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India-Pakistan

Senators call for early arrest of killers of Domki family

2012-02-09

[Dawn] Senators from both side of aisle on Wednesday condemned brutal killing of Mir Bakhtiar Domki's wife and daughter in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and called for early arrest of the killers involved in this crime. Speaking on a Point of Order, Shahid Bugti said that Mir Bakhtiar Domki's wife and daughter were bumped off when they were retuning home after attending wedding ceremony of his son in Bloody Karachi. He said that they had no enmity with any one and women and kiddies are never targeted both in Baloch and Pakhtun society. Hasil Bizenjo said that killing Balochi innocent women and kiddies would mar the situation in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... and would encourage those who talked against the country's interests. Abdur Rahim Mandokhel strongly condemned the killing and said it was unfortunate that now women were being killed for political gains. He said that they were struggling for the last 64 years for the supremacy of law and constitution. Prof Khursheed Ahmed said that it was a deplorable act and demanded immediate arrest of the killers. He said that situation in Balochistan was getting worse and time has come to work collectively for bringing normality there. Zahid Khan said that prudent policy should be devised to improve the situation. Sherala Malik condoled Domki's wife and daughter deaths and said that all political parties should join hand and devise a strategy to stop such tragic incidents. Naeem Hussain Chatta said that it was a brutal act of terrorism peace must be restored in Bloody Karachi and Balochistan. He said that Nawab Akbar Bugti was among those politicians who fully supported creation of Pakistain and always struggled for strong federation. He said that Chief Justice of Pakistain also took suo moto notice of the incident which was a positive development. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri ...Central Secretary General of JUI-F, member of the Pak senate, formerly provincial minister of Balochistan. He has a master's degree in Islam and runs a madrassah... said that practical steps should be taken to arrest the culprits behind this crime. He said that almost three days have been passed but no culprit was incarcerated so far. Abdul Nabi Bangash, Haji Adeel, S M Zafar, Sabir Baloch, Kalsoom Parveen, Seemi Sadiqi, Maulana Saleh Shah, Najma Hameed and Haroon Akhtar also condemned the incident and called for early arrest of the killers. Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... Leader of the House Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari said that those forces who wanted to destabilise Balochistan would be unearthed. He said that the issue should also be brought before the Parliamentary Committee of National Security. He said that both Federal and Sindh governments were trying to arrest the culprits involved in this heinous crime. He said that we equally shared sorrow and grief over the dear departed family, and termed the incident a condemnable act. He said that Pakistain's integrity was top priority of the government.

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India-Pakistan

Malik tables 'proof' of India's hand in Balochistan unrest

2009-04-24

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik on Thursday tabled in the Senate 'documentary proof' of India and Afghanistan's involvement in the unrest in Balochistan and the Tribal Areas, sources told Daily Times. Addressing an in-camera session of the House, Rehman alleged that India was using Afghanistan as a base to destabilise Pakistan by fanning an insurgency. The sources said the 'documentary proof' showed that India was funding and training Pakistani terror groups. However, the 'proof' was nothing new for several of the senators, the added. A senator said he was already aware of all anti-Pakistan conspiracies hatched by India and some other neighbouring countries. He said a neighbouring state was opposed to Pakistan's progress and stability, but did not name the country. The sources said Rehman used a multimedia system to show the senators images of terrorists arrested from Balochistan and other troubled areas. They said the arrested terrorists had admitted on camera to being trained in Afghanistan on India's behalf. According to the sources, Rehman also claimed that the majority of terrorists, equipped with latest weapons, arrested in Balochistan and the Tribal Areas had crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan. He said FATA was suffering from the spill over effect of the insurgency in Balochistan. The sources said Rehman also showed the senators 'documentary proof' of the nationality of three Baloch leaders who were recently killed. As stated by the prime minister's interior adviser -- one of the three leaders, Ghulam Muhammad, was wanted by Tehran, while another, Sher Baloch, was an Iranian national. He showed the House images of Taliban slaughtering anti-Taliban and pro-government people in FATA. Afghan govt: Rehman said President Asif Ali Zardari had complained to his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, of the use of Afghan soil against Pakistan, but the response had not been positive. He said that Balochistan Liberation Army chief Brahamdagh Bugti was hiding in Afghanistan, and Kabul was not facilitating Islamabad over his arrest despite repeated requests. The sources said Balochistan senators, including Abdul Malik and Shahid Bugti, opposed Rehman's assertions. They said the senators rejected the interior adviser's proposal for the formation of a House committee to oversee the investigation into the killing of the three Baloch leaders. According to the sources, Rehman Malik spoke for seven-and-a-half hours on the situation in Balochistan, the Tribal Areas and NWFP. He also responded to the senators' questions. The interior adviser later told reporters that the briefing was based on 'true facts' and was given keeping in mind national interest. He said the government would defend the country at every cost. Thursday's briefing was the first-ever of its nature, and -- according to the Online news agency -- political parties are satisfied with it. The agency said that politicians were now hoping that the briefing would facilitate the formation of an effective policy for Balochistan.

