Balochistan can only be resolved by either amending the Constitution or drafting a ne

Ray · 01-11-2005, 11:49 AM

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-10-2004_pg3_5

Quote:

HARDTalk: "Balochistan can only be resolved by either amending the Constitution or drafting a new social contract" -Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, Chairman National Democratic Party

HARDTalk: "Balochistan can only be resolved by either amending the Constitution or drafting a new social contract" -Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, Chairman National Democratic Party

* The Baloch people believe that Islamabad is behind the terrorist acts taking place in the province
* Why is there a military presence in Balochistan and not in the areas where attacks have been carried out against President Musharraf, Prime Minister Aziz and the Karachi corps commander?
* We have received neither adequate gas royalty payments nor economic benefits for our people
* The distribution of Balochistan's natural resources is not Islamabad's to make
* Local jobs must go to the local people
* The parliamentarians' committee on Balochistan is too vague in its terms of reference

Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch is a veteran politician from Balochistan. He is the chairman of the National Party, a new political entity that emerged when the Balochistan National Movement merged with the Balochistan Democratic Party.

Dr Baloch recently gave an exclusive interview to Daily Times' Karachi editor, Sarfaraz Ahmed, for HardTalk column. Following are the excerpts:

Daily Times: How do you look at the Balochistan situation?

Abdul Hayee Baloch: Since the creation of this country, the people of Balochistan have been denied their political, economic and cultural rights; the right of self-governance; and the right to control our area's natural resources. We have no representation at the state level and no say in how the state apparatus operates. In short, we are treated as third-class citizens and have been forced to live as if we were back in the Stone Age. Nowhere in the country will you find this type of backwardness.

This is all the more unbelievable since, in terms of natural resources, Balochistan is the country's richest province. Gas was discovered here in the early 1950s. From this time onwards, our gas reserves have enabled the government to save vast amounts of foreign exchange. And while the entire country makes use of it, most of the houses here do not even have gas.

Apart from this, there are several current pressing concerns for the Baloch people. The first is the anticipated displacement of a large number of poor locals. This is due to proposed re-settlement of a large number of non-locals to work on the construction of Gwadar Port and town as well as the Mekran coastal highway projects. This is in direct violation of Islamabad's assurances that job preference will be given to the people of Balochistan. The second concern is the army's setting up of three new cantonments in the province.

Ninety percent of the Gwadar population earns its living from fishing. Yet the population has been issued notices to move 15 to 30 kilometres from the coast. This will jeopardise their livelihood. And as if this were not enough, the coastal belt from Jeewani to Ormara has been sold out to non-Baloch people.

DT: Are you denying that Balochistan receives gas royalty?

AHB: We have not received adequate royalty payments for the natural gas found within the territory of Balochistan. We have also not received any economic benefits for our people.

DT: Do you agree that any deals on natural resource royalties must fall under the ambit of the National Finance Commission Award which, in turn, falls under the terms of the Constitution?

AHB: The 1973 Constitution has failed to protect the rights of smaller provinces. We have never been satisfied with this Constitution. In fact, I was one of three MNAs from Balochistan who did not sign the constitution document. (The others were Khair Bux Marri and Jannifer Musa.)

With regards to the NFC Award, its calculations are based on population levels. Therefore, it represents a gross injustice to the people of Balochistan. Instead, the NFC Award should be based on land mass, as was the case before the cessation of East Pakistan.

If the central government is not prepared to equitably distribute national resources at this juncture, then who knows what will happen to Balochistan. The Baloch people and their elected leaders must be taken into confidence on all issues that concern them. The central government must treat us with the respect that all citizens of the Federation deserve. We cannot be treated as a minority group. The decision on how to use or distribute Balochistan's natural resources is simply not Islamabad's to make.

What I mean is that the entire coastal belt of Balochistan represents the heartbeat of the local people. Therefore, all coastal projects should be put under the control of the province or the real government of Balochistan. Because as far as the present Baloch government is concerned, it is simply a product of manipulated elections. And as such, it can never claim to be the true representatives of the Baloch people. Islamabad has no right to exert control over the Balochistan coast and projects related to it.

DT: Is it not true that four MPAs from your own party won seats in the present Balochistan assembly as a result of the October 2002 elections?

AHB: Had there been free, fair and transparent elections, the number of people elected from our party would have been much larger. In fact, had there been fair elections, we would also have had representation in both the National Assembly and the Senate.

DT: Let us turn again to the cantonment issue. What do you say to those who think you are overreacting to this issue?

AHB: I would first of all ask them to explain the need of setting up more cantonments in Balochistan.

The government says that more cantonments will generate economic activity as well as helping to secure important installations which are frequently targeted by terrorists. But if we follow this rationale, how does the government explain the recent spate of violence that has resulted in acts of sabotage against gas pipelines as well as attacks, involving the use of explosives and landmines, against staff employed for the protection of these pipelines? The government was not able to protect the five Chinese nationals who were working on the Gwadar Port.

DT: What is your response to those who say these cantonments have been projected by the army in order to facilitate its apprehending of the remnants of the Bin Laden and Taliban networks?

AHB: I have no knowledge about this. This is the first time I have heard about it.

But what I will say is that we doubt the government's intentions. We fear the government has been strengthening army presence in the province in order to crush the nationalist sentiment at any given moment.

