QUETTA, 29 August 2006 — Fresh riots broke out yesterday in southwestern Pakistan where thousands observed a large-scale strike called by four nationalist political parties. Lawmakers condemned the government over the weekend killing of one of the country’s most prominent tribal chiefs in a military raid.
Saturday’s killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, 79, has sparked unrest across southwestern Balochistan province. On Sunday, riots in the capital Quetta left as least two people dead and a dozen wounded. Police said they had made at least 500 arrests over the past two days.
Yesterday, five people were injured in clashes between protesters and police in the town of Pasni where several shops were set ablaze in the bazaar. Police fired tear gas and gunshots into the air to disperse a mob, Pasni police officer Ahmed Ali Baluch said.
In Gawadar, a remote town on the Arabian Sea coast, nearly 1,000 protesters set a bank and two shops on fire, local police officer Mohammed Iqbal said.
Riots also broke out in the southern city of Karachi, where protesters torched two buses. Police fired tear gas to disperse about 500 people who had gathered to offer prayers for Bugti and chanted, “We want freedom” and “Death to Gen. Musharraf,” referring to Pakistan’s President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
In Quetta protesters burned an income tax office and vehicles parked at a UN office. There were no reported injuries. Because of the strike call by Baloch nationalists, offices and shops were closed and streets deserted.
Opposition ethnic-Baloch lawmakers denounced the government in a rowdy provincial assembly session in Quetta and vowed to avenge the killing of Bugti, arguably the most prominent ethnic-Baloch leader since Pakistan’s 1947 founding.
“This is a major event in Baloch history. We didn’t join this country in 1947 to have our tribal elders, political leaders and children killed,” said opposition leader Kachkul Ali Baloch.
Three opposition lawmakers were briefly taken into custody in Quetta but were freed after questioning about the street violence, said city Mayor Mir Maqbool Ahmed Lehri.
Bugti was a former provincial governor and an articulate champion for greater control by Baloch tribespeople of natural resources extracted in the region. He died after troops attacked his cave in the Kohlu area, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) east of Quetta, officials said. The cave’s roof collapsed, killing Bugti and several of his fighters.
Pakistani authorities have not yet returned Bugti’s body to his family, the late leader’s son, Talal, said. However, a funeral ceremony has been scheduled for today in a Quetta sports stadium, he said.
In the capital, Islamabad, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said heavy equipment is being moved to the scene of Saturday’s raid to clear debris and recover bodies.
Musharraf, the president, said Balochistan’s people had been deprived of their rights over the past 50 years and he was now working to improve their lot.
“Balcohistan never had rights. They had never been given their rights. They had been crushed,” Musharraf told a gathering in Murree, a hill town near Islamabad.
All the leaders of combined opposition including MMA’s Liaquat Baloch, Maulana Ghafoor Hydri, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of PML (N), Mahmud Khan Achakzai (Pakhtoonkhawa Mili Awami Party), Imran Khan (Tehrik-e-Insaf), Raja Pervez Ashraf of PPP, Rauf Mengal (BNM), Yousaf Talpur of PPP and others paid tributes to Bugti.
Liaquat Baloch called speakers to address the house where majority of opposition members and six members from official benches remained in their seats.
Imran Khan in his speech termed Bugti’s murder “custodial killing.” He said we will file an FIR against those who ordered the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti. Amin Fahim of PPP said Bugti’s murder is an attempt to disintegerate Pakistan. Maulana Ghafoor Hydri said Akbar Bugti is a martyr.
During this unofficial session, most speakers said politicians who do not agree with President Musharraf’s policies are gunned down. Hafiz Hussain Ahmad in his speech demanded that the remains of Bugti to be handed over top his kins.
Tehmina Daulatana of PML (N) said, “I received a call from Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti’s niece Aaisha Mazari asking for the return of his body.”
Balochistan has seen decades of conflict as tribespeople led by Bugti pressed for a bigger share of wealth from the province’s resources. Bugti’s tribal militia has mounted guerrilla-style resistance as the armed forces have moved to establish garrisons and assert government control over the lawless region.
US-based Human Rights Watch demanded an investigation be held into the raid that led to Bugti’s death amid “allegations of the use of disproportionate force.”
Pakistan’s neighbor and rival, India, deplored the killing and said dialogue, not military force, was needed to solve Baluchistan’s problems.
“Bugti played a prominent role in Pakistani politics for over four decades,” said Navtej Sarna, spokesman for India’s External Affairs Ministry. “His death leaves a vacuum that will be difficult to fill.” Pakistan rejected India’s criticism and urged Delhi to use political means to address its own insurgencies instead of using “oppression” and force.
Meanwhile, chief minister of Balochistan Jam Yousuf made a request to the president and prime minister to hand over the body of Bugti to his kin.
In another development, the Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) met and decided to resign from the National Assembly, the Senate and all the provincial assemblies.
Raja Zafarul Haq, senior vice president of the PML (N), chaired the meeting.
After the meeting in a statement PML (N) said now politicians are being murdered by state power. Under these circumstances PML (N) has decided to quit what it termed “from puppet assemblies.”
