Adil Najam
Government sources in Pakistan have just announced that Nawab Akbar Bugti, chief of the Bugti tribe, veteran politician, and senior Baluchistan leader, has been killed in a shootout between “tribal militants and government forces” in Balochistan.
This is very sad and disturbing news that cannot bode well for anyone. While details are still coming in, BBC reports:
The battle near his mountain hideout in south-west Pakistan also caused heavy casualties on both sides, reports say. More than 20 soldiers and at least 30 rebels died, officials say. The octogenarian has been at the head of a tribal campaign to win political autonomy and a greater share of revenue from Balochistan’s gas reserves. “It is confirmed, Nawab Bugti has been killed in an operation,” Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told Reuters news agency. The battle reportedly took place near the town of Dera Bugti, not far from Mr Bugti’s hideout.
According to a newsflash posted on The News website:
Jamhori Watan Party (JWP) chief Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was killed in a historical operation carried out by security forces in Kohlu and Murree tribal areas on Saturday night, Federal Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani confirmed… Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP-P) leader Makhdoom Amin Faheem termed Akbar Bugti’s death an incident which could worsen security situation in Pakistan.
The death, and the manner of death, of the veteran Baluch leader will indeed worsen the security situation in Baluchistan and exacerbate the feeling of marginalization amongst Baluchis. Nawab Bugti had, at various points in his life, ‘butted heads’ with just about all major leaders in Pakistan. His recent standoff with the Musharraf government was not the highpoint of his own political career but it may well be the lowest point of the Musharraf rule. However, more than the implications on immediate politics – which will become more clear and more pronounced over the next many days – this marks a tragic end to the life of an important political leader.
Born on July 12, 1927, Nawab Bugto was a ‘ tribal’ who was educated at Oxford, England, Aitchison College, Lahore and Karachi Grammar School and has served as Governor and Chief Minister of Baluchistan. Mr. Bugti’s legacy was clearly a mixed one and will be much debated and much dissected. He was, however, a major leader and this was indeed a sad and tragic way to go.
Reading through various posts I have found one fact very surprising. People claim that he was a feudal and should have be gotten rid of. Now this will pave the way for progress in Baluchistan.
I have never seen so much naivete from the educated and elite class as in case of this issue.
The trouble with Bugti that was he was uncompromising on his principles which could have been right or wrong but that had nothing to do with him being a merciless feudal.
He was one of three sardars who were not siding with Musharraf the other two being Marri and Mengal.
But what about the 70 or so odd sardars in government camp. Have they agreed to end feudalism in their fiefdoms, have new schools been built or are being built over there, is any economic progress taking place over there. The answer to all these questions is a blunt NO!
So I suggest that we should stop fooling ourselves that Bugti was killed to end feudalism, bring progress to Baluchistan. If we are so much dying to bring progress to Baluchistan, why not start with those areas whose Sardars are already in government camp.
As I am not a fan of conspiracy theories, I would not like to propose a vague reason why Musharraf wanted him killed? And the fact of the matter is, killing of Bugti was extra judicial (two wrongs do not make a right!) which should be condemned.
http://dawn.com/2006/09/06/ed.htm
Afghanistan: no ray of hope
In todays Dawn…all linked together??
http://gulf-news.com/opinion/columns/region/100649 94.html
A holocaust on the cards
By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign Editor
Was in today’s gulf-news…
Could there be a plan to readjust the populations of certain regions (has happened in the past)and everything that is happening in balochistan, dubai,islamabad,,,hotels, investments etc., etc. a part of this new world disorder!! I don’t know …
But after reading such articles do try to join the dots and would appreciate any comments affirming or opposing the propositon…
Intriguing. We talk very little about junejo, perhaps because he was chosen by a very bad dictator but even your second para shows he had character. Have hardly ever heard anything bad about him. I remember how sons of civil servants used to complain how he took away big cars from them and replaced them with suzukis (a right move in my opinion). I also remember seeing him showing up in zia’s funeral after “being fired”; that in turn was moral, especially when every body knew which way the wind was changing.
Ojhri, of course, was the ammunition depot in Rawalpindi that stored munitions on their way from US and other sources to the Afghan Mujahideen. It blew up under mysterious circumstances in 1988 (my experiecne of this was rather personal; I was driving and a rocket literally landed in front of the car!). There are many opinions on its impacts, and I am sure others will add thier’s. Here are mine:
What is now fairly undisputed is that this incident led to Gen. Zia’s giving up on his ‘controlled democracy’ experiemnt. There was already unease between him and his chosen PM, Mr. Junejo, over the Geneva talks but after this Junejo announced the setting up of an enquiry commission, which Zia quite publically disapproved of. This rift, it is generally argued, led to Mr. Junejo’s removal; and functional the abandonment of the commission.
The second impact it had, which is also generally accepted in the literature, was on US-Paksitan relations. It embarrassed both. A good account of how this already strained relationship became more strained in that period is to be found in the book “‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ which we had featured on ATP right in the beginning of this blog.
The third, and decidedly speculative, impact that is sometime suggested (but on which the evidence is not clear) are possible links between these blasts and Gen. Zia’s violent death soon afterwards. However, as Hasan-Askari Rizvi points out in his book “Military, State and Society in Pakistan” the event also highlighted deep internal rifts with the military and in its operational hierarchy on the handling of the Afghan situation and on its relationship to civilian Pakistan.