The Baloch people believe that these terrorist acts are being engineered by the central government itself. Indeed, the people of Sindh also hold similar fears regarding the terrorist activities being conducted in their areas.

For if the government is sincere in wanting to tackle the law and order situation in the country, then why is it not deploying troops and army personnel to those areas already hit by a security deficit? We have seen two attempts on President Musharraf's life, an attack on the Karachi corps commander's convoy and the assassination attempt against the then prime minister-designate, Shaukat Aziz. These acts of terrorism did not take place in Balochistan. Yet instead of mobilising the army to the areas where these incidents took place, the government has engaged in undeclared military operations in Balochistan, particularly in areas strongly dominated by the Balochs. Thus it is apparent that Islamabad is intent on treating Balochistan as a mere colony.

DT: Will you not concede that the present law and order situation in Balochistan can be put down to the actions of local people, some of whom have taken up arms to pose a direct challenge to the writ of the state in the province?

AHB: I admit that there already exists a lot of bitterness here because of Islamabad's unjust policies vis-à-vis the people of Balochistan. The people here are living in a state of perpetual fear. That is, in addition to having been deprived of their ownership rights and the right to self-governance in their own areas, they now risk being turned into a minority in their own lands.

Also, let us not forget that there is an international dimension to the whole Gwadar issue. The port is of high strategic importance and involves international interests. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to be able to say who is behind these attacks. It is the responsibility of the government and its agencies to identify foreign elements if, indeed, they are involved in Balochistan's security deficit.

DT: What about the organisation that calls itself the Balochistan Liberation Army and has admitted to attacking state interest?

AHB: I do not know who this group is.

DT: What do you say to the fact that army action was launched during Sardar Akbar Bugti's governorship?

AHB: The decision to launch army action can never be taken by a governor or chief minister alone. The order has to come from Islamabad.

DT: Would you say your anger is based on the belief that Islamabad has betrayed the Baloch people?

AHB: We have been telling the people of Balochistan that the development projects the government talks about will not materialise in this part of the country. We have also warned the people that the government is endeavouring to settle non-locals in this area, depriving the Baloch people of the job opportunities generated from the mega projects. In short, we are warning the people that the government aims to turn the Baloch majority into a minority in this province.

DT: What steps must the government take to win your confidence?

AHB: They must take us into full confidence. If the government is sincere about the development of this province, then its priority should be to ensure that jobs go to the local people of Gwadar and Mekran Division. The majority of our youth is already unemployed and languishing in poverty. Yet, the government is intent on giving jobs to non-locals.

DT: How do you answer the allegation that the nationalists themselves are to blame for the backwardness of Balochistan since they did nothing for the advancement of the province when they were in power?

AHB: It is not true that the nationalists did nothing for this province. Remember, the National Awami Party (NAP) government lasted only for nine months. Although we had other governments that had nationalist representation, these were at a lower level than the NAP. Nevertheless, they still managed to do a lot for the welfare of the Baloch people.

DT: What, in your opinion, can be done to improve Balochistan's economic situation?

AHB: First of all, just look at our land. 60 to 70 percent of this is virgin land. We could easily make most of it cultivable. But instead, the government is reportedly allocating billions of rupees for the construction of three cantonments. These funds could be used to build reservoirs to contain rainwater. According to estimates, we are wasting 10 to 14 milion-acres feet of rainwater every year simply because we do not have reservoirs. Secondly, investment in livestock would also help improve Balochistan's economy.

DT: But isn't there a political process in place? Is there not a government in Balochistan?

AHB: As I have said before, the present Balochistan government is the product of manipulated elections. These are not the real representatives of the Baloch people. The Pakhtoon community, led by the Pakhtoonkhawah Milli Awami Party, is with us.

DT: The government, including President Musharraf's key aide Tariq Aziz, has been making contact with the Baloch nationalists. Indeed, one of your leaders, Sanaullah Zahri, recently held a private meeting with the corps commander. This has led the Baloch people to fear that the nationalist leadership is cutting a behind-the-scenes deal with Islamabad. What do you say to this?

AHB: It is true that Mr Zahri met the corps commander without taking other party leaders into confidence. He was wrong to do this. And even though he has explained to us that he held the meeting in his personal capacity, I believe he should not have gone ahead with it. Given the current situation, it was a misguided decision.

DT: Do you think that Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's appointment as prime minister reduced the sense of deprivation among the Baloch people?

AHB: No, this has not been the case. A true leader and representative is someone who doesn't compromise on his peoples' inherent rights and interests. Both Jamali and Jam are simple opportunists, ready to jump on any bandwagon.

DT: How do you view the formation of the parliamentarians' committee on Balochistan, headed by former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain?

The committee's terms of reference are so vague that I see it as nothing more than mere lip-service.

The plight of Balochistan can only be resolved by introducing amendments to the Constitution. And by this I mean one of two things: we either introduce major constitutional amendments which would empower the people of Balochistan to control Gwadar Port and the province's other resources; or else we draft a new social contract (a new constitution). But we have to carry out one of these two options. Because the committee, with its limited terms of reference, will fail to eradicate the root causes of Balochistan's problems. *

These are the types who do not understand the concept of a Federal Nation. Sub nationalsim on relgious and ethnic ground is never an answer.

