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India-Pakistan
BLA claims killing 5 security forces personnel
2007-08-25
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) on Friday claimed that it had killed six people, five security personnel and a Baloch “spy working for the government,” in two separate incidents. The BLA claimed it fired rockets on a security forces camp in the Siyapadh locality of the Khoistani Marri area on Friday, killing five security personnel. BLA spokesman Bibarg Baloch told Daily Times via satellite phone from an unidentified location that the BLA had killed the army personnel.

The organisation also claimed responsibility for detonating a bomb at a security forces camp in Sibi. The killing of army personnel in Kohistani Marri could not, however, be confirmed from official sources despite repeated attempts by Daily Times to verify the BLA claim.

The BLA spokesman said there had been no let-up in military operations in Balochistan. Government forces had initiated the latest round of operations in Pishin, Kahan, Chapikach, Bamboor, Jandaran and Uch Daman, he said, adding that the epicentres of the latest operations were the Marri and Bugti tribal areas, where forces were using fighter jets and heavy artillery. “Bombardment of these areas, which started several days ago, continued till Friday morning.” Many Baloch women and elderly citizens have been killed in the fresh round of military operations, said Baloch.

The BLA also claimed responsibility for killing Niaz Mohammad Marri, who the spokesman said was a “traitor”. Unidentified assailants killed Marri in the Kili Kamalo area of Quetta on Friday. “Marri was a Baloch traitor who was operating as an agent for government intelligence agencies. He provided Baloch secrets to the government and facilitated Baloch youths’ recruitment in intelligence agencies to undermine the nationalist struggle,” the BLA spokesman said.

He said not many people were aware of Niaz Marri but he was even more dangerous than former Balochistan government spokesman Raziq Bugti, whose killing last month the BLA had also claimed responsibility for. “We wish to warn all Baloch people who join the Pakistan army or its intelligence agencies to prepare for dire consequences,” the BLA spokesman warned.

He said the BLA had formulated a “long hit-list of Balochis and Punjabis” operating as government spies. All of them have been issued warnings individually. “If they continue to work for the government, the BLA will have no option but to kill them one after another,” he said.
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India-Pakistan
Security beefed up in Quetta
2007-08-06
QUETTA: Unprecedented security measures have been put in place in the provincial capital following the killing of provincial government spokesman Raziq Bugti, and with the 60th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence looming.

All commuters are being checked to ensure the prevention of terrorism and pillion riding has been banned in the city. The security measures in Quetta, according to the government, are preparations for the approaching Independence Day. The law enforcement agencies also did not rule out possible violence on the first death anniversary of nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was killed in a military operation on August 26, 2006. Balochistan CM Jam Yousaf, however, said the province was not under threat, and the security measures were there only to prevent assassinations similar to Raziq Bugti’s. “Raziq was assassinated, and terrorists are targeting innocent people. The government has taken these security measures only to ensure the safety of the citizens of Balochsitan,” he told reporters.

Online adds: FC, Anti-Terrorism Force, Balochistan Constabulary and police contingents have been deployed in the city, and armoured cars were seen patrolling the roads. Bunkers have been set up at all important routes. Roads leading to Governor’s House and CM’s House were closed every evening.
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India-Pakistan
68 arrested in connection with Raziq's murder
2007-07-29
Balochistan Police on Saturday arrested 68 suspects from various parts of Quetta in connection with the murder of provincial government spokesman Raziq Bugti, Geo television reported. Unknown assailants gunned down Raziq on Friday afternoon at Zarghoon Road. The police conducted raids in Saryab Road, Chaki Shahwani, Barori, Kali Ismail and other localities, the channel quoted a police official as saying. Bijli Road police station has registered a case against unknown people.
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India-Pakistan
Raziq Bugti gunned down
2007-07-28
Raziq Bugti, former guerrilla commander turned spokesman for the Balochistan government, was shot dead by assailants here on Friday, police officials told Daily Times. Assailants opened fire on Bugti’s vehicle on Zargoon Road, a mere 200 metres from the Chief Minister’s House. Banned militant group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for killing Raziq Bugti.
Not many Bugtis in the news these days. :(
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India-Pakistan
'Balochistan unstable due to Afghan govt's interference'
2007-06-09

The Balochistan Government Friday categorically held Hamid Karzai-led Afghan Government responsible for providing shelter to Baloch separatist fighters, which they believe was “clear evidence of Afghan involvement in the instability created in Balochistan”.

“There is ample evidence to substantiate our allegations that Afghanistan is creating trouble in Balochistan and extending full support to Baloch fighters,” Raziq Bugti, spokesperson for the Balochistan Government, told a news conference held in the Chief Minister Secretariat.

Bugti said that from day one, the government had not ruled out the involvement of a foreign hand in creating trouble in Balochistan. However, he said, the government’s stance became self-evident since the Governor of Afghan province of Kandahar Asadullah Khalid stated that several Baloch had taken shelter in his province after fleeing from the conflict-stricken province of Balochistan.

He said that the Balochistan Government had made a formal request to the Afghan Government for handing over the people who the government believed were involved in terrorist activities across the province. “Though we have not received any response from the Afghan Government yet, we expect a positive reply,” Bugti said.

