You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
India-Pakistan
Army team had gone into the cave to talk to Bugti
2006-08-31
ISLAMABAD — Army spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan has claimed that officers and soldiers who had gone into the cave where the slain Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti was hiding, wanted to ‘negotiate’ (surrender terms) with Bugti. Talking to reporters here, he insisted that there was no intention to kill Nawab Akbar Bugti.

Asked how could any search party risk entering the cave in the evening time knowing fully well that the militants had lethal weapons, Sultan said: “They never wanted to kill Bugti. There are clear instructions to exercise extreme restraint in such operations." He said a mysterious blast brought down the brittle roof of the cave killing Bugti and the soldiers. “No fighting or use of explosives preceded the mysterious blast,” the military spokesman said, adding that the search party had orders to apprehend, not to kill Nawab Bugti.
Somebody trip over a "arms cache" during an "encounter"?
The spokesman discounted reports that a missile fired from a helicopter destroyed the cave. Sultan said four to five more days would be required to retrieve Bugti's body. “Army engineers have carried out a survey of the area which reveals that the work would require four to five days to recover the bodies,” he said.

Gen. Sultan said the survey has revealed that the site of the incident is so rugged and hilly that heavy machinery cannot be engaged to remove the debris of the cave. Thus, he said, the work of removing the cave's debris would be undertaken manually and it would be a time taking job besides being laborious and hectic. He said it would also be highly risky as nobody knew how much of live arms were still inside the collapsed cave. Moreover, he said, a "minor vibration" could cause further collapse.

Responding to a question, Gen. Sultan said they have confirmed reports that Nawab Akbar Bugti was inside the cave which collapsed due to reasons unknown so far. He said a tribesman from the Bugti clan, who was guiding law enforcement agencies, had earlier entered the cave and confirmed the presence of people inside including Akbar Bugti.
A "guide" or a "stoolie"?
After sometime the guide returned to the commanding officer of law enforcement agencies, who then went inside the cave. During this process the cave collapsed all of sudden leaving all the inmates of the cave dead.
"It just fell down. Honest."
Gen. Sultan said the commanding officer had gone into the cave to negotiate with Akbar Bugti surrender terms as the government had intended to take him into custody. He said there was no confirmation about the presence of any of the kinsmen of Akbar Bugti, nor the government at any stage has provided any such information to the media. Gen. Sultan said the bodies of the law enforcers were recovered on Aug. 26 and Aug. 27 as they had not covered much distance inside the cave. "Their rituals were carried out on Aug. 28," he added.
So the "negotiation team" died as well. Interesting
Posted by:Steve

#8  For their next trick these guys are gonna go to Iran to go down the well and check on the twelth Iman, to see if he's gonna do what Ahmadinnahjacket wants or if there's gonna be trouble. (thump thump)
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman   2006-08-31 18:07  

#7  The Paki Army went into the Bug Cave? Abu Alfred musta fingered the Nawab.
Posted by: 6   2006-08-31 17:31  

#6  Nah it was all a accident. They just used the Big Dig contractors to build the cave.
Posted by: AlanC   2006-08-31 11:57  

#5  South Park references and green stamps. Kinda running the gamut there, eh RD?
Posted by: mcsegeek1   2006-08-31 11:49  

#4  I haven't seen green stamps in forever!
Posted by: 3dc   2006-08-31 11:46  

#3  Well, they sent the guy to ask Bugti what he wanted, and he said "three fiddy" and things went downhill from there.

"three fiddy"

+



+



=

'O Hairy Beasty showing his age.
Posted by: RD   2006-08-31 11:38  

#2  Well, they sent the guy to ask Bugti what he wanted, and he said "three fiddy" and things went downhill from there.
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman   2006-08-31 10:46  

#1  Happened at night. Many round of ammo and explosives. One side caught in a cross fire. Mysterious blast. Sounds like an RAB extra-territorial action. Any shutter guns lying around?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-08-31 10:18  

00:00