It was also an eyeopener that there are IRANIAN Balochis and OMANI Balochis.

http://www.irantour.org/Iran/people/...%20TRIBES.html

http://www.ksafe.com/profiles/p_code5/5.html

lemontree · 01-12-2005, 03:51 AM

The state of Balochistan is very sad if one is to belive this article. I have read at a number of places that Baloch Regiment has hardly any balochis in it. Never got any positive links on it though.

Quote:

In the southwest sits Balochistan that forms half of Pakistan in territorial heft. “Radical” Balochs (burnt by a 75% poverty rate, as reported in Dawn, every Baloch is now radical) simply want outright independence from Pakistan. Mir Surat Khan Marri, a former diplomat, has recently published in The Frontier Post his historically informed analysis that substantiates the independence thesis. Mir Marri argues that Balochistan has always been an independent nation, until Pakistan colonized it in 1947-48 through a military action. The succeeding generation of Balochs had since kept nursing these wounds by putting “Balochistan First.” A case in point is Mr. Akhtar Mengal, who is a leader of the younger generation of Balochs. When he was sworn in as Chief Minister of Balochistan in 1997, wrote Mr. Abdul Qadir Hasan in Jang, he switched his pledge of allegiance from “Pakistan” to “Balochistan.” His transformed oath read: “I shall remain “loyal” to Balochistan (omitting Pakistan altogether).

http://www.satribune.com/archives/de...nion_niazi.htm

Ray · 01-12-2005, 14:12 PM

Subnationalism has never been eradicated in Pakistan it appears.

Till that goes, ther will always be problems that will be like shackles to the progress of Pakistan.

The problem of Pakistan is that everything is Punjab centric.

Sad.

Jay · 01-12-2005, 14:57 PM

Pakistan troops guard gas field

Pakistan has deployed troops at its largest natural gas field after days of clashes with tribal militants left at least eight people dead.

The main plant at the Sui complex in Balochistan province is shut. Sui provides about 60% of Pakistan's gas.

Tribesmen have been firing rockets at gas facilities, and stormed the complex on Tuesday before being driven back by security forces, officials say.

Clashes began on Friday after claims a female doctor had been gang-raped.

The woman is said to be in her thirties and employed by state-owned Pakistan Petroleum Limited. It is not clear who might have carried out the alleged rape, but tribesmen blame security forces.

In an unrelated incident on Wednesday, a group of between eight and 11 workers for the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority were abducted by bandits in the Sindh/Balochistan border area.

There have been a series of bomb explosions in the provincial capital, Quetta, and other parts of Balochistan, one of the country's poorest areas, over the past year.

Disgruntled tribesmen seeking a larger share of oil and gas wealth are blamed for the attacks.

Warning

On Tuesday, President Pervez Musharraf warned tribesmen to stop their violence - and threatened to use force if they did not.

"We are watching it with great concern," he told private Geo television.

He had this message for the militants: "Don't push us... it is not the 1970s, and this time you won't even know what has hit you."

He was referring to a crackdown by the military in the 1970s on separatist rebels in the area.

Paramilitary soldiers were sent to the Sui complex, 290km (180 miles) south-west of Quetta, on Tuesday after tribesmen overpowered guards there.

Officials say the tribesmen damaged pipelines and a purification plant before paramilitary frontier forces drove them out.

"Three paramilitary soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in fighting on Tuesday evening as security forces ejected the troublemakers from the gas field," military spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told Reuters news agency.

He said two civilians, including a child, had died in the crossfire. The number of casualties sustained by tribesmen is unclear.

Provincial officials say that in all at least eight people have been killed in clashes since Friday. Unconfirmed reports put the figure higher.

Series of attacks

Supplies of gas to power stations and fertiliser factories in neighbouring provinces have been stopped for a second day following the clash.

Blast site in Quetta
A December bomb attack in Quetta killed at least 11 people

"The plant has been closed as a precautionary measure because if, God forbid, the plant was hit it would result in horrible tragedy," one senior gas official, Rashid Lone, told the AFP news agency.

There are about 6,500 paramilitary personnel stationed at Sui, backed by some 1,500 regular troops and 750 personnel from the Defence Security Guards.

Tribesmen say they fear a massive operation against them.

"They [army and paramilitary forces] have thrown a ring around us," tribal chief Nawab Akbar Bugti told the BBC News website.

Locals in Balochistan say they face a situation of near war in the province. Rocket attacks against gas facilities are a regular occurrence.

There have been more than 30 bomb attacks in Quetta alone in the last year. The most deadly, last December, killed at least 11 people and wounded more than 30 others.