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India-Pakistan

Pakistani Federal Minister blasts pro-US foreign policy

2007-08-22

ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi on Tuesday stunned both the treasury and opposition senators when he roundly criticised the foreign policy, describing it as one of appeasement at the cost of national interests, sovereignty and honour. He also condemned recently-passed US legislation and the derogatory statements about Pakistan made by some American presidential candidates. Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s Prof Khurshid Ahmed immediately stood up to endorse most of the views expressed by the minister, and welcomed the “change of heart,” describing it as part of the change that had taken place in the wake of the July 20 landmark Supreme Court judgment. Interestingly, taking cognizance of the strongly-worded speech of the minister, the Foreign Office reacted officially, saying that only the foreign minister’s statement would be true representation of Pakistan’s foreign policy and Pakistan’s relations with various countries. However, not a single PPP or the PML-N lawmaker took part in the debate during which statements of US presidential candidates and a recently-approved Pakistan-specific law were severely criticised. Commenting on the statements made in the Senate on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the foreign mQinister would wind up the debate on the subject on Aug 22. Dr Niazi said in his speech that the key role Pakistan played in bringing about the downfall of the former Soviet Union was a blunder. It resulted in the emergence of a unipolar world and gave the US a licence to attack any country it wished, he said. He said that American presidential candidates’ statements threatening Pakistan’s internal security were a reflection of the jaundiced thinking of US leaders who had forgotten lessons of history and the glorious past of Muslims. Lashing out at the recent US law attaching strings to financial assistance to Pakistan, Dr Niazi described it as insulting and demanded that “we must return and refuse to accept such assistance”. He said the country should learn to stand on its own feet by rejecting all foreign assistance as a proud Muslim nation. Recounting events of the 1971 war with India and the country’s dismemberment, he said Islamabad kept waiting for the arrival of the Sixth US fleet in the Bay of Bengal as had been promised by the then US government. But the fleet never turned up, he said, adding that no good should be expected of the US in future as well. He said while the US officials never stopped the mantra of “do more”, ignoring the fact that Islamabad had rendered tremendous sacrifices in the war on terror, the US signed a civil nuclear agreement with India, instead of Pakistan. He said while India was encouraged when it had carried out nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998, heavy sanctions were slapped on Pakistan when it conducted nuclear tests and aspersions were still being cast on nuclear assets of the country. The minister said that events which followed the 9/11 incident proved that it was the brainchild of Jews. He said that according to holy Quran, Jews and Christians could never be friends of Muslims. Prof Khurshid Ahmed of the MMA said that the American presidential candidates’ statements had exposed Gen Musharraf’s US-centric policies, because after staking everything, national interest, pride and sovereignty Pakistan was still accused of doing little in the so-called war on terror. He said while the Iranian leadership had staunchly resisted the US pressure with full backing of its people, Pakistan’s military government had abjectly surrendered to the US dictates because of lack of genuine support from the people. He accused Gen Musharraf of compromising everything on a single telephone call of the American President. Treasury bench members Nisar Memon and Anwar Bhinder supported President Musharraf’s foreign policy, saying it was based on “ground realities”. Dr Kausar Firdaus called for review and revision of the foreign policy, and said the government should consider withdrawing Pakistan from the so-called war on terror that had cost the country dearly in terms of losses of life and national dignity. Senator Shahid Bugti said that an individual had put the country’s solidarity at risk only to prolong his rule.

