I had long telephonic conversations with some Baloch journalists in Karachi
and Quetta yesterday. Discussing on the current situation in Balochistan I
was told that the common preoccupation in Balochistan and among the Baloch
is that Musharaf regime is determined to kill Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti to
remove him from the scene and to have no challenges of any kind in the
natural resources rich area of Dera Bugti. They told me that army has taken
positions all around the town of Dera Bugti and the house of Nawab Bugti is
under their direct target. Let me remind you that they have already made
attempts on his life but fortunately he had survived though more than 70
innocent Baloches were not that lucky who lost their lives during those
attacks. During the attack on his house and the guest house on March 17,
2005, where he had been sitting at the time of missile attacks, Pakistani
forces had let the missiles guided by radio waves targeting the satellite
phone that Nawab Bugti had been holding at that time. This is a method that
the Americans have used to hit Al-Qaida terrorists and Israel has been
using against Palestinians. Nawab Bugti had later told the journalists that
he had felt vibrations from his satellite phone and thrown it at a corner
of the guest house. The missile had hit exactly at that point leaving a big
hole on the ground. Pictures of the house with the hole that the missile
had left were later on published in the local newspapers. It was a great
fortunate that when the Pakistani forces had targeted the satellite phone
Nawab Bugti had been holding it in hand otherwise he would not have felt
the strange vibrations and he might not have been among us today.
Now, once again, the Pakistan Army is aiming at his elimination and all
pretexts are being used to target him. The visiting members of the Pakistan
Human Rights Association has confirmed that the outer walls of Nawab
Bugti's house are strewn with mortar shells which the Army representatives
say were shells fired from the Bugtis which had returned back to them and
hit the wall (see the news in the newspapers of 8 and 9 January 2006). If
they are capable to tell such big lies they need no excuses to bombard the
house of Nawab Bugti and say that they had fired in retaliation of fire
from the Bugtis. I was also told by some of these journalists that a
veteran Baloch leader and his son are also a part of this conspiracy. I am
not in a position to say how far are these allegations true but the
complete silence of this father and son make a lot of questions emerge in
one's minds.
Anyway, it is not the time to make emerge many suspicions and doubts so I
request to all peace loving peoples to please come forward and unearth the
murderous plans of Pakistani ruling classes and make sure that Nawab
Bugti's life, along with the lives of all others in Balochistan, are safe
and no extra-judicial actions are allowed to be carried out in Balochistan.
I equally request you all to make appeals to the leaders of political
parties in Balochistan, ARD leaders from the rest of Pakistan, and
activists of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to go and sit with
Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti so that the Army may not dare attacking him and his
people. As long as he is not let alone, especially if there are people of
certain status from the Punjab with him, the Army will never dare attacking
him.
Let's unite all and extend this appeal to all the peace loving peoples
around the world so that the blood-thirsty army of Pakistan is not allowed
to carry out extra judicial killings in Balochistan.
Dr Badal Khan
Baloch Society Of North America (BSO_NA) Baloch Society Of North America (BSO_NA) is Non-Profit Organization, working to unite and Organize all Baloch in North America, to expose the Occupation and Oppressive policies of Pakistani and Iranian Governments against Baloch people and our Baloch land (Balochistan), and to bring their Human Rights Violations in Balochistan into the world’s Notice.