A group calling itself the Balochistan Liberation Army said it carried out the bombing in its fight against what it sees as the dominating influence of Punjabis on local political life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4167299.stm

Ray · 01-12-2005, 15:05 PM

http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/aug-2004/24/columns1.php

Quote:

Mengal: not a traitor

WAJID SHAMSUL HASAN
Pakistan’s largest and resource-rich province - Balochistan - is on the verge of an implosion. It is much similar to that of former East Pakistan of 1971 when Bangla leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had been fervently pleading for a political settlement of political issues while the military junta under General Yahya had nothing else to offer but a full-fledged army operation on war footing to the country’s majority population demanding its democratic rights. One of the veteran Baloch leaders, Sardar Ataullah Mengal, has come out forcefully against what he calls blatant invasion of his province by the army unmindful of the wishes of the people and being inconsiderate of the mounting problems that are being faced by them.
Speaking at a seminar the other day organized by the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) on constitutional, political, economic and cultural exploitation of oppressed nations in the perspective of facts and figures and its solution in the light of international principles, former Chief Minister warned Musharraf junta that the situation in Balochistan might lead to disintegration of the country. And, according to him, it would be the military-led government and not the nationalists who would be responsible for any damage to the integrity of the country. He called upon the powers that be to hang him for his resistance against what he claimed another military operation in his province. “I will love to die for my own people, my own land and my province”.
Although very old and mild in temperament, the angry tenor and tune of his warning seems to be a manifestation of the deep wounds of exploitation and oppression inflicted on his people. His infuriated words seem to be the sound of a death-knell and they had an undertone telling the rulers to stop it before it is too late. Surely, Islamabad would rush to brand it as outright rebellious, its under-current reflected sincerity of purpose and a desire to save the situation much similar to the pleadings by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman before he and the majority population of the country was pushed into a irreversible situation.
The message from him was clear: don’t waste time, adopt right policies rather than threaten Balochs with the language of guns, boom, disaster and doom. By refusing to condemn those who were attacking military personnel as freedom fighters, Sardar Mengal also appealed to all the Sindhi, Baloch, Seraiki and Pakhtoon nationalists to “retaliate against the army with stones if they were not in a position to take up guns”.
In his passionate speech Mengal was also very critical of the Punjabis. According to him he had developed bitter feelings against the Punjabis because they were helping the military to crush the oppressed nations. He said he was being asked to declare the Baloch warriors attacking troops in Balochistan as “terrorists”. He reminded his friends in Punjab that those who have taken up arms in Balochistan had done so for their own protection— exercising their right to self-defence — and as such they cannot be described as terrorists.
Mengal said if he could not fight against the armed forces with his own hands because of his old age, it did not mean that he would condemn those who were showing defiance and offering their lives for the Baloch rights. “I am a honorable man and will never condemn the retaliation by the Baloch people.”
There cannot be two views that Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution unanimously adopted by the elected representatives of the people of the four federating units, now distorted and disfigured beyond recognition in favor of a unitary government by General Pervez Musharraf to make himself all powerful through the controversial and obnoxious 17th Amendment, has been made to lose its efficacy as the unifier of the nation as designed by its framing fathers.
In the light of its present fractured shape, Sardar Mengal has a justifiable point in assailing the present rulers who wrongly accuse nationalists of violating the Constitution when Musharraf and his coterie have been responsible for disparaging it. Not only that, by violating it they have even committed an act of treason under Article 6 of the Constitution.
Time and again saner and patriotic elements in the country have been warning the military establishment not to play with the 1973 Constitution. It is generally perceived that a grand document conceived by the greatest political and constitutional brains of the time had resolved the otherwise country-breaking question of the quantum of provincial autonomy much to the satisfaction of the federating units and that it cannot be rewritten.
By destroying the Constitution perhaps the greatest disservice has been done by the rulers who have dealt a fatal blow to the very integrity of the country. According to Sardar Mengal and many others like him, the military junta has damaged the Constitution to such an extent that now it was beyond correction and the country needed a new Constitution based on the principle of equality.
Some leaders in Sindh are even suggesting, besides many other drastic and radical provisions, that the new constitution, whenever it is framed, should incorporate a clause that would give right to secession to the smaller provinces in case of another coup or Punjabi military take over in the country.
It is good to know that although very bitter Sardar Mengal has not yet endorsed the proposed provision of secession in case of yet another military take over. Voicing the aspirations of the smaller provinces, Mengal says that the nationalists only are demanding democracy and their right to govern themselves.
According to Sardar Mengal Balochistan was being developed now because it suited the Punjabis and the military, as they want to make it a colony of the army and federation. Referring to those from Punjab who want a dialogue between Islamabad and Quetta, Sardar Mengal called upon them that if they want to serve and save the country then they should not offer to hold a dialogue with nationalist forces in Balochistan. Instead, they should ask General Musharraf to hand over power to the people. If the General does not do that “he will be held responsible for the break up of the country.”
Sardar Mengal has made his point for the need of a new constitution in view of the fact that 1973 Constitution has ceased to be a document that was designed to be the unifier of the federating units and had panaceas to their socio-economic and political problems. It has now ended up as a constitution full of distortions and a destroyer of the nation, thanks to the 17th Amendment.
However, it was Pakhtoon leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai who hit the nail right on the head at the historic PONM seminar. Achakzai’s observation pertains to the long-lasting issue that has remained unresolved since the assassination of Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan at the hands of the power troika inherited from the British Raj.
Indeed, as Mahmud Achakzai put it, “time has come to decide as to who is the ruler in Pakistan — its 140 million people or the million strong army.”
Like Mengal, Mahmud Achakzai, too, underscored that genuine nationalists’ demands must not be misconstrued as an act of rebellion against the State. Rather, nationalists’ point of view need be given a serious thought in the correct perspective. Nationalists, according to Achakzai, were the most peaceful people as they were struggling for their right to govern themselves.
Mahmud Khan nailed the canard by the rulers and their media mongers that the nationalists were traitors out there to destroy Pakistan. According to him, nationalists are patriotic Pakistanis and they do not want to break the country since Pakistan was their own motherland and they were the sons of the soils.
However, he warned Islamabad’s military establishment that the nationalist forces have come to the conclusion that they would no more accept the rule of only one powerful ethnic group that was supporting the military establishment to keep others subjugated as it tried to do in former East Pakistan.
Before water gets over the head, opinion makers in Punjab and others including its politicians who matter, must lend their ears to the nationalist voices from the smaller provinces. Their grievances emanating from their growing sense of alienation, deprivation and rule by might that considers itself right and above the general will of the people, need to be listened to rather dismiss them as acts of treason or revolt by a “handful of miscreants”.
Leaders like Sardar Ataullah Mengal are a breed that is going extinct. And we need to gratefully remember the time after the most ignominious surrender by our drunkard generals in Dhaka when smaller provinces were most conveniently placed to seek independence from an army that had been handed a humiliating defeat by the Indian military.
Indeed, if the elected leadership of Balochistan, Sindh and NWFP (Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Khan Wali Khan, Mufti Mahmud, Mir Ghaus Bux Bizenjo, Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Professor Ghafoor and others) had sought to break away from Punjab or the federal Pakistan, then it would have been all over without firing a shot since Pakistani military establishment had ceased to exist.
Its generals, under pressure from their own Young Turks, were left with no other option but to beg of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to save the residual Pakistan.
It was their sheer greatness and selflessness that those leaders shunned independence for their provinces coming to them on the platter. Not only that, they reaffirmed their faith in Quaid’s Pakistan by unanimously steering the Constitution Bill of 1973 to national acceptability-as a document that resolved the question of the quantum of provincial autonomy in which the federating units were to enjoy more autonomy than enjoyed by the states in the United States of America. The 1973 Constitution, indeed, had come to serve as a greater binding force than religion. In accordance with the national aspirations it also laid the foundation for fostering a unique phenomenon of unity in diversity (oh yeah? then what the hell was Pakistan movement all about? Oh, I get it - it was unity in diversity inside **** Islam).
Had these leaders bickered and not joined heads and hands in framing the Constitution of 1973, then the break up of the country would have been a foregone conclusion sooner than later. And, it would have meant for the 90,000 generals and soldiers of Pakistani military many years of rotting in the Indian PoW camps. It would have also led to the dismemberment of the heavy weight military establishment.
Since the situation in Balochistan is a fast ticking time bomb we should remember the pertinent observation of American philosopher George Santayana “that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I am reminded of the historic letter of one of the founding fathers of Pakistan, Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, from his jail cell in Karachi to Field Marshal Ayub Khan. In that, Suhrawardy had warned the then military dictator that by marginalizing and destroying him in Pakistan’s politics Ayub, in fact, was destroying the last of the bridges that was keeping East and West Pakistan together.
After him, indeed, was deluge. It seems General Pervez Musharraf is hell-bent on repeating history. The sordid manner he has been trying to destroy the only “Wafaq-ki-Zangeer” Benazir Bhutto and the treatment as traitor of a great man like Sardar Ataullah seems almost a scheme to fold up Pakistan. And God forbid, the on-going military operation in Balochistan could possibly be the beginning of the end.