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India-Pakistan

Bugti’s Killing Sparks Mass Arrests, Violence

2006-08-28

Violent nationwide protests flared for a second day yesterday against the Pakistan military’s killing of rebel tribal chief Nawab Akbar Bugti as police arrested hundreds of rioters. Local political groups said Bugti’s death had sparked a “never-ending war.” Enraged mobs burned dozens of shops, buses, banks and police vehicles in Quetta, capital of southwestern Balochistan province, in defiance of a round-the-clock curfew imposed yesterday by government authorities to try to quell the outpouring of anger over 79-year-old Bugti’s killing on Saturday in a raid on his mountain hide-out. Nine policemen suffered minor wounds in a clash with about 70 protesters, some firing pistols, who tried to loot a bank and several nearby shops in northern Quetta, said police Inspector Zahir Shah. Police fired tear gas to disperse the mob. A bomb blast damaged a government building and arsonists set fire to a telephone exchange in Kalat, a town about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Quetta, said local police official Ghulam Farid Jamali. There were no casualties. Quetta police chief Suleman Sayed said 450 people were arrested yesterday in Quetta as security forces tried to crack down on violence, which has spread to other parts of impoverished Balochistan and into neighboring Sindh province’s capital of Karachi. “All forces have been put on alert,” Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani told privately run Geo TV. An alliance of four Baloch nationalist groups announced a 15-day mourning period over Bugti’s death and vowed to continue protests throughout the region. Businesses and public transport will observe a strike today. “The government has pushed Balochistan into a never-ending war,” said Hasil Bizinjo, a senior figure of Baloch Yakjehti, or the Baloch Solidarity alliance. Government forces killed the silver-bearded Bugti, one of Pakistan’s most prominent fugitives, and at least 24 of his supporters during a raid on his cave hide-out in the Kohlu area, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) east of Quetta. Bugti went into hiding in late 2005 after an attempt was made on the Pakistani president’s life. Bugti’s son-in-law, Shahid Bugti, a senator in Pakistan’s Parliament, denounced the killing and demanded the government return the tribal chief’s body to his family for burial. “This is a very tragic affair for the whole family, the tribe and the people of the whole region,” Shahid Bugti said from his father-in-law’s family house in Quetta. “We consider him a martyr. He led a very graceful life and he had a graceful death, going out while fighting for his people’s rights.” Balochistan has been wracked by decades of low-level conflict, which has often flared into large-scale clashes, as ethnic-Baloch tribespeople led by Bugti pressed the government for an increased share of wealth from natural resources extracted from the province, including gas, oil and coal. In recent months, the government has said scores of fighters loyal to Bugti have laid down their weapons and surrendered to authorities as it stepped up attacks against the tribal chief. The government also accused Bugti of ordering attacks on government installations, including gas refineries, the electricity grid and train lines. Hostilities escalated in December when militants fired rockets that landed about 300 feet from President Gen. Pervez Musharraf while he was visiting Kohlu. Bugti went into hiding shortly after. The operation that killed Bugti was launched after a land mine blew up a vehicle carrying security forces in Kohlu, said a top security official, who declined to be named because of the sensitive nature of the topic. Four security personnel were wounded. Security forces attacked Bugti and up to 80 of his supporters in a cave hide-out following an intercept of a satellite phone call in Kohlu district, the official said. Five soldiers were also killed in the attack on Bugti’s hide-out. Bugti and his supporters were killed when the cave’s roof collapsed after it came under heavy fire from Pakistani military forces, said the minister of state for information, Tariq Azeem Khan. No bodies have been retrieved so far. Bugti, a former Pakistani senator and interior minister and Balochistan governor, was an articulate spokesman for the Baloch cause. He described Pakistani Army forces as “invaders and occupiers” for expanding military garrisons into the region. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Bugti tribesmen fought under his leadership. The government launched an offensive against the Bugti and Marri tribes, whose leaders control swaths of Balochistan and the army put down a tribal rebellion in 1974, reportedly leaving about 3,000 dead. Many leaders from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q) have condemned the killing of Bugti, including Secretary-General Sayed Mushahid Hussain, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, chief of PML(Q), former speaker of the National Assembly Elahi Bux Soomro and Vice Chairman of PML (Q) Kabir Ali Wasti saying, “this issue should have been resolved through political dialogue and not force.” Hafiz Hussain Ahmad of JUI asked the government to return the body of Bugti.

