officials have been concerned that the overwhelming rejection by the Pakistani voters of Musharraf's political allies could undermine the US-led war against terrorism, especially against Al Qaida and Taliban fighters who have sought refuge in Balochistan and other areas that border Afghanistan.
The US-backed Afghan government believes the Taliban leadership, including Mullah Omar, is hiding in the Balochistan provincial capital of Quetta - a charge Pakistani officials deny.
Before the balloting, opposition groups had been calling for a change in strategy for combating Islamist extremism, shifting from military operations to dialogue with militants, some of whom have close ties to Al Qaida and the Taliban, which have been battling US-led coalition troops in Afghanistan.
Late on Saturday, suspected militants attacked a checkpoint near Peshawar, killing two paramilitary soldiers and one policeman, said Zulfikar Khan, a local police official.
The Bush Administration has considered the unpopular Musharraf among its closest allies in the war against terrorism, and US officials have been encouraging the winners of last Monday's election to work with the president rather than undertake steps to remove him.
The country's outgoing ruling party promised on Saturday to support the winners in combating Islamist extremism and said it was prepared to play a "positive, constructive role" in the interest of national stability.
During a press conference yesterday, a leading Islamist politician called on Musharraf to resign, saying "the people have given their verdict" and rejected the president's policies in the Monday ballot.
"If he has any respect for democracy, any realisation of public opinion, Musharraf should resign or we will ask the people to demand that he step down," Qazi Hussain Ahmad, head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, told reporters.
