Akbar Bugti reiterates Reconciliation on Balochs' Terms
Pakistan Times Staff Report

DERA BUGTI: Nawab Akbar Bugti Tuesday said that reconciliation could only be made on Balochs terms.

This he said while talking to a 12-member government-opposition parliamentary delegation which is trying to end a stand-off between troops and tribesmen in Balochistan following clashes that killed dozens of people and sparked a siege of security forces.

The delegation visited violence-marred towns of Sui and Dera Bugti to try to ease the tension.

Bugti, who met the delegation at his residence guarded by armed tribesmen, said 62 people were killed in firing that day by paramilitary forces.

“We have at least 62 dead. There were mostly women and children, (killed) in a temple,” he said.

“One mother with two children and another woman with her sister and niece were killed, their bodies completely shattered.”

“The forces used machine guns and helicopter gunships, they fired on us with all the weapons that the government has except nuclear devices. But I presume, if need be, nobody would give a second thought about using them to exterminate the Baloch.”

Of the Siege

Following last Thursday’s bloodshed, officials say tribesmen have surrounded some 300 soldiers, government officials and their families who have been sheltering since Sunday at a fort at Dera Bugti.

The commander of paramilitary troops in the region, Brigadier Salim Nawaz, showed video images of heavily armed tribesmen ringing the fort. Officials said that Bugti has a private army of up to 4,000.

Bugti denied his men were laying siege to the fort but reiterated complaints that the Baloch people were getting no benefits from natural resources. “Balochistan is a ripe apple not for our consumption. We are foreigners, we are aliens in our own homes.”

He said it was up to the government to put forward a plan to end the unrest and refused to offer proposals of his own. “I can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.” Bugti told the delegation that reconciliation could only be on Baloch terms.

He showed the MPs marks and debris left by mortar explosions in his compound. The delegation also saw the temple, which was littered with abandoned sandals.

The dusty town resembled a battlefield, with burned vehicles and tribesmen perched on surrounding hilltops with their Kalashnikov rifles glinting in the sun.

Sherry Rehman

One Opposition member, Sherry Rehman said the Baloch leader “is so disaffected that he wants the government almost to woo him.”

'Major Crisis'

Nawaz told reporters a “major crisis” could be brewing in the region but insisted force would be used only as a last resort.

He said his forces had tried to avoid “collateral damage” but added he did not know the full extent of civilian casualties in the March-17 incident.

Shujaat Reax

And in Islamabad, the PML (Q) President and head of Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan Ch Shujaat Hussain said there is no specific reason for his not going along with the parliamentary delegation to Dera Bugti and Sui.

In an interview on Tuesday, Ch Shujaat said the Opposition leaders had been demanding that a parliamentary team should be sent to the area and “we sent a minister along with the team”.

“I myself have gone there on several occasions but the parliamentary delegation has gone there for first time,” he said, adding the main purpose of the visit of the team is to gather facts and figures about the incident that took place in Dera Bugti and assess the situation there.

The delegation has not gone there for holding talks with any one, he said, adding “the terms of reference that were agreed in the House and Committee were that we will go to Dera Bugti to see as to why the incident took place there.”

Asked whether a minister who also accompanied the National Assembly team was mandated to hold talks with Baloch leaders including Nawab Muhammad Akbar Bugti, Ch Shujaat replied: “There was no such thing. Minister Durrani went there to facilitate them,” he added.

Asked as to what proposal he will put forward to improve the situation in Dera Bugti if he goes there, because Nawab Akbar Bugti has already made his demands very clear, he replied: “The Nawab, in fact has apprehensions and we will remove them.”

Responding to a question, he said both President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will accept the proposals which he will present to resolve the Balochistan crisis.

“Flexibility should have to be shown to solve the problems and I would like to add that the ruling party always has to demonstrate such spirit,” he said, adding “but as far as the security of installations is concerned, there will be no compromise in any way.”

Shujaat, Sami, Rauf discuss Balochistan with Shaukat

PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain met Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday and discussed the current situation in the country.

The meeting held at PM House, the PML President lauded the initiative by the Prime Minister to send a delegation of Parliamentarians and media to Balochistan.

The Prime Minister said the government believed in transparency and expressed the hope the delegation’s visit to Balochsitan would help appreciate the ground realities.

The Prime Minister also reiterated that government wants to resolve Balochsitan issue amicably through dialogue. Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources Muhammad Naseer Khan Mengal called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and discussed the prevailing political situation in Balochistan.

The Minister also briefed the Prime Minister on the activities of his Ministry and plans to exploit mineral resource.

The Prime Minister talking to Minister said that Balochistan was gifted with vast mineral resources and underlined the need to accelerate efforts to exploit them for the benefit of the country and Balochistan.

The Prime Minister reiterated that his government believed in public-private partnership for development of the country. The Prime Minister said that the Agha Khan Board would have no concern with the curriculum and educational system.

The Prime Minister Aziz stated this in a meeting with the Jammiat Ulema-I-Islam JUI (S) leader and Senator Maulana Sami-Ul-Haq, who called on him.

Maulana Sami hailed the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s decision of restoration of religion column in the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) and also informed him of the public reservation on the Kala Bagh Dam.●