بگٹیوں کا انتظار

’ہمارے بچے بھی پریشان ہیں۔ ہمارے ساتھ انصاف کیا جائے‘

تین سال قبل ڈیرہ بگٹی میں فوجی آپریشن اور بگٹی قبائل کے درمیاں لڑائی کی وجہ سے بے گھر ہونے والے دس ہزار کے قریب بگٹی خاندان جو نصیر آباد اور ڈیرہ مراد جمالی میں عارضی طور پر آباد ہوئے تھے، ان میں سے زیادہ تر لوگ اب واپس جاچکے ہیں۔

کوئٹہ جانے والی شاہراہ اور ریلوے لائن کے درمیاں ڈیرہ اللہ یار سے ڈیرہ مراد جمالی تک چند ماہ پہلے تک تو سینکڑوں جھگیاں نظر آتی تھیں جہاں ’مہاجر بگٹی‘ آباد تھے، لیکن اب وہاں بیس سے پچیس خاندان باقی بچ گئے ہیں اور دیگر لوگ اپنی جھگیاں اکھاڑ کر جا چکے ہیں۔

مقامی بگٹی لوگوں کا کہنا ہے کہ کئی’مہاجر بگٹی خاندان‘ ڈیرہ بگٹی کے شہر سوئی اور دیگر علاقوں میں چلے گئے ہیں۔ ان کے مطابق نواب اکبر بگٹی کی جان نشینی کے دعویدار نواب عالی بگٹی دربدر ہونے والے بگٹیوں کی سرپرستی کر کے انہیں اپنے آبائی ضلع میں واپس آنے میں مدد فراہم کر رہے ہیں۔

ڈیرہ اللہ یار کے مقامی صحافی سارنگ مستوئی کا کہنا ہے کہ کچھ بگٹی خاندان ایسے بھی ہیں جنہیں نواب عالی بگٹی کے حامی زبردستی سوئی لے گئے ہیں اور انہیں اپنی نوابی تسلیم کروائی ہے۔

ان کے مطابق بگٹی قبیلہ اب تین حصوں میں تقسیم نظر آتا ہے۔’بظاہر تو زیادہ تر بگٹی خاندان نواب عالی کے ساتھ ہیں لیکن نوابزادہ برہمداغ بگٹی کے حامیوں کی بھی اچھی خاصی تعداد ہے اور چند بگٹی خاندان طلال بگٹی کے بھی حامی ہیں۔‘

بظاہر تو زیادہ تر بگٹی خاندان نواب عالی کے ساتھ ہیں لیکن نوابزادہ برہمداغ بگٹی کے حامیوں کی بھی اچھی خاصی تعداد ہے اور چند بگٹی خاندان طلال بگٹی کے بھی حامی ہیں

سارنگ مستوئی

ڈیرہ اللہ یار کے قریب سڑک کنارے چالیس سے پچاس سینٹی گریڈ کے درجہ حرارت کے دوران بغیر بجلی اور کسی بنیادی سہولت کے آباد بگٹیوں میں ایک ستر سالہ جمعہ خان بگٹی بھی ہیں۔ سفید ریش جمعہ خان سے جب پوچھا کہ وہ اپنے نئے نواب عالی خان بگٹی کے ساتھ سوئی کیوں نہیں گئے تو انہوں نے کہا کہ ’ہم غریب لوگ ہیں کوئی مالکی کرنے والا نہیں۔۔ جب فوج واپس جائے گی اور برہمداغ بگٹی واپس آئیں گے اور امن قائم ہوگا تو ہم بھی واپس جائیں گے۔‘

جب ان سے پوچھا کہ کیا نواب عالی ان کی سرپرستی نہیں کرتے تو انہوں نے کہا کہ وہ بھی ان کے نواب ہیں اور برہمداغ بھی ان کے نواب ہیں۔ ’عالی اور برہمداغ ہمارے لیے اپنی دو آنکھوں کے برابر ہیں۔‘ ان کے ہمراہ لاشار خان اور غازی بگٹی سے بھی ملاقات ہوئی اور وہ بھی جمعہ خان کے ہم خیال تھے۔

ان کی جھگیوں کے قریب ہی ایک بیٹھک بھی ہے جو اُجڑی نظر آئی۔ ڈیرہ بگٹی ضلع کے علاقے سنگسیلا سے تعلق رکھنے والے لاشار خان نے بتایا کہ ’ہماری بیٹھک میں نواب اکبر بگٹی، برہمداغ اور عالی بگٹی کی تصاویر لگی تھیں اور اس کے اوپر بلوچستان ریپبلکن پارٹی کا پرچم لگا تھا۔۔ جس پر پولیس والے ناراض ہوئے اور انہوں نے ہماری بیٹھک اکھاڑ دی ہے۔‘

ان سے بات چیت جاری تھی کہ وہاں سے ریل گاڑی گزری اور پولیس کی ایک گاڑی بھی اس موقع پر ریلوے لائن کے قریب کھڑی نظر آئی۔ مقامی صحافی سارنگ مستوئی نے بتایا کہ پولیس کو شبہہ ہے کہ بجلی کے پول اور ریل کی پٹڑی پر دھماکوں میں برہمداغ کے حامی بگٹی ملوث ہیں اور اب جب ریل گاڑی گزرتی ہے تو جہاں جہاں ریلوے لائن کے قریب بگٹی آباد ہیں وہاں پولیس کی گاڑیاں حفاظت کے لیے کھڑی ہوتی ہیں۔

ہماری بیٹھک میں نواب اکبر بگٹی، برہمداغ اور عالی بگٹی کی تصاویر لگی تھیں اور اس کے اوپر بلوچستان ریپبلکن پارٹی کا پرچم لگا تھا۔۔ جس پر پولیس والے ناراض ہوئے اور انہوں نے ہماری بیٹھک اکھاڑ دی ہے

بگٹی قبائیلی

پچیس سالہ نوجوان شاہ بخش بگٹی اس تاثر کو رد کرتے ہیں اور ان کا کہنا ہے کہ ’ ہم غریب کاشتکار ہیں۔۔ محنت مزدوری کرتے ہیں۔۔ پولیس خوامخواہ تنگ کرتی ہے۔ ہمارے عزیز ہیں جواں سال بگٹی، انہیں پولیس نے دہشت گردی کے جھوٹے کیس میں چالان کردیا ہے۔‘

جواں سال بگٹی کی بوڑھی والدہ شر بی بی اور بہن شانی بی بی سے بات ہوئی تو انہوں نے کہا کہ ’ہم بہت پریشان ہیں، جواں سال محنت مزدوری کرتے تھے لیکن پولیس نے انہیں سزا دلوائی ہے۔ اب ہمارا کمانے والا بھی کوئی نہیں۔ ہمارے بچے بھی پریشان ہیں۔ ہمارے ساتھ انصاف کیا جائے۔‘

