Back to Headlines

Is Baloch freedom-struggle entering
former East Pakistan phase?
by Vikram Vishal

      New Delhi: South Asian analyst B Raman feels that the Pakistani Army is following similar policies in Balochistan that it adopted in former East Pakistan in 1971. He says the freedom struggle in Balochistan has entered a new phase following the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. Condemning the action of the Pakistan Air Force and Army, Raman, in an article in the South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG), says the Pakistani forces "have shown that they have had no lessons to learn from the consequences of the similar policies followed by them in the pre-1971 East Pakistan".

     Noted defence analyst Uday Bhaskar also said that the assassination of Bugti would create more problems for the Pakistan Government. He said that Baloch people would use Bugti's death as rallying point for fermenting more trouble for the government. However, he added: "Pakistan would not hesitate to use adequate force to completely throttle the insurgency". All Parties National Alliance (APNA) Chairman and Gilgit leader Wajhat Hassan Khan told ANI over telephone that the killing of Bugti would have bad repercussion. However, he said that it was too early to say whether the situation would become as intense as it had in 1971 in the East Pakistan case. "It is a debatable issue at this point of time. Both people and leaders are puzzled over the situation at the moment," said Wajhat.

    Another senior APNA leader, Arif Shahid, added that the aftermath of the incident would be totally against the Pakistan Government and its defence forces, saying whenever military is used to suppress any movement, it has resulted against the forces. "People are already protesting across Pakistan against the military action," Shahid added. Condemning the assassination of Bugti and other Baloch leaders, APNA spokesman Professor M.A.R.K. Khaleeque said the incident would prove to be a "watershed" in the Baloch independence struggle. It may be noted that international and Indian media had accused Pakistan of using heavy artillery and helicopter gunships against Baloch nationalists. Raman has also quoted "reliable sources" in Balochistan that the Pakistan Army pinpointed the cave in which Bugti and his followers had taken shelter by using "modern communication monitoring sets given by the US recently for pinpointing the location of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and other remnants of the Al Qaeda in Pakistani territory". "The Air Force went into action on August 24 and 25 and repeatedly bombed these caves. Thereafter, special commando units of the Pakistan Army, which had been moved into Balochistan from the North Waziristan area, went into the area and raided the caves," Raman writes.

'Bugti's killing could trigger insurgency' (Top)

      Lahore: Najam Sethi, a leading Pakistani journalist, has said that Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was killed accidentally by security forces. He added that he had become an idol of the youths in the region, and his killing could further trigger insurgency in the region. "The security forces had attacked militants hiding in the area and Bugti was killed accidentally. There is foreign intervention in Balochistan and Akbar Bugti is now a hero for every Baloch youth, prompting them to join the insurgency," the Daily Times quoted its editor as saying in a programme on GEO TV. He said that the government committed its first mistake by pushing Bugti on the insurgents' side and the second mistake by stopping negotiations with him. The government did not want to target Bugti because it could have hit him anytime it wanted to, added Sethi. He said that the killing in a military operation was regrettable and the incident would have long-term negative implications. The government had wrongly assumed that Bugti was leading the insurgency in Balochistan and that his death would end the provincial crisis, he reportedly said while speaking in a Geo television programme last evening. "Bugti was not leading the insurgency in Balochistan. He was only leading his tribe. He did not join the insurgency despite efforts by the Mengals, Marris and other tribes," he said, and added that the government "should have isolated Bugti from other insurgents", but surprisingly it pushed him towards them.

Musharraf vows to continue operation
against tribal 'miscreants'

      Islamabad: After the yesterday's killing of tribal leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in the Dera Bugti region in Balochistan province, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is learnt to have decided to continue the operation against "miscreants" there. "Bugti's killing would not stop the operation against miscreants to establish the writ of the government in Balochistan," the Daily Times quoted Musharraf as saying at a meeting chaired by him. The meeting was supposedly held to discuss the possible fallout of the killing of the popular tribal leader. Musharraf said that the tribal chiefs who ran militant training camps and private militias "could not be tolerated", and added that Bugti had "refused to accept the government's writ and had undermined the security of the country".

     Musharraf has reportedly offered to resume political dialogue with the Baloch rebels. He said, "The doors for negotiated settlement of all issue are always open. Neither we closed these channels in the past nor would we do in future". Political parties and even members of the ruling alliance have been demanding for resumption of peace dialogue with the rebels for past few months. BBC reported today that several security agencies and advisers, including the Interservices Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau, had asked Musharraf to talk to the Baloch leaders.

India terms Bugti's killing as 'tragic loss'
to Balochistan, Pakistan  (Top)

      New Delhi: India on Monday condemned the killing of Balochistan nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti by Pakistani armed forces. Dubbing Bugti's killing as a "tragic loss to the people of Balochistan and Pakistan", Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Navtej Sarna said that there was a need to address the grievances and aspirations of the people of Balochistan through peaceful dialogues. He added that the political problems could never be solved through the use of military force. "Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti played a prominent role in Pakistani politics for over four decades. His death leaves a vacuum that will be difficult to fill," he said. Bugti and his two grandsons, along with several other Baloch leaders, were killed in a military operation on Saturday night.

Back to Headlines                  Go To Top