He hoped that Afghanistan would not give shelter to Baloch sanctuaries who were wanted by the Pakistan Government in serious cases such as bomb blasts, rocket attacks and blowing up of railway tracks in Balochistan.

According to Bugti, a majority of the people who were hiding in Afghanistan had escaped from Dera Bugti and Sui areas last year when the conflict between the government and Bugti tribesmen intensified. Referring to the latest crackdown on the activists of Balochistan National Party (BNP), Bugti said that the government did believe in complete freedom of expression and political dissent. “However, certain political parties exploit the liberty granted to them by the government and use it for the purpose of creating ethnic strife and unrest in the province. The government would not tolerate such elements. We will have to take action against them in order to ensure peace and harmony in the province,” he said.

When asked about the upcoming visit of the non-functional chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to his hometown Quetta, the spokesperson said that, the CJP was not visiting Quetta on the government’s request. “Rather,” he clarified, “he would visit the provincial capital on an invitation extended to him by certain political parties. However, the provincial government would ensure foolproof security arrangements for the CJP should he decide to visit.”

He regretted that some elements were taking political mileage out of the judicial issue. “Since the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) is already hearing the matter, there is no justification of politicising a purely judicial matter,” he remarked, adding that the use of provocative language against the Pakistan Army inside the Supreme Court’s building in Islamabad was deplorable. “The Opposition should exercise restraint and wait for the decision of the SJC. Any decision given by the council would be willingly accepted by the government because we believe in the supremacy of the judiciary.”
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India-Pakistan
Landmine blast kills four soldiers
2007-04-10
Four security personnel were killed and two others injured in a remote control bomb blast in the Marri tribal area while supply of gas to several parts of Mustung district was disrupted after a gas pipeline was blown up by unidentified attackers on Monday night. In a separate incident, security forces shelled remote parts of central Balochistan during a search operation for suspected insurgents.

Dani Baksh Magasi, a journalist, said the blast occurred when a security convoy was moving from Sibi district to Kohlu. Two of the dead have been identified as Asghar and Ali.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the blast, saying the incident was meant to avenge the killings of innocent Baloch by the security forces. Mirak Baloch, a BLA spokesman said, “The blast occurred in the Thatrani area and killed 14 personnel. The BLA also carried out another assault on a truck in a Marri tribal area which killed more people and injured many more,” he said. “Monday’s aerial bombardment clearly indicates the government’s anti-Baloch designs,” Kachkol Ali Baloch, Balochistan’s opposition leader, told Daily Times. Balochistan government spokesman Raziq Bugti said reports of bombardment in Mustung were “baseless rumours”.
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India-Pakistan
Pakistan probing NATO raid on village
2007-02-09
Pakistani authorities are investigating claims by residents of a remote border village that NATO and Afghan forces crossed into Pakistan to search for suspected Taliban militants and killed a local tribesman, officials said on Thursday. Afghan troops entered the village of Qamar Din on Wednesday morning and began shooting, killing one villager, said Balochistan government spokesman Abdul Raziq Bugti, citing claims by residents. Villagers reported that the Afghan border security forces also wounded two Pakistani tribesmen and detained 11 villagers who were taken to Afghanistan, Bugti said.

The government has ordered authorities in the area to investigate the alleged incident in the village, about 210 kilometres northeast of Quetta, he said. Maulvi Mohammed Sharif, district nazim of Zhob where Qamar Din is located, said on Thursday that NATO forces also entered Qamar Din along with the Afghan government troops, citing reports by villagers and security officials. Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said he had read about the incident in newspapers but had no confirmation of it. Military and Foreign Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment. In Kabul, Lt Col Angela Billings, a spokeswoman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, said it was aware of a “number of incidents” in the border area of Balochistan, Zhob and Qamar Din. “The incidents are under investigation and there are no specific details available at this time,” she said. Earlier, ISAF said none of its forces were involved. The Urdu-language newspaper Jang, citing villagers, said NATO and Afghan troops riding in three pickup trucks and three armoured personnel carriers entered Qamar Din on Wednesday morning and began firing heavy and small weapons at several homes, killing one villager.
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan frees 10 Pakistanis held for illegal entry
2006-12-21
Afghan authorities released 10 Pakistanis on Wednesday, a day after detaining them for crossing into Afghanistan by mistake, officials said. Pakistani tribal elders and government officials received the 10 men from Afghan officials at Badini, a border crossing along the Afghan-Pakistan border, said Ahsanullah Baloch, a government official. The 10 men were arrested late on Tuesday in a mountainous region where the two countries’ border is not demarcated, said Abdul Raziq Bugti, spokesman for the Balochistan government. Five of the Pakistanis were off-duty border guards while the other five were civilians from Pakistan’s Tarkha area. The men crossed into Afghanistan while cutting fire wood in a mountain forest, Bugti said.
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India-Pakistan
Tribal rebels kill 3 troops in Baluchistan
2006-10-04
QUETTA, Pakistan - Tribal militants in Pakistan’s southwest killed three paramilitary soldiers and wounded two others in a rocket attack on Tuesday, officials said. The incident occured in Kohlu district, 400 km (250 miles) east of Quetta, capital of the southwestern Baluchistan province.

Raziq Bugti, a provincial government spokesman, said a paramilitary vehicle came under attack when soldiers were on their way to fetch water from a well. “Three soldiers died instantly,” he said.
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India-Pakistan
Complete strike in Karachi and Balochistan
2006-09-02
And a wonderful time was had by all, except for the dead guys and the kid who was shot in the eye.
QUETTA/KARACHI: Two rangers were killed in Karachi in a strike across Balochistan and in Karachi on the call of the ARD, the MMA and the four-party Baloch National Alliance to protest the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. The strike paralysed provincial routine as business centres, shops, educational institutions and government offices remained shut and angry protesters blocked all highways connecting Balochistan to other provinces.
“The protesters burnt tyres and shouted anti-government slogans and there were reports that some protesters burnt the Pakistani flag...”
The protesters burnt tyres and shouted anti-government slogans and there were reports that some protesters burnt the Pakistani flag during a demonstration in Mekran.

Large police contingents patrolled the city all day long while several Baloch leaders and students were arrested for involvement in protests. While the ARD leaders claimed that the strike was successful, Raziq Bugti, spokesman for the Balochistan government, said the strike had failed as most shops were closed because of Friday prayers.

In Panjgur, protesters set ablaze the offices of union councils of Essai and Khudabadan, a public library and three shops owned by Punjabis. Men opened fire on the DPO’s office and also damaged a PTV tower.
“A journalist told Daily Times that the city echoed with gunshots throughout the day while protesters attacked a madrassa and injured two students...”
A journalist told Daily Times that the city echoed with gunshots throughout the day while protesters attacked a madrassa and injured two students. Police also arrested a BNM leader and 70 political activists. A mob set a post office and a railway office on fire in Nokundi while a police station was burnt in Hoshab. At least 135 protesters were arrested in Khuzdar. There were complete but relatively peaceful strikes in Hub, Turbat, Gwadar, Kalat, Mastung, Noshaki and other areas.

In Karachi, two Rangers were killed and 15 people including a town police officer were injured during a successful citywide strike. Rangers SI Misri Khan and Lance Naik Ghulam Abbas were returning to Malir when they were shot dead. Keamari TPO Athar Rasheed Butt was injured in a clash in Lyari and an 8-year-old boy was shot in the eye in the same area. There were violent strikes in Landhi, Malir, Memon Goth, Chakra Goth, Jamshed Road, Old Golimar, Lasbela, Pak Colony, Dalmia and SITE. More than 60 people were detained during the course of the day.

Several couples who stayed at beach huts at Hawkesbay, Sandspit and Paradise Point on Thursday night were unable to reach home as Hawkesbay Road was closed off by protesters. When some of the couples ventured out they faced an angry mob and several of their cars were damaged. There were partial strikes in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad and Peshawar amid tight security while business was routine in Mirpur Khas and Lahore, where the business community and transporters rejected the opposition’s strike call.
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India-Pakistan
Festivities continue over Akbar Bugti's death
2006-08-29
Violence flared in number of towns and cities of Balochistan, including provincial capital Quetta, for the second consecutive day yesterday as hundreds of Baloch nationalists protested the killing of a powerful tribal chief by the security forces over the weekend. Protesters also resorted to violence in various parts of Karachi, including the low-income locality of Lyari, dominated by the Balochi people. They were furious over the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in a fierce battle with the Pakistan army on Saturday in the remote mountainous area of Bhambore in Balochistan.

A barber from Punjab province was killed when protesters attacked his shop in a small town, police said. Nine people were wounded in an exchange of fire with police elsewhere. "Violence has continued throughout the province, especially in Baloch-populated areas. Protesters have burnt government offices, shops and vehicles," provincial interior minister Shoaib Nausherwani said. "We're trying to control the situation peacefully but there have been clashes," he said.

Raziq Bugti, the spokesman of the Balochistan provincial government, said that rescue workers were trying to dig out the body of Bugti, 79, from the rubble. "The work has to be done very carefully because there is a fear of explosives in the cave, which collapsed when insurgents hiding in it attacked the security personnel who went inside to ask them to surrender," he told Gulf News over telephone from Quetta. However, we have sent heavy machines including bulldozers to remove the debris, he said.
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India-Pakistan
38 Marri loyalists surrender
2006-08-03
The Balochistan government claimed on Wednesday that members of the Marri tribe had for the first time begun surrendering to the government, following in the footsteps of former loyalists to Nawab Akber Khan Bugti.

Government officials said that 38 former loyalists of Nawabzada Balach Marri, the Moscow-educated purported chief of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), had surrendered to the Kohlu administration. They also gave up a large number of weapons including rocket launchers, Kalashnikovs and ammunition, while pledging to refrain from participating in movements against the government, the sources added.

The surrendering team is led by Wadera Jumma Khan, a prominent elder from the Marri tribe, said one source. "This is just the beginning of a new era of success for the government," said Raziq Bugti, Balochistan government spokesman, while talking to Daily Times.
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