شاہ بخش نے کہا کہ ’مشرف کے دور میں فوجی آپریشن سے تنگ ہوکر ڈیرہ اللہ یار آئے۔ ہماری بکریوں کا ریوڑ تھا، غربت کے مارے ہم وہ بیچ کر کھا گئے۔ اب چند گائے بچی ہیں۔‘


بگٹیوں کی جھونپڑیاں

جب ان سے پوچھا کہ نئی حکومت آئی اس نے آپ لوگوں کے لیے کچھ کیا ہے تو انہوں نے کہا کہ ’حکومت نے یہ اچھا کیا کہ مشرف کو نکال دیا کیوں کہ ہم مشرف کی وجہ سے دربدر ہوئے۔ مشرف کے دور میں کچھ این جی او والے ہماری مدد کے لیے آئے تو خفیہ ایجنسیوں والوں نے انہیں بھگا دیا۔ اب نئی حکومت آئی لیکن ہماری کسی نے کوئی مدد نہیں کی۔‘

بے گھر ہونے والے ان بگٹیوں کے زیادہ تر بچے تعلیم سے محروم ہیں۔ تیرہ سالہ جمال بگٹی نے بتایا کہ تین سال قبل وہ سنگسیلا میں ساتویں کلاس میں پڑھتا تھا لیکن ڈیرہ اللہ یار میں جب وہ سکول گئے تو سرٹیفکیٹ نہ ہونے کی وجہ سے انہیں داخلہ نہیں ملا اور وہ تعلیم جاری نہ رکھ سکے۔

بظاہر انتہائی کسپمرسی کی حالت میں رہنے والے ان بگٹیوں کے حالات تو خراب ہیں لیکن ان میں سے اکثر کے پاس موبائل فون بھی نظر آئے اور ہماری وہاں موجودگی کے دوران کئی کو کئی بار فون پر بات کرتے بھی سنا۔

’’بلوچستان … ڈیرہ بگتی ‘‘ … (آخری قسط)

