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Violence grips Quetta, other Pak cities
following Bugti's killing
by Muhammad Anwer

      Quetta/Karachi: Baloch mobs set fire to cars and government-owned buildings even as their representatives and leaders declared war against the Pakistan Government following the killing of their senior leader Akbar Khan Bugti during an army operation in the Kohlu Hills on Saturday. QaxZuetta was placed under an indefinite curfew. A high security alert along provincial borders and key cities and towns of the country notwithstanding, more than a dozen vehicles were burned, at least two banks and a petrol station were torched. Angry mobs burnt tyres at the Saryab Road and Golimar Chowk in Quetta, but the police were able to disperse the mobs. About 100 people, most of them students, have been arrested, police said, adding that no casualties had taken place so far.

     In Karachi, tension prevailed in a several areas, especially those dominated by Balochis. Enraged people congregated on roads and indulged in wanton ransacking and rioting in the localities of Patel Para, Malir, Khokharapar and Adam Hingora Goth. So alarming was the disturbance, that a red alert had to be declared in the metropolis.Patrolling of security agencies was boosted along Balochistan's borders with Sindh and Punjab in the aftermath of Bugti's killing. All vehicles entering in Sindh and Punjab are being searched thoroughly. Police and other security agencies contingents have been deployed at all railway stations upto Shikarpur, Dera Allahyar and Sibi. Security is also tight in Sukkur, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Khairpur, Ghotki, Kashmore, Larkana, Dadu, Naushehro Feroz and Nawabshah. Security has been tightened at airports, railway stations, bus terminals and key government and private buildings. Policemen were also deployed at Sukkur and Guddu barrages and Ranger contingents have been posted at Sukkur Barrage. Rangers and policemen have also been deployed at gas and oil pipelines, grid stations and other key installation in Jacobabad and Kashmore districts bordering Balochistan.

     Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, 79, was killed on Saturday in one of the biggest battles in years in gas-rich Baluchistan, where the nationalists have been demanding a bigger share of resources. He was killed in a military operation in Bhambore Hills. An official statement released at 2 a.m. said that in the exchange of fire, 21 army commandos and 37 rebels had also been killed. The dead reportedly included Balochistan Liberation Army Chief Balach Marri and Nawab Bugti's grandsons Brahamdagh and Mir Ali Bugti. Some sources said that Bugti and his entourage were betrayed by some of his own tribesmen, who sold the coordinates of his exact location, thus enabling the Pakistani security forces to target his hideout with U.S.-manufactured missiles.

     Politicians and analysts said the death of Bugti, a former chief minister of Baluchistan, was likely to inflame opposition to the government in Pakistan's biggest but poorest province. Government officials involved with security said more than 20 members of the security forces and nearly 40 rebels had been killed in the fighting in which Bugti was killed. The army, however, confirmed the deaths of four officers and one soldier in the fighting in the province's Kohlu district. Bugti, a former chief minister of Baluchistan, was for years one of Pakistan's most distinctive and respected politicians. He had to go underground early this year in the wake of a government crackdown that forced the rebels to step up their attacks on local infrastructure, including gas pipelines and security posts. Security forces have responded with a series of offensives. Pakistan's political leaders condemned the killing of Baloch leader and Jamhoori Watan Party chief, describing it as a tragedy that would be followed with "lethal" consequences.

