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| India-Pakistan |
| BugtiÂ’s killing strengthens Baloch separatist urge |
| 2006-09-03 |
| Baloch nationalist leaders believe that their survival lies in separation from Pakistan and the time has come for a “decisive battle”. “Now there is no choice but to get liberation from Pakistan. The time has now come to fight a decisive battle,” MNA Rauf Mengal of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) told Daily Times. The nationalists’ longstanding demand for independence gained strength with the killing of tribal chief Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, and his subsequent burial against his family’s wishes. Rauf Mengal said the actions of the “Punjab-dominated establishment” and its “political cronies” had led the people of Balochistan to lose any hope that their problems could be resolved through political dialogue. The nationalists do not believe the government’s story that Bugti was killed accidentally in an explosion in his cave hideout. “The cold-blooded murder of Bugti will never be forgotten,” Mengal said. “Now every Baloch is a member of the BLA” (Balochistan Liberation Army), he said. Nationalists also mocked the federal government’s claims it is developing Balochistan, saying even the hometowns of pro-government sardars Jam Muhammad Yousuf and Yar Muhammad Rind lacked basic infrastructure. “Water is a precious commodity in Balochistan. The roads and education and electricity infrastructure is inferior to the other three provinces,” Rauf Mengal said. Former Balochistan chief minister Akhtar Mengal agreed that the Baloch people wanted “liberation” from Pakistan, because of the establishment’s “decades of atrocities”. He alleged that security forces used chemical weapons against Bugti, and the fact that the government buried his body without showing it to anyone lent credence to this claim. He made similar allegations at a press conference in Quetta on Saturday. Dr Abdul Hai Baloch said General Pervez Musharraf appeared to be following in the footsteps of General Yahya Khan in East Pakistan. Baloch hatred of the armed forces was at its peak. He urged opposition parliamentarians to resign and launch street protests to rid the country of military rule |
| Posted by:john |