A real mess.

Ray · 01-13-2005, 02:35 AM

Quote:

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...3-1-2005_pg1_1
Balochistan: Sherpao

* Interior minister says damaged purification plant could take 3 months to repair
* Gas to many parts of the country could be suspended
* 70% of population in two colonies near Sui has fled

By Shehzad Malik

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said on Wednesday the federal government would take necessary punitive action, including military action, against the renegade tribesmen who attacked gas plants at Sui in Balochistan.

The Balochistan government has been asked to review the situation and recommend to the federal government the action required to normalise the situation in the province, Sherpao said at a press conference. He said three officials of the Frontier Constabulary and four civilians had been killed and nine injured in shooting between security personnel and miscreants. He did not say how many tribesmen had been killed or injured.

Sherpao said that a purification plant at Sui had been damaged by firing from the miscreants over the last five days. The minister said it could take three months to repairs the plant, which could mean gas load-shedding in many parts of the country. The purification plant was shut down after it started leaking poisonous gas. He said the Sui plant supplied 22 percent of Pakistan’s gas.

Sherpao said security agencies had seized 14,000 bullets, 425 rocket launchers and 60 multi-barrel guns which were fired from a Bugti colony and a Muhammadi colony near Sui. The two colonies housed more than 25,000 inhabitants and almost 70 percent had now migrated, he said. He said that the miscreants had occupied towers 10 and 11 of the Sui plant, which were later reoccupied by Frontier Constabulary soldiers after a shootout.

Sherpao said the parliamentary committee on Balochistan would present its recommendations to the federal government very soon. Committee members had met Baloch leaders and asked them to suggest solutions to the problems of the province. He said the government did not want to ruin the current dialogue with tribal elders and other Baloch leaders.

Home | Main

Govt mulls military action in Balochistan: Sherpao
Troops and gunships sent to Sui
Saboteurs will be punished: Musharraf
Out-of-the-box solutions necessary: Manmohan
12 WAPDA officials kidnapped in Rajanpur
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There seems to be quite a lot of unrest in Balochistan. Is this a precussor to secession.

I sure hope not.