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India-Pakistan

Opp protests against Hafiz Saeed's detention

2006-08-25

Opposition members in the National Assembly protested on Thursday against the detention of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and relatives of Baloch nationalists, and asked why they had been detained without cause. On a point of order, the MMA's Liaquat Baloch said Hafiz Saeed is a known personality and the government should explain the reason for his arrest. Maybe because he's a known personality? The BNP's Abdul Rauf Mengal said that brothers of senators Sanaullah Baloch and Shahid Bugti were in detention. He also protested the alleged arrests of his party members by intelligence agencies and termed it a violation of human rights. NA Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain rejected Mengal's adjournment motion about the arrest of Senator Sanaullah Baloch's brothers and said that the Senate had already discussed the issue.

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India-Pakistan

2 Baloch leaders under 'house arrest'

2006-07-17

QUETTA: The law enforcement agencies put two prominent members of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), which is headed by Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, under house arrest on Sunday. Security forces have been deployed at the residences of Senator Agha Shahid Bugti, JWP secretary general, and Humayun Khan Marri, JWP provincial president. "I have been kept under house arrest since this morning," Senator Bugti told Daily Times via telephone. He said that Hamayun Khan Marri was also under house arrest. "Our house arrest comes only two days after the kidnapping of my brother Bilal Bugti and another JWP activist Murtaza Bugti in Karachi. This is an illegal and unconstitutional action which we strongly condemn," he added. I agree fully with Senator Bugti. This illegal and clearly unconstitutional action must be met with Resistance®. It is most certainly his Legitimate Right™. I urge him to begin his Resistance® immediately, while he has the element of surprise. If he waits for Bugti backup, the window of opportunity will close. Law enforcement personnel deployed at the residences of the JWP members said they had orders to restrict the movement of the two Baloch leaders. "We will stay here until the checks clear we are ordered to leave," one guard said.

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India-Pakistan

Pakistan forces kill at least 25 Bugtis in southwest

2006-07-05

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, killed at least 25 rebels in the southwest province of Baluchistan during an attack on a militant stronghold, a government official said on Wednesday. Paramilitary forces attacked the militants in the Dera Bugti district, where rebel tribesmen have been fighting for greater autonomy and more control over the poor but resource-rich province's mineral resources -- notably its gas reserves. "During a two-hour operation, security forces killed at least 25 militants and wounded several others," said Razik Bugti, a spokesman for Baluchistan's provincial government, adding the casualty estimate was based on information from intercepted communications between the rebels. Bugti said the militants were using the compound as a launching pad for attacks on government installations in the area, adding that arms and ammunition were also recovered from the compound. Dera Bugti is the native town of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a renegade tribal elder. Shahid Bugti, an aide to the tribal elder, said the attack was aimed at his leader. "The attack was meant to kill Nawab Bugti but he was shifted safely to another place," he told Reuters.

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India-Pakistan

Two BLA men arrested

2006-05-30

QUETTA: Quetta police on Monday arrested two key members of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army and also registered a case against Dera Bugti Nazim Kazim Bugti and Jamhoori Watan Party General Secretary Agha Shahid Bugti. "BLA activists Amir Hamza and Bakhtiar Bugti are being interrogated and we hope to extract important information from them," a police source told Daily Times. The detainees were involved in rocket attacks, bomb blasts and other violent acts, said the source. The police also registered a case against Kazmi Bugti and Shahid Bugti in Bijili Road police station for a rocket attack that killed a woman and injured seven men.