سرور منیر رائو ـ 1 دن 12 گھنٹے پہلے شائع کی گئی

جن ایام میں اکبر بگتی اور پاکستا ن کی سیکورٹی فورسز ایک دوسرے کی متحارب تھیں ان دنوں میں ڈیرہ بگتی گیا۔ اس سے تیس سال پہلے بھی میں ڈیرہ بگتی گیا تھا۔ پہلے دورے کی یادایک فلم کی طرح میرے ذہن پر چل رہی تھی۔ ٹی وی رپورٹر کی حیثیت سے مجھے تقریباً پورا پاکستان اور دنیا کے بہت سے ممالک کا دورہ کرنے اور انکے حالات کو رپورٹ کرنے کا موقعہ ملا لیکن یہ ایک حقیقت ہے کہ بلوچستان کے اس حصے کی ابتر صورتحال دیکھ کر ایک پاکستانی کی حیثیت سے مجھے انتہائی دکھ ہوا۔ تیس سال پہلے یہ علاقہ بگتی ایجنسی کہلاتا تھا اور اب اسے ضلع ڈیرہ بگتی کہا جاتا ہے۔
تیس سال پہلے یہاں متعین انتظامی افسر کو پولٹیکل ایجنٹ کا نام دیا جاتا ہے۔ اب اسکی جگہ تعینات سرکاری افسر کو ڈسٹرکٹ کوارڈی نیٹر(DCO) کہتے ہیں۔ ڈیرہ بگتی اور نواحی علاقے کو ایک نظر دیکھنے سے ہی اندازہ ہو گیا کہ اس عرصے میں نہ تو یہاں کے عوام کی سوچ میں کوئی تبدیلی آئی اور نہ ہی یہ علاقہ سرداری نظام کے شکنجے سے نکل سکا ہے۔ ڈیرہ بگتی شہر میں کچھ نئی دوکانیں اور مکان ضرور بنے ہیں لیکن عام آدمی کی زندگی میں کوئی تبدیلی نہیں آئی۔ لوگوں کے لباس انکی تراش خراش اور طرز زندگی پر جدید ترقی کا کوئی اثر نظر نہیں آیا۔البتہ ایک تبدیلی ضرور نظر آئی اور وہ ہے اسلحہ کی ساخت میں، پہلے یہ لوگ بارہ بور اور توڑے والی بندوقیں اٹھائے پھرتے تھے اب انکے کندھوں پر کلاشنکوف، راکٹ لانچر، وائرلیس سیٹ اور ہاتھوں میں سٹلائیٹ فون تھے۔ کچھ بھی ہو لیکن ہماری حکومتیں بلوچستان کے لوگوں کے حالات اور انکے رویوں میں کسی بھی قسم کی مثبت تبدیلی لانے میں نا کام رہی ہیں۔
بلوچستان کی صورتحال اب بھی کچھ اس طرح ہے کہ یہاں مجموعی طور پر انتظامی خلفشار رہے۔ طاقت کے مرکز ایک نہیں بلکہ کئی ہیں۔ فیصلہ سازی کے عمل میں بیک وقت قبائلی عمائدین، سیاسی راہنما، انتظامی افسران، صوبائی اور لسانی تعصب، زہریلا پروپیگنڈا اور بیرونی ہاتھ اثر انداز ہو رہے ہیں۔ بلوچستان کے دفینے اور خزینے دبے پڑے ہیں۔ سالانہ بجٹ تعمیر و ترقی کی بجائے صاحب اقتدار لوگوں کے درمیان بندر بانٹ کی طرح تقسیم ہو جاتا ہے۔ کوئٹہ اور ایک آدھ چھوٹے شہروں کو چھوڑ کر پورے صوبے میں تعلیم، صحت اور مواصلات کی سہولتوں کا فقدان ہے۔
آخر کیا وجہ ہے کہ بھرپور عسکری طاقت کے باوجود نہ تو کوئی ’’آمر‘‘ حکمران اس مسئلے کو عسکری طاقت سے حل کر سکا اور نہ ہی لولی لنگڑی جمہوری حکومتیں اس طرف دلجمعی سے توجہ دے سکیں، ہو سکتا ہے کہ جمہوری حکومتیں اپنے اقتدار کو بچانے کیلئے بلوچستان کے سرداروں سے الجھنے کی سکت نہ رکھتی تھیں جبکہ فوجی حکمران دانش اور بصیرت کی بجائے عسکری طاقت سے اس مسئلے کو حل کرنے کی کوشش کرتے رہے ہوں اسلئے یہ معاملہ حل نہ ہوا ہو! مجھے نواب اکبر بگتی مرحوم کا ایک فقرہ ابھی تک یاد ہے جو انہوں نے 2005 میں میرے ایک سوال کے جواب میں کہا۔ جنرل پرویز مشرف کے دور میں نواب اکبر بگتی کے حامیوں نے جب سوئی گیس کے ذخائر کو نقصان پہنچانا شروع کیا توحکومتی ایکشن کی وجہ سے ڈیرہ بگتی کے حالات بہت خراب ہو گئے۔ پارلیمانی مشن(جس میں تما م سیاسی جماعتوں کے نمائندہ افراد شامل تھے) ڈیرہ بگتی پہنچا تو میں بھی انکے ساتھ تھا ان ہی دنوں میں چودھری شجاعت حسین، مشاہد حسین سید بھی حکومت کی جانب سے نواب اکبر بگتی سے مذاکرات کیلئے کئی روز تک ڈیرہ بگتی جاتے رہے۔ مجھے اس دورے میں بھی Witness to History بننے کا موقعہ ملا۔
چودھری شجاعت، مشاہد حسین سید کے ہمراہ پی ٹی وی کے رپورٹر کی حیثیت سے انکے ساتھ خصوصی طیارے میں اسلام آباد سے سوئی (بلوچستان) اور سوئی سے ہیلی کاپٹر میں ڈیرہ بگتی جاتا رہا ۔
اکبر بگتی سے مذاکرات کے بعد ہم سب شام گئے اسلام آباد آجاتے۔ کئی دنوں کی اس مشق کے دوران ہم ڈیرہ بگتی میں نواب اکبر بگتی کے مہمان رہے۔ اس دوران جو گفتگو ہوئی وہ قومی امانت ہے اس کو بیان کرنا تو سیاستدانوں اور حکمرانوں کا کام ہے لیکن قارئین کی دلچسپی کیلئے میں صرف اس بات کا تذکرہ کئے دیتا ہوں جو اکبر بگتی مرحوم نے میرے ساتھ کی۔ مذاکرات کے آخری دن جب ہم وہاں سے روانہ ہونے لگے تو میں نے اکبر بگتی سے سوال کیا کہ اس علاقے پر آپکی عمل داری ہے۔ سوئی سے ڈیرہ بگتی تک آپکے کارندے پہاڑی چوٹیوں پر اسلحہ لیے بیٹھے ہیں ۔جس وجہ سے سوئی سے ڈیرہ بگتی اور ملحقہ علاقے کو خوراک اور ادویات کی فراہمی بند ہے اور لوگوں کو شدید مشکلات کا سامنا ہے آپ اس سٹرک کو آمد رفت کیلئے کیوں نہیں کھول دیتے تو ان کا جواب تھا کہ اگر فوجی حکمرانوں ’’مشرف‘‘ کے دماغ کی لکیر کھلی ہو تو زمین پر کھینچی گئی لکیریں (سٹرکیں) کبھی بند نہیں ہوتی۔ انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ دیکھیں شجاعت اور مشاہد حسین سیاستدان ہیں، انکے دماغ کی لکیر کھلی ہے تو بات ہو رہی ہے لیکن ’’مشرف‘‘ کے دماغ کی لکیر بند ہے اس لئے اس سے کوئی بات نہیں ہو سکتی۔آخر کیا وجہ ہے کہ نواب اکبر بگتی جیسے جرأت مند، زیرک اور صاحب علم و فہم بلوچ راہنما کو ہم قومی دھارے میں کیوں نہ لا سکے۔ یہ ایک ایسا سوال ہے جس کا جواب آسان نہیں۔ اکبر بگتی ہی وہ شخص تھے جنہوں نے قیام پاکستان کے وقت خان آف قلات کو پاکستان کیساتھ الحاق کرنے میں قائل کیا۔ وہ حکومت پاکستان میں وزیر داخلہ بھی رہے۔ انہیں بلوچستان کا گورنر اور وزیر اعلیٰ بننے کا اعزاز بھی حاصل رہا۔ وہ ذوالفقار علی بھٹو (پیپلز پارٹی) اور نواز شریف (مسلم لیگ) کے اتحادی بھی رہے۔
پھر کیا وجہ ہے کہ وہ پاکستانی حکمرانوں پر اعتماد کھو بیٹھے۔ تجزیہ نگاروں کا خیال ہے کہ انکے اتحادی سیاسی راہنمائون نے زبان کی پاسداری کی بجائے وقتی مفادات کو سامنے رکھ کر ان سے دوستی اور دشمنی کی۔ دوسری طرف فوجی حکمرانوں نے انہیں خریدنے کی کوشش کی اور جب اس میں ناکام ہوئے تو انہوں نے عسکری طاقت کی بنیاد پر انہیں تنگ کیا۔ ان عوامل کی وجہ سے نواب اکبر بگتی کی سوچ میں ایک ایسا رد عمل شامل ہو گیا جس کی وجہ سے معاملات Point of no return تک آ گئے۔اکبر بگتی پر الزام رہا ہے کہ انہوں نے چار بار حکومت کیخلاف عسکری مہم جوئی کی۔1950‘ 1960 اور 1970 اور پھر 2005 میں بگتی قبائل نے انکی قیادت میں ہتھیار اٹھائے اور پاکستان کی سیکورٹی فورسز کو چیلنج کیا۔ انہوں نے بلوچستان کو خودمختاری دینے کی بڑی تحریک بھی شروع کی۔ اکبر بگتی کے پوتے براہمداغ بگتی پر بھی الزام ہے کہ انہوں نے بگتی قبائل کو منظم کرکے حکومتی رٹ کو چیلنج کیا۔ اکبر بگتی پریہ الزام بھی ہے کہ انہوں نے ایک وار لارڈ (War Lord) کے طور پر عسکری تنظیم بلوچستان لبریشن آرمی (BLA) بنائی جس میں ہزاروں عسکریت پسند قبائلیوں کو شامل کیا گیا۔ بی ایل اے نے درجنوں گوریلا کیمپ بنائے ان گوریلوں نے ڈیرہ بگتی کے پہاڑوں میں چھپ کر فوجی اور سول افراد پر حملے کئے۔ ایک تحقیق کیمطابق اکبر بگتی نے مشہور زمانہ گوریلا لیڈروں عمر مختار، فیڈل کاسترو اور چی گوریا کے سٹائل میں گوریلا تربیت دی۔ جولائی2006 میں صدر مشرف کے ہیلی کاپٹر پر بھی حملے کا الزام نواب اکبر بگتی پر ہے۔ ان الزامات کی وجہ سے حکومت پاکستان نے جب اکبر بگتی اور اسکے گوریلا ساتھیوں کے کیخلاف اقدامات کئے تو اکبر بگتی نے بین الااقوامی کیمونٹی سے مداخلت کی درخواست کی۔ ایسی اطلاعات بھی ملیں کہ اکبر بگتی کی گوریلا تنظیم بلوچستان لبریشن آرمی کو بھارت، افغانستان اور روس کی جانب سے اسلحہ اور فنی تربیت بھی فراہم کی گئی۔ حکومت پاکستان نے جب ضلع ڈیرہ بگتی میں قیام امن اور حکومتی رٹ کو نا فذ کرنے کیلئے فوجی کارروائی کی تو اکبر بگتی اپنے چند جانثاروں کیساتھ پہاڑی غاروں میں روپوش ہو گئے ان ایام میں 26 اگست 2006 کو رات تقریباً ساڑھے دس بجے وہ غار جس میں اکبر بگتی روپوش تھے گر گئی اور وہ اپنے ساتھیں سمیت جان بحق ہو گئے۔ بگتی قبائل کا بیان ہے کہ انکی غار پر Shell پھینکا گیا جس سے غار گر گئی اور دبنے سے اکبر بگتی ہلاک ہو ئے جبکہ حکومتی ذرائع کا کہنا ہے کہ جب پاکستانی حکام ان سے بات چیت کرنے کیلئے غار تک پہنچ گئے تو اکبر بگتی نے پاکستانی سیکورٹی فورسز پر Shell سے حملہ کر دیا اس شیل کے پھٹنے سے غار گر گئی جس سے اکبر بگتی اور پاکستانی سیکورٹی فورسز کے پانچ افراد بھی شہید ہوئے۔اکبر بگتی کی ہلاکت کو صدر پرویز مشرف نے پاکستان کی فتح قرار دیا۔ اکبر بگتی کو بعد ازاں انکے آبائی شہر ڈیرہ بگتی میں انتہائی متنازعہ انداز میں سپرد خاک کر دیا گیا۔ اکبر بگتی کے والد کا نام سرشہباز خان بگتی تھے۔ نواب اکبر بگتی نے دو شادیاں کی۔ انکی پانچ بیٹے اور سات بیٹیاں ہوئیں۔ اکبر بگتی کے پانچ بیٹوں میں سے تین مختلف قبائلی مخاصمت میں قتل کر دئیے گئے جبکہ دو بیٹے سردار احمد نواز خان اور طلال اکبر بگتی زندہ ہیں۔
اکبر بگتی کی کہانی کا باب تو ختم ہو گیا لیکن ڈیرہ بگتی کی صورتحال جوں کی توں ہے۔ بظاہر وہاں امن نظر آیا ہے اور حکومتی کنٹرول بھی لیکن بگتی قبائل کی اکثریت کے دل اور دماغ ابھی تک جیتے نہیں جا سکے۔ یہ کام سب سے اہم ہے، پاکستان کے اتحاد، یک جہتی اور سالمیت کیلئے لوگوں کی سوچ اور فکر کو پاکستانی بنانا ضروری ہے۔ اس منزل کو حاصل کرنے کیلئے حکومت کو اپنا انداز نظر اور حکمت عملی تبدیل کرنا ہو گی جبکہ میڈیا اور سیاستدانوں کو اس علاقے میں جا کر ایسی رپورٹنگ کرنی چاہئے جو وہاں کے مسائل اور وسائل کو اجاگر کرکے حکومتی پالیسیوں کی راہنمائی کر ے۔ اس علاقے کے عوام کو تعلیم، صحت اور مواصلات کی خصوصی سہولت فراہم کرنا بھی بنیادی ضرورت ہے۔