    Pakistan People's Party (PPP) President Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that Bugti's death would cause "massive destruction". Describing the army operation as an "extraordinary incident", he said that the Musharraf regimehad shocked the whole nation". "The killing of national and regional political leaders in this manner will lead to a great national disaster and it would be "destructive for Pakistan if the government continued such killings," he added. PPP Information Secretary Sherry Rehman termed the incident a great threat and danger to the federation. Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said Bugti's death was regrettable and prayed that his soul would rest in peace. Hussain, however, refused to answer various other queries relating to the future of the Baluchistan struggle, saying that "I will be able to comment only after receiving details of the incident." Sardar Akhtar Mengal, president of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), said in Quetta that Bugtis death would have long-term negative implications, and the incident would "widen the gap between Islamabad and Balochistan". Mengal told Daily Times that Bugti was a "fighter" for the rights of Balochs and his death would now draw the line between Balochistan and Pakistan. He said the Baloch nation would now go all out to seek revenge for Nawab Bugti's murder. Punjab PML-N President Sardar Zulifqar Khosa said that Bugti's death would result in consequences that would be disastrous for Pakistan. He said that it was irony that Islamabad was negotiating with foreign elements to ensure peace and stability in the North West Frontier Province, while in Balochistan, it was killing innocent and patriotic Pakistanis. PML-N Secretary Information Ahsan Iqbal said that Bugti's killing was regrettable and unfortunate. He said that it appeared that rulers had learnt no lesson from history. "Bullets dont solve problem, they create problems," he said. PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique said that the Baloch separatists were looking for a martyred Sardar and the rulers had provided them with that opportunity. He said the killing of Bugti in a military operation was a conspiracy to break up Pakistan. MMA leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said that only time will tell whether "an old but alive Bugti or a dead Bugti was better for Pakistan". Nawab Aslam Raissani, the chief of Sarawan and head of Raisani tribe, accused the Musharraf regime of perpetrating a genocide of the Baloch nation. He described Bugti was a very important leader and that the rulers could not take away his respect from the hearts of the people. The MQM's self-exiled leader, Altaf Hussain, on Sunday condemned the killing of Nawab Bugti and expressed condolences with the Bugti family. In what appeared to be a warning with dire political consequences, he said that his party had always opposed the military operation in Balochistan and had repeatedly called for talks to resolve the issue. He did not rule out the possibility of withdrawing support to the Shaukat Aziz Government. In Gwadar, Baluchis burnt down the local office of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) after hearing the news of Bugti's killing. Hundreds of Baluchi tribesmen descended on the Muslim League office as day broke, burnt the party flag and set the building on fire. Seven Muslim League activists, who were inside the building, were captured, and their fate is not known. Muslim League leader and former Pakistan Prime Minister Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain condemned the burning of the local party office in Gwadar, and appealed to all maintain calm and peace in the wake of Bugti's killing.

Profile of Balochistan's struggle for self-determination

      Quetta: Balochistan is regarded as the poorest and most backward of Pakistan's four provinces. With about six million inhabitants, Pakistan's largest province has less than half the population of Karachi. Balochistan is the source of Pakistan's main gas reserves, and has been the scene of increased violence between rebels and security forces over the past five decades. The rebels want greater political and economic rights, and in pursuit of this objective,have targeted gas plants, electricity lines and railway tracks. In mineral resources, Balochistan is said to be Pakistan's richest province and is also a major supplier of natural (Sui) gas across the country. With the government now planning to construct a deep sea port at Gwadar and a road link with Afghanistan and Central Asia, Balochistan has acquired a new significance - both for Pakistan and other regional players. The Balochis say the government has taken away income from natural (Sui) gas and other resources, while spending only a trivial amount on developing the province.

    Three Baloch tribal leaders -- Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Nawab Khair Baksh Marri and Sardar Ataullah Mengal have been in the forefront of the struggle for greater national rights, financial resources and against the establishment of military camps in Balochistan. With Bugti's death, a vacuum has been created in the Baloch struggle for self-determination. For these nationalist leaders, large projects such as the highway and Gwadar port scheme are another form of subjugation - serving Islamabad only and little benefit to Balochistan.