Actually, the Gwadar port and its potential has put the sparkle of big bucks in the eyes of these otherwise poverty stricken and arid area. Then, the reality that the larger share of themoney from their state would be used to uplift the State of Punjab (as is always the case) has upset them.

Hence, the rebellion in thought.

The Pakistan govt is make the situation even worse. They are trying to increase the military presence in Balochistan through new cantonments. This obviously has touched the Balochi nerve since they are feeling that the Central govt will use the military to supress them, since there is no enemy to the West of Pakistan.

I do hope that better sense prevails.

ajaybhutani · 01-13-2005, 10:33 AM

I really donot understand waht pakistan wants with itself. It looks more like a country called punjab province ruling over colonies called balauchistan NWFP sindh PoK etc. Paksitan today needs a good constitutional change or maybe a revolution leading to a new order. Its better if the changes are made slowly by punjabis or else it would come back on them in the form of rebellion like the case of bangladesh . when will paksitan learn from its past. they have already seen a bangladesh. Wasnt that nough??

Asim Aquil · 01-13-2005, 11:14 AM

Punjab has made big sacrifices in recent years. A lot of water's going to b diverted towards Balochistan.

Actually most of Balochi concerns are just "This n that will never happen, because BB and NS were too shitless to let that happen, so won't these people".

The Arab/Iranian thing adds to conflict and violence has been on the rise especially since the announcement of the Gawadar Port since its going to literrally take all the business away from their ports.

Anyway there are Mega Development Projects underway in Balochistan. 2-3 of them have been completed. And these projects are Truly MEGA! bigger than anything in any of the other provinces.

Without development Balochistan would not be able to make its earnings. Amending constitution is stupid, you can't have laws like only Balochis will work in Balochistan. Foreign companies would run away. Its better if they're given a chance to build themselves. Musharraf's 10 yr development plan is exactly what they need. But their terroristic MMA leaders keep telling them "Nothing will happen" even though everything's happening.

Literacy levels are VERY low there. They just believe what those idiots tell them.

Ray · 01-13-2005, 14:33 PM

As I npredicted in this thread or on the other one, Gunships and troops would make Balochisthan boil. So it has.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GA13Df01.html

Quote:

Musharraf blusters as Balochistan boils

Musharraf blusters as Balochistan boils
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - A battle lasting several hours on Tuesday between Pakistani security forces and insurgent tribals in Balochistan province's Sui region, famous for its natural-gas reserves, is likely to turn into a full-scale insurgency as all the powerful oligarchs of Baloch society support this insurgency. Although President General Pervez Musharraf, speaking on a local television channel, gave a clear warning of a major military operation in retaliation, this is likely only to lead to further troubles.

According to officials, eight paramilitary security men were killed and four were seriously wounded on Tuesday night when armed tribesmen attacked the Sui gas fields, the biggest in Pakistan. Authorities say the tribesmen want more royalties from the gas taken from their lands.

Heavy fire was exchanged, during which Bugti tribals, numbering about 10,000, used rocket launchers, mortars and automatic weapons. The armed men seized control of some buildings in Sui field for several hours, oil managers said. Damage to a compressor interrupted the gas flow to customers in Punjab and Sindh provinces. In a press release issued late Tuesday, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd announced the suspension of gas supplies.

Behind the insurgency
Insurgency in the region in the past has been attributed to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). Its name cropped up in the 1980s as a pro-Moscow underground militant organization committed to the establishment of an independent greater Balochistan state comprising all Baloch lands in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

However, in the past few years the BLA's activities have been restricted to firing rockets into Quetta army cantonment. The reason for this extremely low profile is the group's unpopularity among the masses. In the mid-1980s, a few dozen students of the Baloch Student Organization carried out terror actions under the BLA tag. However, later on a very small faction with strong pro-Moscow leanings used this platform to raise the call for a separate Baloch state.

Balochistan is geographically the largest of Pakistan's provinces, but population-wise it is the smallest. However, the province is endowed with some of the world's richest reserves of natural energy (gas, oil, coal); minerals (gold, copper), and it has strategic mountainous borders and passes adjoining Iran and Afghanistan on the west and miles of precious maritime coast stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea in the south.

In the last week of December, the federal government granted four petroleum-exploration licenses, two jointly to Oil & Gas Development Co (OGDC) and Mari Gas Co, and two exclusively to OGDC. The two companies plan to invest US$29.32 million initially, with a further investment of $16.5 million if needed, in the four blocks.

The Baloch regions of the province can be divided into three sub-regions, each with its own dynamics, culture and social conditions:

# The belt comprising Hub, Lasbella and Khizdar is heavily influenced by the cosmopolitan city of Karachi, which is just a 45-minute drive away. Hub is heavily industrialized, but while most industries are owned by Karachiites, the labor force is local, and industrialization has brought major changes in their lifestyle. This influence goes up to Khizdar, where except for a few pockets, people by and large have moved away from the influence of tribal leaders. Rather than nationalist parties, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and the Pakistan People's Party led by Benazir Bhutto are the two main popular forces.
# The coastal belt comprising Makran and Gwadar, where foreign influences (non-Baloch) have always been strong. For instance, in some areas the rulers in the past were of Iranian descent. Many powerful tribes migrated here from Sindh. The region is characterized by powerful underworld mafias that rule the sea and dominate trafficking activities, ranging from gold to narcotics.