Newsline Jan 2006

Cover Story Musharraf's Other War By Zahid Hussain

Interview-Sanaullah Baloch

A thin-framed man with a cropped beard, Karim Baksh leads a group of Baloch guerrillas dug into position under a huge rock on the edge of a dusty road, a few miles away from a government paramilitary post. The ricocheting of machine-gun fire echoes in the distance. "Let them come here, they will not be able to go back alive," Baksh laughed, stroking his Kalashnikov rifle. The others nodded approvingly. "Our men are spread all over," he claimed, pointing his finger towards the brown, parched hills. There were only a few thatched hutments scattered around the vast, barren land. The treacherous terrain made it an ideal location for guerrilla warfare. The guerrillas, who claimed to be members of the shadowy Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), appeared well trained and were armed with machine-guns and rocket-launchers. One of the men was constantly on a wireless set receiving information about the movement of government troops. The fighters were from both the Bugti and Marri tribes. It was certainly, by far, a different outfit to the groups that confronted the Pakistani army with bolt rifles in the 1970s. Some of them were veterans, while others belonged to a new generation of fighters who were getting a crash course in guerrilla warfare. A school dropout, the 30-year-old Baksh took up arms almost a decade ago. "It was difficult to continue my education after the tenth class and I could not find any employment," he said. The others were even less fortunate. They never went to school at all and got involved in the conflict at a very early age. Javandan sat quietly in a corner, playing with his rifle. His neatly curled black beard and greenish eyes betrayed his Marri antecedents. He seemed to be the most experienced of the group. "We are all united now in the struggle," he said, finally breaking his long silence. "They are bombarding our areas and killing innocent people. We don't have any choice but to fight." The BLA, whose name first emerged during the 1970s, originally comprised mainly the Marri tribesmen loyal to Nawab Khair Baksh. But later its composition changed with members of the Bugti and Mengal tribes joining its ranks. Today, the BLA boasts many members from an educated, middle-class background. The present conflict in Balochistan has, for the first time, united the educated Baloch with the tribesmen. "People feel that they won't get their rights through democratic and legal means," said Dr. Abdul Hayee Baluch, a leader of the Balochistan National Party. It is the first time that the two largest Baloch tribes have set aside their differences to join hands in the struggle. The Bugtis sat on the fence when the Marris led the armed insurrection in the 1970s. More than 6000 Baloch and around 3000 soldiers were killed in the bloody conflict, which ended after General Zia-ul- Haq declared amnesty and allowed Khair Baksh to return home from his self-exile in Afghanistan. Thousands of Marri fighters received weapons training in Afghanistan during that period and they form the nucleus of the guerrilla forces now fighting in Balochistan. Though the primary loyalties of the Baloch insurgents may lie with their tribal chiefs, they also appeared to be politically aware, religiously listening to the BBC Urdu service whenever possible. "What are you fighting for?" I asked. "We want the right of self-determination," they replied in unison. They were obviously well tutored. The BLA resurfaced after the arrest of Khair Baksh in 2000, on charges of the murder of a high court judge. Initially the government dismissed the existence of the BLA, but now senior security officials concede that the group is behind the current insurgency. Intelligence agencies have accused the BLA of receiving financial aid and weapons from India. "We have evidence that the insurgents are getting help from India and some other countries which are not happy with China's involvement in the construction of Gwadar port," says a senior security official. Some intelligence officials claim that Indian intelligence agents were providing guerrilla training to the insurgents. These allegations, however, are rejected by Baloch leaders. The BLA operates a website, "Baloch Voice," which carries reports of their actions. It has its own flag and national anthem. Its spokesmen, who identify themselves as Azad Baloch, Meerak Baloch and Col. Doda Baloch, regularly call newspaper offices in Quetta. The group is believed to have more than 5000 well trained men in its ranks. Though the identity of its leadership remains secret, it is reportedly led by Ballach, the younger son of Khair Baksh. A sitting member of the Balochistan assembly, Ballach, who is a graduate of Moscow University, is one of Pakistan's most wanted persons. His brother Meheryar, a former provincial minister now based in Dubai, is also part of the BLA leadership. Pakistani security forces find themselves locked in a new and even fiercer battle in Balochistan. Baloch nationalists have led four insurgencies - in 1948, 1958-59, 1962-63 and 1973-77 - which were brutally suppressed by the army. Now a fifth is underway and this time the insurgents are much stronger. They are armed with more sophisticated weapons and possess a modern communications system. Can an already overstretched military deal with the increasingly volatile situation in Balochistan ? Balochistan has remained relatively quiet for almost two decades and the return to civilian rule in 1988, brought the Baloch nationalists into the political mainstream. Although their major demands relating to natural gas royalty and allocation of resources remained unfulfilled, democracy, at least, provided the Baloch a sense of political participation. The tension started mounting a few years ago when the military government announced its intention to set up three new cantonments in Balochistan. The move was seen as a means to further tighten federal control over the province and the apprehension was not without basis. The problem of Balochistan has been chronic and is a direct consequence of an over-centralised system. The fresh deployment of army personnel further fuelled the discontent. Under the current constitutional arrangement and the practices that have grown around it, economic resources and political power are concentrated with the federal government. The situation in Balochistan has been particularly worse, and even the maintenance of law and order is the responsibility of the federally controlled paramilitary troops. The master-servant relationship is much more stark in Balochistan than in any other province. The return of military rule has further aggravated the situation, and even the present pro-military provincial government wields no real power. The federal government has completely ignored the long-standing demands of the nationalists to review the royalty formula on Sui gas, which had remained constant since 1952, and increase the province's share in the NFC award. Despite the government's claim of spending 120 billion rupees on mega-projects, there has not been much change in the lot of the locals, who remain the most deprived and backward section of society. Despite such massive investment in the province, feelings of resentment against the centre run deep. There is an underlying fear that the benefits of these projects will not reach the local population and will be siphoned off to the Punjab instead. The nationalists have strong reservations on the construction