    The People of Balochistan struggle for right of self-determination has its genesis in history and culture. The people of Balochistan have never accepted the hegemony and domination of Pakistani establishment at any stage in the 60-year history of Pakistan. The history of the struggle for self-determination began when Balochistan was forcefully annexed to Pakistan though at that time Balochistan had its own Parliamentary system. It had its own House of Commons and House of Lords. Both the houses unanimously voted not to join Pakistan. When Pakistan government couldn't get the approval from the Baloch people's representatives, they passed a resolution from Quetta Municipality majority (elected by settlers) to vote in favour of Balochistan's annexation to Pakistan. Physically it was not possible for Pakistan government to annex Balochistan, but this did not stop it from breaking the State of Kalat into four parts and controlling the coastline of Makaran with the help of the Pakistan Navy. In 1956, Governor General Sikandar Mirza dissolved all the states of Balochistan and declared them to be a part of West Pakistan. In 1958, as President of Pakistan, Mirza encouraged the Khan of Kalat to demand restoration of Kalat State and when this was done, the Khan of Kalat was declared a traitor of Pakistan. In the same year, people started defying the Government for not implementing the anti one unit resolution and restoring back the status quo. In December 1958, the Army operation started in Jhalawan in Balochistan. Many political activists and civilians were murdered in an operation that lasted more than two years.

     In 1962, general elections were held under Pakistan's new Constitution. In Balochistan there were only two national assembly seats, which were won by Nawab Khair Baksh Marri and Sardar Attaullah Mengal. In the first session of the national assembly Sardar Attaullah Mengal exposed the shenanigans of Ayub Khan's martial law regime, which led to his and other tribal leaders' incarceration. The high-handedness of the government led to the people of Balochistan to react sharply. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Pakistan Army was sent repeatedly into the interiors of Balochistan to teach the people of Balochistan a lesson. Leaders were repeatedly put behind the bars, and people were butchered to the extent that children were killed and their bodies were not allowed to be buried. Some people were thrown down from choppers on their villages.Thousands of people were killed or left homeless by the army operations, which has continued for almost three decades. In the late 1990s and of late, Pakistan President Musharraf has accused the tribal chiefs of being anti-development. He has consistently said that the tribal chiefs have opposed his projects because of fears that prosperity will end their archaic tribal system, which preserves their power. Without naming any country, he also accuses the armed Baloch militants of playing into foreign hands. Senior officials in the security forces say they grew alarmed when intelligence agencies found more than one foreign country was involved in the province's affairs. The countries were said to be opposed to Gwadar becoming a major trading port for central Asian nations and China. One official said the biggest shock came when the interrogation of a group of militants revealed they had been trained in a friendly Gulf country, which allegedly feared it could lose its status as the region's biggest trading port. The Musharraf-backed government has expressed its determination to re-establish its control of the restive south-western province and to "fix" the sardars or tribal rebel chiefs. "We will protect national installations in Baluchistan at all costs and ensure full security to the development activities and to foreign investors there," said President Pervez Musharraf in an address to the nation recently. Thousands of paramilitary and army troops, backed by jets and helicopter gunships, began a major offensive in December 2005. Baluch nationalist leaders claim hundreds have been killed in bombardments in the Kohlu district. The military has denied the allegations, saying it was solely targeting "terrorists". Musharraf has insisted that the operation against the 'rebellious' sardars was being conducted by the paramilitary forces and not by the army, though some 1,000 armymen were assisting the security forces. He has claimed that of the 77 sardars in Baluchistan, only three - Bugti, Marri and Mengal - were opposing the government. Seasoned Balochistan watchers say the problem is essentially local. They say the Baloch people can only be tamed through political means, pointing out that this is not the first time they have taken up arms to fight those they see as outsiders. And, they say, though the might of the armed forces might crush the people of Balochistan, it will never win their hearts and minds.

Pak Govt refuses to hand over Bugti's body

       Islamabad: The Pakistan Government has formally rejected an appeal by the Bugti family to hand over the body of the slain leader Akbar Khan Bugti. This decision was conveyed by the president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and former Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to Shahid Bugti, Akbar Khan Bugti's son-in-law. Shahid Bugti said the Bugti family is tense and confused following this development, as some of its members were running from pillar to post trying to get some information regarding the Baloch leader's death at the hands of the Pakistan Army in the hills of Kohlu and the whereabouts of his body. "We are trying to get the nawab sahib's dead body from the security forces, but I have failed in my attempts to establish contact with any authority in this regard," Shahid Bugti said.

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