The political trends are mixed: the religious Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman; the nationalist Jamhori Watan Party; the Balochistan National Front; the Pakistan People's Party and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League all have their separate pockets of influence. However, the real power lies with the big-wigs of the coastal mafia, although in recent times their influence has been curbed to some extent, notably after the killing of two Chinese workers last year. Gwadar is being turned into a modern port city, with the help of China, and already real-estate prices have skyrocketed. Sites have been earmarked and purchased for business centers, warehouses, factories and international hotel franchises. In private conversations, Baloch tribal leaders express their doubts over urbanization as they fear another Karachi or Hub will emerge, which, among other things, will reduce the influence of the tribal leaders.
# Eastern Balochistan is completely tribal, and chiefs such as Nawab Khair Bux Mari and Nawab Akbar Bugti are the main movers and shakers. This region is the nucleus of the insurgency. Eastern Balochistan is notorious for its lawlessness, and the writ of the state is weak in the face of the tribal networks that have been established. The Sui gas fields are situated in the areas dominated by Nawab Akbar Bugti, while Kohlu is Nawab Khair Bux Mari's domain.

Players in the game
It is in eastern Balochistan, though, where the real problems lie. Here, Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal, Nawab Akbar Bugti and Nawab Khair Bux Mari are lined up on one side against Pakistan's military on the other.

During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, which saw anti-US Islamic Iran, pro-Moscow Afghanistan and non-aligned but clearly Soviet sympathizer India on the one side, Pakistan was always reckoned by the former USSR as the strongest US link in the region, but with Balochistan as its Achilles' heel. The pro-Soviet sentiments of Sardar Attaullah, Nawab Bugti and Nawab Mari played an important role in influencing Balochistan as anti-US in a heavily pro-US Pakistan.

Sardar Attaullah played an important role in instigating an armed rebellion with Nawab Bugti and Nawab Mari in the mid-1970s, during the administration of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. It was crushed with brute military force. All three powerful tribal chiefs went into exile.

The most significant exile was that of Mari, who went to Afghanistan, along with about 12,000 of his men. They established themselves in Kandahar and Hilmand and were courted by the communist government in Kabul and given military training. Mari's son, Nawabzada Balaach Mari, was sent to Moscow, where he graduated as an electronics engineer.

After the fall of the communist government in Kabul in the early 1990s, the Mari tribes returned to their homes, but they retained their connections with the pro-Moscow world and sympathizers in India. Today, Balaach Mari and his thousands of followers are the real vanguard of the insurgency and carry the ideological torch.

The most dangerous region in eastern Balochistan is Kohlu, where, in more than 30 camps, hundreds of Mari tribals are engaged in military training and instruction in guerrilla warfare. Special study circles have been established under Balaach Mari's supervision to indoctrinate Baloch youths with separatist (Baloch) ideology and the two-nation theory (the basis on which British India was partitioned in 1947 to create Muslim-dominated Pakistan and Hindu India).

Nawab Akbar Bugti is viewed as a "moderate" and has apparently dissociated himself from any insurgency, yet he is pulling the strings behind 10,000 powerful insurgent tribals in Dera Bugti and Sui.

While Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal speaks for the rights of Balochistan on the political forum, he does not actively command a strong rebellious youth in his domain of Wad (Khizdar).

The central government reacts
On Tuesday night, speaking on a local private channel, Musharraf warned insurgents of a military operation and said that this was not the 1970s when they could hide in the mountains. "They will be struck with weapons and they will not know what has happened to them."

Later, on another channel, Nawabzada Balaach warned the government, "I have just heard Musharraf threatening us. I tell him, it is not the 1970s either, that through military force they can suppress us. They should learn a lesson from Iraq where the world-best US army has failed to overwhelm the local resistance."

Behind Musharraf's threats, though, and even though the tribals have seriously challenged state writ, the government is extremely hesitant to use the force it used in the South Waziristan tribal area last year to flush out foreign fighters, for several reasons:
# Musharraf is already being pushed to the wall by his military commanders on several issues, especially in dealing with India and his pro-US stance.
# On the issue of Musharraf reneging on an earlier pledge to shed his uniform at the end of last year, political forces are already ganging up against him.
# With regard to the South Waziristan operations, liberal forces such as the Pakistan People's Party adopted a silent stance, but on Balochistan all political parties can be expected to vent their disapproval.
# In such an overall negative environment, the chances of a counter-military coup against Musharraf increase. Musharraf came to power in a 1999 coup.

Despite all of this, Musharraf appears to have little option other than military force, the consequences be damned.

Syed Saleem Shahzad, Bureau Chief, Pakistan, Asia Times Online. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com

Jay · 01-13-2005, 15:34 PM

It aint a smart idea to threaten your own people

Quote:

On Tuesday night, speaking on a local private channel, Musharraf warned insurgents of a military operation and said that this was not the 1970s when they could hide in the mountains. "They will be struck with weapons and they will not know what has happened to them."

Later, on another channel, Nawabzada Balaach warned the government, "I have just heard Musharraf threatening us. I tell him, it is not the 1970s either, that through military force they can suppress us. They should learn a lesson from Iraq where the world-best US army has failed to overwhelm the local resistance."

This is what will happen!!