of a new deep-sea port in Gwadar. They fear that the mega-project, which is being developed with the help of China, will lead to a massive influx of outside workers and turn the local population into a minority. The nationalists maintain that the project has been launched without taking the Baloch representatives into confidence. They contend that the Baloch would hardly benefit from Gwadar, or indeed any other mega-projects, as most of the jobs in the federally controlled organisations would go to the Punjab and other provinces according to the quota system. Meanwhile, land grabbing by the military further exacerbated the situation. The Ormara naval base is another big project which has come up on the Makran coast, but Balochi nationalists maintain that the development of the second largest naval installation has not helped improve the socio-economic conditions of the local population. According to Baloch leaders, only 40 people in a population of more than ten thousand, have been given employment - and that too as daily wage workers. No educational institution has been established in Ormara town and electricity is available for only a few hours a day. Similarly, the Bugtis complain that they too are not given jobs at the Sui gas plant. It is ironic that Balochistan, which fulfils 50 per cent of Pakistan's gas requirement and is rich in mineral resources, finds it difficult to pay the salaries of its employees. Balochistan has sought a loan of around 24 billion rupees from the Asian Development Bank at the direction of the federal government, to service foreign and federal debts amounting to 44 billion rupees. Due to its extreme financial crisis, its overdraft with the State Bank has gone up to14 billion rupees. Apart from debt-servicing foreign and federal loans, the Balochistan government pays 200 million rupees per month to the State Bank in interest for the overdraft. While President Musharraf has admitted that the province has faced injustice in the distribution of resources, a long-term solution to the problem has yet to be found. The government often accuses Baloch tribal chiefs of blackmailing the centre and opposing development work in the area. Though this may be true to some extent, interestingly enough, the majority of the chieftains, particularly the most retrogressive ones, have always sided with the establishment. And while corruption is endemic, again it is the establishment itself that is responsible. Patronage and bribes are commonly used establishment tools to buy loyalties of corrupt politicians and perpetuate their own control. The situation exploded last year when Bugti tribesmen, protesting against the rape of Dr. Shazia Khalid in the high-security PPL residential compound guarded by the army's elite Defence Security Group, blew up the gas installations at Sui, disrupting gas supply to the Punjab and other parts of the country for several weeks. The subsequent armed clashes between Bugtis and the security forces resulted in scores of deaths. The stand-off ended after both sides agreed to pull back from their positions and the federal government gave an assurance to implement the Senate Committee Report on Balochistan. But the promise never materialised. Musharraf and the military leadership were not prepared to concede to Balochistan's genuine economic and political demands. Instead of addressing the Baloch grievances politically and through negotiations, the military-led government has resorted to greater use of force. Musharraf threw fuel on the fire last year when he declared : "Don't push us. It isn't the 1970s when you can hit and run and hide in the mountains. This time you won't even know what hit you." The comment provoked a strong reaction from the Baloch leaders who warned the army not to create a 1971-like situation which led to the disintegration of the country. Sporadic incidents of violence continued after the Sui incident, but the situation flared up last month after the insurgents launched a series of rocket attacks during President Musharraf's visit to a newly constructed army garrison in Kohlu. According to informed sources, some of the shells fell less than a 100 yards from Musharraf. It was a close call. The next day a rocket hit an army helicopter carrying the Inspector General , Frontier Corps, Maj Gen Shaukat Zamir Dar, and his deputy, Brigadier Saleem Nawaz. Following those incidents, security forces mounted a massive operation in the Marri area using air force jets and helicopter gunships. The military authorities claimed the offensive was directed against "miscreants" and aimed at destroying "terrorist camps," but many women and children were are also reportedly killed in the bombings. Senator Sanaullah Baloch alleged that security forces used poisonous gases against the people. According to official and unofficial sources, the security forces also suffered huge casualties during the operation in the Marri area. The ongoing operation has now been extended to many other areas and thousands of paramilitary and regular troops with heavy machine-guns and artillery have been moved into the Bugti areas. Dera Bugti looks like a town under siege, with heavily armed paramilitary troops positioned on the surrounding hills and check posts set up at the entry points. All the posts vacated by Bugti tribesmen after the March agreement have now been occupied by army troops. Heavy artillery guns and armoured cars are deployed all along the roads leading from Sui to Dera Bugti. "It is a war now," declared Akbar Bugti, who is confined to his bullet-ridden fort. A mortar attack in March had left a huge crater on the roof of his living room and 60 of his tribesmen were killed in that attack. He himself narrowly escaped death, when a splinter brushed past his head. Heavily armed tribesmen, with flowing beards and huge turbans coiled around their heads, guard the place. Some of them have taken up positions in the bunkers around the fort. The white-bearded charismatic tribal chieftain, who is in his late '70s, accused the government of colonising Balochistan. "We are fighting for the control of our national wealth and for our political rights," he said. The Bugti tribe owns the land which contains Pakistan's largest natural gas fields. But the majority of the tribesmen live in abject poverty, with no employment or basic health and education facilities. " We are not scared and will fight back," he warned, sounding bitter over the government's backtracking on last year's agreement. "The troops sneaked in under the cover of darkness, into positions which we had vacated under the agreement. They do not want peace. They are mistaken if they think they are superior and can eliminate us." His grandson is being accused by military authorities of being involved in the bombing incidents in Karachi and Balochistan. The conflict has already taken a huge economic and political toll. Billions of rupees are being spent on the establishment of cantonments and the deployment of troops. However, the use of brute force has only aggravated the situation. Hundreds of people have been killed in this war, which seems to have no end in sight. Several government soldiers have been killed over the past few weeks as the insurgents intensified attacks on security forces, key economic and government installations and railway tracks. Bugti warned that the Baloch were much better prepared to fight the army now. "Musharraf is right that this is not 1970. He will not know what has hit him," he laughed. Heavy fighting broke out as we left Dera Bugti.

