Pakistan's new government says it has pulled thousands of security personnel out of troubled Balochistan province as part of efforts to bring peace there.

About 7,000 troops have left the cities of Quetta and Gwadar to "ease a state of siege", a senator from the governing Pakistan People's Party said.

The thinly-populated but resource-rich province has Murdoch quits US newspaper fight ...
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Shares rally on better bank news ... been the scene of a revolt by nationalist rebels since 2001.

The rebels want autonomy and greater control over Balochistan's resources.

Dialogue

Military operations against the rebels led to considerable population displacement in 2006.

Hundreds of nationalist activists have gone missing in the province amid allegations that they are being kept incommunicado by the security agencies.

In his inaugural speech to the newly-elected parliament last month, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said his government would talk to all segments of the Baloch population, including the rebels, to find a peaceful solution to the problems of the province.

Later a committee was formed to clear the ground for an all-parties conference on Balochistan.

The head of the committee, Senator Babar Awan, told Geo TV on Tuesday that the government had pulled out 7,000 paramilitary troops from the Baloch capital, Quetta, and the port city of Gwadar.

"This means an end to over 30 check posts in these cities," he said. "This will help ease a state of siege in the province."

But there are no reports of a similar troop pullout from the eastern district of Dera Bugti, which has been a flashpoint of rebel activity for more than four years.

The army killed a nationalist leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti, in an operation in the area in 2006.

To contain the backlash from the killing, the government arrested a large number of political leaders and activists and charged them with serious offences, including treason.

One such leader, Akhtar Mengal, who heads the largest political party of the province, was released last week as "a goodwill gesture".

The government has also set up a committee to look into cases of "missing" persons in the province.

(BBC)

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