President warns insurgents in Balochistan of elimination

Gwadar: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf yesterday warned tribal separatists in Balochistan province that they would be eliminated if they refuse to give up their weapons.

"I warn these elements that they have no future in Balochistan or in Pakistan, and they will be eliminated," Musharraf told a public meeting in the coastal town of Gwadar, where he inaugurated a new deep-sea port.

Balochistan, Pakistan's biggest but poorest province, has been plagued for decades by a low-level insurgency by tribal militants seeking more autonomy, greater political representation, and more money from its mineral resources.

Balochistan has the country's largest gas reserves and is rich in mineral resources, including copper and uranium.

Militants frequently attack pipelines, power transmission cables, railroads, buses and military and government installations, but they stepped up attacks in the past year with a string of bloody raids and bomb blasts. Musharraf asked the tribal militants to throw down their weapons and not disrupt the development initiated by his government in the province. The president, who announced plans for major infrastructure projects to win the support of locals, said the feudal ways of the tribal chieftains have contributed to the region's backwardness.