Newsline September 2006

The Battle for Balochistan By Massoud Ansari

Interview: Jamil Bugti The End Game

As soon as news of Nawab Akbar Bugti's death broke, mobile phone screens across the country registered a blitz of SMS messages, mourning, conjecturing and a few, celebrating the demise of Pakistan's most controversial tribal sardar. But even those that saw him as a trouble-maker had to concede that if not in life, in death the Nawab was a hero. The manner in which he met his death - the details are still shrouded in controversy - gave a huge filip to the nationalist movement in Balochistan, which had hitherto been largely considered a "renegade movement" restricted to a few sardars and their followers. Furthermore, it brought various tribes that had long been engaged in bloody feuds with one another on to one platform. "You know what Bugti did to us, but all that is now irrelevant," said Nawab Haji Lashkari, a chieftain of the Raisani tribe, which had been at war with Nawab Akbar Bugti's tribe for the last decade. "His killing is terrible news for the entire Baloch nation. In our culture, even if we are embroiled in bloody feuds, when we are attacked by an outsider, we become one." Lashkari added that Akbar Bugti's murder was a clear message: "'If you ask for your rights, you will be killed,' and if this is the case, then yes, we are ready to be killed," he declared. And as if echoing this sentiment, virtually every Baloch leader not only condemned the manner in which Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed, but also made it implicitly, if not overtly clear, that if the need arises they are ready to rise to the occasion. It is not merely the Baloch who are up in arms. The opposition has cashed in on the outrage engendered by the Bugti killing by declaring it an example of government supression and ineptitude. And to make matters harder for the government, no politician from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League has publicly supported Bugti's death, with some even publicly condemning it. Even the government's spin doctors have been unable to manufacture any face-saving device. This has caused visible nervousness in government circles and deep embarrassment to President General Pervez Musharraf. For the first time since he seized power in a coup in 1999, Musharraf and the army are under siege. Just how delicate matters are can be gauged by the fact that when violence erupted in the province following Nawab Bugti's death, the government-backed leaders of the ruling party in Balochistan, who were asked to handle the issue, clearly communicated to Islamabad that the mishandling of the case had placed them in a very difficult situation. They contended that if they propagated the government position or attempted to do a whitewash of how Bugti had been killed, their lives would be in danger. Even the Balochistan Chief Minister, Jam Yusuf of Lasbela, who as provincial leader had no choice but to call a press conference on the insistence of Islamabad, had his cronies request the journalists present not to ask tough questions. The ones that were fielded were answered evasively, and ultimately the event yielded little more than a pre-worded statement confirming Nawab Akbar Bugti's death. The concerns of Jam Yusuf and the other pro-government leaders in the Balochistan government are valid. When a ghaibana namaz-e-janaza (ritual prayers said at the time of burial) was held at the Ayub Stadium in Quetta, and some Pakistan Muslim League (Q) leaders attempted to attend the meet, they were asked by the masses to leave the ground immediately or be prepared to "face the consequences." The government has certainly not helped its own case, issuing statements, then retracting them and issuing fresh ones completely contradicting the earlier ones. Soon after news of Akbar Bugti's demise broke on August 26, the federal minister for information, Mohammed Ali Durrani not only confirmed the death, but said the resistance offered by Nawab Bugti's men was so intense that arresting him alive was not even remotely possible. "The operation started on August 23 when one of the two helicopters sent on a tip-off about the presence of renegades in the Taratani area of Kohlu district came under fire. Another helicopter was hit by enemy fire shortly afterwards. The operation intensified on August 26 as the militants, operating out of heavily fortified bunkers, employed high-tech weaponry and killed seven security officials," declared Durrani. At this juncture, the government had obviously not anticipated what a trigger this news would prove. When violence erupted across Balochistan, the government immediately backtracked from its earlier statement, and declared there was never an intent to kill Nawab Akbar Bugti, and the army soldiers who were deployed to apprehend him had been categorically ordered to "capture him alive." Showing journalists the images of the mountains where the operation was launched, Major General Shaukat Sultan, the top spokesman of the army, now told mediamen that when some army personnel sought to enter the cave where Nawab Bugti was apparently hiding, they were assailed by heavy fire from inside. "They naturally returned fire and then something in the cave exploded. As a result, the cave collapsed, killing not only the servicemen at its mouth but also the inmates," declared the general. Shaukat Sultan disclosed that the cave was about 100 feet long and had winding passages. Ironically, even while the government announced that because the cave had completely collapsed and turned into a huge heap of debris, it could take several days to retrieve the bodies of Akbar Bugti and the tribesmen who had perished with him, just a day later Shaukat Sultan told newsmen that nearly 100 million rupees, $96,000 (USD) in cash, two satellite phones, documents, eight AK-47 rifles and some rockets were found in the rubble. This left many wondering how all of these were so easily accessible considering the cave was, by the authorities own reckoning, virtually impossible to negotiate at that point. That was not the end of the story. Five days after his death, Major General Shaukat Sultan announced that the Nawab's badly decomposed body had been recovered from his cave hideout. However, to lend further credence to conspiracy theories regarding the manner in which he had been killed, Bugti's body was not handed over to his family for identification or burial. Although the government did reportedly ask the Nawab's sons to come to Dera Bugti for the purpose, Jamil Bugti stated the family wanted the body to be brought to Quetta because, since the government had brought and settled a large number of their enemies in Dera Bugti and destroyed much of Akbar Bugti's property, there was nothing left for them to go back to, let alone bury their father there. Citing the deteriorating condition of the corpse as the need for a hasty burial, official sources maintain that a local maulana identified Akbar Bugti and just hours after retrieving the body, performed his last rites. Then, in the presence of 16 locals and officials the Nawab was buried in a closed casket in his ancestral graveyard in Dera Bugti next to his younger brother, Ahmed Nawaz Bugti, and close to his grandfather, Nawab Shahbaz Khan Bugti, and son, Nawabzada Saleem Bugti. Intriguingly, while people were disallowed from seeing Akbar Bugti's corpse, because, the authorities insisted, it was mutilated virtually beyond recognition by the rubble collapsing on him, the nawab's watch and glasses, which were subsequently handed over to his sons, miraculously had not even a scratch on them. Startling disclosures about Nawab Akbar Bugti's death by reliable sources tell an interesting story - and one completely at variance with the official version. According to these reports, the government launched its operation against the Bugtis on August 23 in the Taratani area of Kohlu district. Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was in the area, was reportedly asked to vacate the location within three days and told to command his men to surrender. However, the Nawab not only refused to leave the area, but allegedly abused the army officials. He did, however, reportedly give his comrades a choice: those who wanted to leave were free to do so, but those who stayed should be prepared to fight to the end. According to the information gleaned, some men left at this juncture, while over a dozen chose to stay and fight. Ironically, all those who left were later arrested by the army. On August 26, when army officials reached the cave in which Bugti and his men were staked out - ostensibly just to arrest him at this point - he reportedly chose to fight, leading from the front. Nawab Akbar Bugti was allegedly killed along with several of his men in the battle, in which there was heavy firing. However, some of his tribesmen who survived the first round, presumably because they were deeper inside the cave, continued to fight, and in this round at least 17 army officials, including two colonels, two majors and other junior army personnel were reportedly killed. Later, army officials reportedly used a gunship helicopter to finish the few remaining tribesmen who had emerged and their corpses were subsequently dumped inside the cave. It has been widely conjectured but not confirmed that Akbar Bugti's body was transported to Quetta the same day he was killed and kept in a mortuary at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) there. However, sensing how combustible the situation was, the authorities could not go public with this information. Although, presumably in a bid to quell all the rumours surrounding his death, the government has repeatedly offered to allow Akbar Bugti's sons to come to Dera Bugti, have their father's body exhumed and conduct a DNA test to determine if the corpse is indeed Bugti's, it is probably too little, too late. It was not just the final chapter of the Bugti-government face-off that was badly botched by the authorities, but also the negotiations preceding it. The Chaudhry Shujaat and Mushahid Hussain-led delegation that met with Akbar Bugti last year, after hostilities had erupted between the Bugtis and the army in the wake of Dr. Shazia Khalid's alleged rape by an army major in Quetta, had reportedly managed to defuse the situation to a large extent. Nawab Akbar Bugti had reportedly agreed to bury his guns if the government acted on the committee's recommendations, which including paying him compensation of 25 crore rupees for the damage done to his property and that of his people in Dera Bugti. Rather than paying heed to the recommendations, however, sources disclosed, President Musharraf dug in his heels and opted for a confrontation with the Nawab, reportedly after he was convinced by a top boss of one of the intelligence agencies and the head of a gas company that Bugti was the leader of the Balochistan Liberation Army and was receiving help from assorted foreign countries. In various speeches Musharraf had often attacked the three Baloch Sardars, Marri, Mengal and Bugti, calling them "corrupt," and holding them reponsible for all the problems in Balochistan. However, most of his ire, it seemed, was reserved for Bugti. He was first restricted to his house, then driven out of that, and finally even driven out of his own area, where his opponents were brought and lodged with the blessings and active support of the army. The final nail in the coffin came when two days before he was killed, Akbar Bugti was removed as chief of the tribe, after a jirga of Bugti tribesmen, hand-picked and assembled in Dera Bugti by the government, declared him a "proclaimed offender," and seized his property. Pushed to the wall, in his twilight years, with little to lose and only a reputation to gain, Bugti now decided to direct a guerrilla campaign against General Musharraf and the army. There is a general consensus that Nawab Akbar Bugti was never part of the BLA, which aims for an independent Balochistan. Rather, his fight was for a greater share of the province's resources. It is therefore surprising that the government concentrated its energies mainly on the Nawab and the Dera Bugti district, even while attacks were increasing in the rest of the province, especially in the tribal areas. While it is admittedly not exclusively the Bugti tribe that has felt the wrath of the government, it has been at the forefront of the receiving end of the authorities' actions. Ever since the army operation started in Balochistan, scores of people have been picked up from across the province by the agencies on charges of "spying for an enemy country" or for their alleged connections with the shadowy BLA, and not been heard of since. Many of these have been Bugtis or had connections with them. Their relatives have lodged FIRs, filed habeas corpus petitions, staged hunger strikes, and held press conferences charging agency sleuths with kidnapping, but to date, this has been of little avail. The missing remain just that. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has stated on record that the military has indiscriminately bombed civilians and launched a campaign of fear in the province, marked by torture, disappearances and custodial killings. And the interior minister has admitted that 4,000 people have been arrested in connection with the Baloch conflict, but no exact figure of those missing is yet available. One of those reportedly picked by agency sleuths is Abdul Rauf Sasoli, a renowned leader of the Jamhoori Watan party. Earlier this year, he took journalists to Dera Bugti to show them the damage caused by the army in the area, and on February 2, shortly after his return to Karachi where he was residing, he went missing. There has been no news of him since then. Likewise, Hanif Sharif, a Baloch writer was picked up from Kaich district while sharing a meal with friends at a local restaurant on January 15. Nobody has heard of him thereafter. Munir Mengal, a TV journalist, was picked up by FIA personnel from Karachi airport on April 7, 2006, shortly after he disembarked from his flight. He had come to Karachi to appoint people for the TV channel 'Voice of Balochistan' that he was planning to launch. His mother has staged hunger strikes and gone to every possible forum to secure the release of her son, but to date he is nowhere to be found. A Bugti tribesman, who had a post-graduate degree from the Tando Jam Agriculture University in Sindh, was picked up from Quetta after agency operatives discovered Akbar Bugti's telephone numbers in his diary. They kept him blindfolded at a camp for nearly three months, but failing to get any information from him, subsequently released him. Requesting not to be named for fear of a backlash, the young man disclosed that at the time he was picked up, he was to appear in a viva voce of the provincial commission examination in which he had already qualified. However, because of his illegal confinement during this period he could not appear in the exam, and lost out on a promising career - and a lifelong ambition. He described how during custody he was subjected to extreme mental and physical torture, which was perhaps exacerbated by the fact that he had nothing to offer his captors. He could provide them no information about his sardar, the BLA or their alleged training camps. But he was one of the lucky ones - he got away. There are reportedly dozens of other genuinely apolitical youths like him who have been subjected to similar ordeals which have pushed them into the ranks of the rebels. According to official estimates, in the past two years, saboteurs have staged nearly 27,000 rocket attacks aimed at military personnel and outposts, government installations and foreign nationals in Balochistan. In 2005, approximately 1,568 "terrorist" attacks have occurred in the province and these attacks have not been confined to the tribal areas. Government sources maintain that weapons worth 50 crore rupees have been procured from Afghanistan by the "Baloch insurgents" in the past two years to enable them to carry out their guerrilla war. In his report, 'The Resurgence of Baluch Nationalism,' compiled in 2006, Frédéric Grare, a visiting scholar with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank, says there are three separate but linked issues that bear on Balochistan today: the national question, the role of the army, and the use of Islamism. But he contends that the national question is obviously central. There has long been frustration amongst the Baloch who have felt virtually colonised by the Punjabi-dominated central government and hold it responsible for the absence of economic and social development in the province, despite the fact that it possesses almost 20 per cent of the country's mineral and energy resources. Military action against the Baloch by successive governments every time they have raised their voice and demanded their rights has made the people feel further marginalised. This feeling has fomented into real anger that is now spilling over. Many Baloch grievances are certainly justified. The first deposits of natural gas were discovered in Sui in 1953. Gas was supplied to cities in the Punjab as early as 1964, but Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, had to wait until 1986 for its share of gas - and that too only because at that time the government decided to extend the gas pipeline to provide the facility to the military garrison it had decided to station in the provincial capital. Similarly, in the Dera Bugti district, home to the gas fields of Sui and Pircoh, only the actual town of Dera Bugti is supplied with gas, and here again, it receives its supplies only because a paramilitary camp was opened there in the mid-1990s. Overall, only four of the 26 districts constituting Balochistan are supplied with gas. Conversely, natural gas is supplied to almost every single village in the Punjab and Sindh. In fact, Punjab today is known as a "The mother of Condensed Natural Gas (CNG) stations," since almost every car in the province has been converted from a petrol consumer to a CNG one. Meanwhile, there is not a single CNG station in the entire province of Balochistan. For almost 60 years since independence, 95 per cent of Balochistan has been considered a 'B-area', which essentially means that it has been ruled by the levies or semi-private forces of pro-government sardars. Ironically, when the government initiated mega development projects in the province recently, and found the levies force incapable of handling the 'insurgents,' it suddenly decided to dispense with their services and bring some areas under the control of the regular administration. However, other areas, where the government had major interests, are likely to come under the vigil of the Pakistan army. The government is now planning to construct military garrisons in the three most sensitive areas of Balochistan - Sui, with its gas-producing installations; Gwadar, with its port; and Kohlu, the "capital" of the Marri tribe, to which most of the nationalist hard-liners belong. The government apparently believes that by establishing these garrisons it will be able to contain the Balochistan insurgency. The anti-Baloch bias is visible even in the civilian set-up. Most officials working in senior positions in Balochistan belong to the Punjab or other provinces. From chief secretary to inspector general, police, to most government secretaries working in Balochistan, they are all outsiders. "If you visit the Balochistan secretariat, check out the name plates outside each office. You will find virtually no locals running provincial affairs," Nawab Akbar Bugti would often tell visitors. The manner in which he was killed, however, proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back. The government compounded a history of errors against the Baloch by falling into the trap set by Akbar Bugti. He was certainly not the most radical of the sardars. Over the years he had done business with various governments. And in the process he had even been accused by the nationalists of betraying them. But in the end, Bugti decided to redeem himself: he decided to fight for Balochistan - and if that meant to the death, so be it. The manner in which he was eliminated not just immortalised him as a hero, but fueled the fires of Baloch nationalism and separatism. Since the disgruntled Baloch has always seen the army as the enemy - and the Punjabi and army are seen as synonymous - in the wake of Nawab Akbar Bugti's killing the Baloch youth have declared a war against all Punjabis. The victims of this have been the innocent Punjabi settlers who have lived in the province for generations. Following Akbar Bugti's death, rioters in Balochistan not only destroyed government offices, but also attacked shops owned by Punjabi settlers. So far at least four Punjabis have been killed, and the others, for whom Balochistan is the only home they know, live in terror. A Punjabi-speaking barber was killed when unidentified people entered his house in Naushki town and fired at him. The attackers escaped from the scene. Around 10 barber shops and a number of government buildings have also been damaged and ransacked in the town. Two teenage Punjabi boys, Shahnam Javed and Umair Akhtar were killed in Smuglli in Quetta city when they were taking a stroll near their house after dinner. And there have reportedly been copycat murders in Karachi: two young Punjabi boys were recently murdered by unknown militants in the Baloch area of Lyari. Given the sensitivity of the situation and fearing for their lives, Pakistan army jawans took into custody over 30 men from the Punjab who were working as daily wage labourers in the Chagi district of Balochistan, and sent them back to the Punjab. Following Bugti's death, members of parliament from the Baloch Nationalist Party (BNP) resigned from their seats and some nationalist Baloch leaders, who earlier used to vent their anger privately, have now openly started demanding secession for the province. They say the time has come for a "decisive battle." Said MNA Rauf Mengal of the BNP, "Now there is no choice but to fight for liberation from Pakistan." Mengal contended that the actions of the "Punjab-dominated establishment" and its "political cronies" had made the people of Balochistan lose all hope that their problems could be resolved through political dialogue. The mishandling of the Bugti affair has already cost the present government heavily, and today it stands isolated as even members of its coalition have distanced themselves. Political analysts believe that this is merely the beginning of a long, hard battle. They predict a full-fledged insurgency in Balochistan, and the deployment of many more troops to crush it, which could bleed both, the army's personnel and resources dry. "The writing on the wall is clear: with army troops already deployed on the eastern and western borders, [and new deployment in Balochistan] defence force expenditure will increase, resulting in an increase in the defence budget. Foreign elements will also take advantage of the situation," says Major General (Retd) Talat Masood.