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India-Pakistan

Murder case registered against Akbar Bugti

2006-05-15

A case has been registered against Nawab Akbar Bugti in connection with the murder of a government official who was kidnapped on Saturday along with two Levies force personnel and found dead on Sunday, Dera Bugti District Coordination Officer Abdul Samad Lasi said on Sunday. He said that a case of abduction had also been registered against 10 people, including a local MPA. Lasi said that Naib Tehsildar Shahzada Khan Bugti was investigating a land ownership dispute between tribesmen loyal to Nawab Akbar Bugti and the pro-government Kalpar clan. He said that a Jamhoori Watan Party MPA had also called him, warning him to refrain from interfering in the dispute. Senator Shahid Bugti of the JWP expressed ignorance about the issue. He said the government had rehabilitated tribesmen of the Kalpar clan without settling longstanding disputes.

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India-Pakistan

Has Akbar Bugti ‘fled’ to Iran?

2006-03-16

Bugti tribe chief Nawab Akbar Bugti has fled to Iran, Aaj television channel reported on Wednesday. Bugti, who is also chief of the Jamhoori Watan Party, left for Zahidan in Iran one week ago through Kharan, the channel quoted sources close to Bugti as saying. Official sources did not confirm the report, but a secret investigation is underway to ascertain how Bugti managed to flee to Iran, the channel reported. Officially, authorities denied that the government had anything to do with Bugti’s departure, but privately sources told Aaj that the government had indeed allowed Bugti to leave. The sources close to Bugti could not say if the tribal chief would remain in Iran or move on to another country. Staff report adds: Senator Shahid Bugti, the secretary general of the Jamhoori Watan Party, denied the report. “This one is hundred and one percent disinformation,” he said. He said Nawab Bugti is in Dera Bugti among his people. He said Bugti would have got massive media coverage had he left his country for the Iranian Balochistan. A government spokesman also denied the report. The tribal chief is still in Dera Bugti, said Raziq Bugti, adviser to the Balochistan chief minister.

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India-Pakistan

Loti and Pirkoh gas wells attacked again

2006-02-19

Unidentified men blew up pipelines at the Loti and Pirkoh gas fields on Saturday in Dera Bugti. The attack was the second on the gas plants in 24 hours. The militants blew up the gas pipelines from well number 24 and 10, suspending the supply of natural gas from the Loti gas field. Gas supply to Multan and Bahawalpur areas was stopped while security measures for Uch gas fields were increased. Dera Bugti District Coordination Officer Abdul Samad Lasi said that well number 10 was leaking five million cubic feet of gas because of the severed pipeline. He said the Pirkoh and Loti gas plants had been shut down and officials were trying to control the leak. Jamhoori Watan Party General Secretary Agha Shahid Bugti said that security forces and Bugti tribesmen had exchanged fire and it was possible that a mortar or rocket had hit the pipeline. He denied that tribesmen were involved in the incident. "It was... ummm... somebody else. Maybe carnies...

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India-Pakistan

Bugti’s Balochistan fortress deserted

2006-02-08

The fort of Nawab Akbar Bugti in Dera Bugti caught fire on Monday night as the last employees of the tribal chief vacated the building, a Bugti spokesman said. Dera Bugti District Coordination Officer Abdul Samad Lasi said that an arms and ammunition dump in the building had caught fire and security forces found three tribesmen’s bodies in the deserted fort. “We recovered three bodies, all appeared to have been hit by splinters from exploded ammunition,” he said. He said the Nawab’s employees probably set fire to the ammunition dump before they fled the fort. Asked how the fort had caught fire, tribal spokesman Shahid Bugti told a press conference at the Quetta Press Club that security forces had intensified attacks on the building in recent days, and mortars had hit five vehicles of Nawab Bugti. He denied that anybody had been killed. Lasi said security forces on Tuesday captured three suspected training bases used by the tribesmen and seized rocket launchers, rockets, bombs and AK-47 rifles. They also arrested two men as they were planting an anti-tank land mine on the road between Dera Bugti and Sui. Bugti said at least 75 people, mostly women and children, and 62 security personnel have been killed in 38 days of military activity in Dera Bugti. The government has given no death toll on either side since it launched an operation in areas of Balochistan controlled by the Bugti and Marri tribes in December. The government says the sardars of these tribes run private militias which have repeatedly attacked government-owned infrastructure in the province and security officials, including a rocket attack on Gen Pervez Musharraf when he was visiting Kohlu on December 14 and an attack on the head of the Frontier Corps paramilitary force.

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