QUETTA, April 9: Jamhoori Watan Party president Nawab Akbar Bugti has said that a statement issued by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed on the Dera Bugti issue is not a joint statement but a government statement.

However, he said that he had no difference over the “words of the statement” that was sent to him on Saturday from Islamabad.

Talking to journalists from Dera Bugti over telephone on Saturday, he said: “The statement issued by Mushahid Hussain is not a joint statement as I have not signed it. It is a government statement that was sent to me today.”

However, he said that he had no difference over the words used in the statement.

Nawab Bugti again clarified that he had not nominated Sher Ali Mazari as a member of the three-member committee on the Dera Bugti-Sui issues.

He said that Mr Mazari was his nephew, mostly lived in Islamabad and facilitated contacts between him and the government.

However, Mr Mazari had not been empowered by him for settling a dispute between the Bugti tribe and the government, the JWP chief said.