ISLAMABAD: Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi discussed the worsening law and order in his province with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani here on Thursday and warned that if the centre did not take any action things might get out of control in the months to come.

Sources privy to the meeting told Dawn that Mr Magsi especially mentioned the gruesome murder on Wednesday of Saba Dashtiari, a professor at the Balochistan University.

The prime minister accepted the governor's suggestion for a visit to the province to get a briefing on the law and order situation. According to the sources, Mr Gilani is likely to visit Balochistan after the budget.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik recently briefed the prime minister on the security situation in the province.

Mr Malik said Baloch nationalists, with the support of “foreign hands” were pushing matters to a “position of no return”. He attributed the worsening law and order to the “poor or no coordination between the local police and the Frontier Corps”.

Mr Malik said Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani's desire and attempts to bring the FC under his control “are detrimental to the federal authority over the force, hence unacceptable”. As a result of this confrontation, Mr Raisani was not allowing the FC to operate freely in urban centres of Balochistan, he added.

An official handout issued after the meeting said the government was giving top priority to the development of under-developed regions in the province.