Asim Aquil · 01-13-2005, 17:25 PM

naah... nawaab's a *****...

tarek · 01-13-2005, 17:38 PM

Mr. Musharraf's advice to the American was to "not open to many fronts", I wonder if he will take his own advice - increasingly, he is being boxed in, his PML-Q is unwilling to deliver, His Mullah opposition wants not just to see him without a uniform, but also without the presidency and as events demonstrate, without his pulse, would work for them as well. His armed forces serve as fertile ground for Islamist assasins.

Internationally, He has the indians, who will make sure that "bilateral" becomes synonomous with "unsubstantial". The war on terror increasingly accrues negative dividends.

Now curiously, he has argued that it is for all these reasons that he must retain his uniform, wonder if the American is having the last laugh.

Soon Gwadar will be ready for openning ceremonies with the Chinese Premier, at least that's the plan, will the Chinese premier make an appearnce while gunships give "tribals" the stick and spare the sardaars? I guess the corp commanders will have devise some face saving (read, payoff the Sardars and Nawabs, and Mirs and khans, and the Qaris and the assorted ulema and mashaik)

Mr. Musharraf has proven on almost all previous occassions that his bark is worst than his bite, will this be the same as those before it?

lemontree · 01-14-2005, 01:28 AM

Quote:

"They will be struck with weapons and they will not know what has happened to them."

Looks like Mushy is threatening to nuke them or gas them.

Thats why he is so confident that mountains will protect the rebels. Or maybe he will unleash his Taliban friends from hiding.

01-12-2005, 14:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
Jay Tamizhanban *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 08-06-03 Location: Edison, NJ Posts: 6,338 Country:	Pakistan troops guard gas field Pakistan has deployed troops at its largest natural gas field after days of clashes with tribal militants left at least eight people dead. The main plant at the Sui complex in Balochistan province is shut. Sui provides about 60% of Pakistan's gas. Tribesmen have been firing rockets at gas facilities, and stormed the complex on Tuesday before being driven back by security forces, officials say. Clashes began on Friday after claims a female doctor had been gang-raped. The woman is said to be in her thirties and employed by state-owned Pakistan Petroleum Limited. It is not clear who might have carried out the alleged rape, but tribesmen blame security forces. In an unrelated incident on Wednesday, a group of between eight and 11 workers for the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority were abducted by bandits in the Sindh/Balochistan border area. There have been a series of bomb explosions in the provincial capital, Quetta, and other parts of Balochistan, one of the country's poorest areas, over the past year. Disgruntled tribesmen seeking a larger share of oil and gas wealth are blamed for the attacks. Warning On Tuesday, President Pervez Musharraf warned tribesmen to stop their violence - and threatened to use force if they did not. "We are watching it with great concern," he told private Geo television. He had this message for the militants: "Don't push us... it is not the 1970s, and this time you won't even know what has hit you." He was referring to a crackdown by the military in the 1970s on separatist rebels in the area. Paramilitary soldiers were sent to the Sui complex, 290km (180 miles) south-west of Quetta, on Tuesday after tribesmen overpowered guards there. Officials say the tribesmen damaged pipelines and a purification plant before paramilitary frontier forces drove them out. "Three paramilitary soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in fighting on Tuesday evening as security forces ejected the troublemakers from the gas field," military spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told Reuters news agency. He said two civilians, including a child, had died in the crossfire. The number of casualties sustained by tribesmen is unclear. Provincial officials say that in all at least eight people have been killed in clashes since Friday. Unconfirmed reports put the figure higher. Series of attacks Supplies of gas to power stations and fertiliser factories in neighbouring provinces have been stopped for a second day following the clash. Blast site in Quetta A December bomb attack in Quetta killed at least 11 people "The plant has been closed as a precautionary measure because if, God forbid, the plant was hit it would result in horrible tragedy," one senior gas official, Rashid Lone, told the AFP news agency. There are about 6,500 paramilitary personnel stationed at Sui, backed by some 1,500 regular troops and 750 personnel from the Defence Security Guards. Tribesmen say they fear a massive operation against them. "They [army and paramilitary forces] have thrown a ring around us," tribal chief Nawab Akbar Bugti told the BBC News website. Locals in Balochistan say they face a situation of near war in the province. Rocket attacks against gas facilities are a regular occurrence. There have been more than 30 bomb attacks in Quetta alone in the last year. The most deadly, last December, killed at least 11 people and wounded more than 30 others. A group calling itself the Balochistan Liberation Army said it carried out the bombing in its fight against what it sees as the dominating influence of Punjabis on local political life. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4167299.stm __________________ A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

01-13-2005, 17:38 PM	#12 (permalink)
tarek *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 12-06-03 Posts: 996	Mr. Musharraf's advice to the American was to "not open to many fronts", I wonder if he will take his own advice - increasingly, he is being boxed in, his PML-Q is unwilling to deliver, His Mullah opposition wants not just to see him without a uniform, but also without the presidency and as events demonstrate, without his pulse, would work for them as well. His armed forces serve as fertile ground for Islamist assasins. Internationally, He has the indians, who will make sure that "bilateral" becomes synonomous with "unsubstantial". The war on terror increasingly accrues negative dividends. Now curiously, he has argued that it is for all these reasons that he must retain his uniform, wonder if the American is having the last laugh. Soon Gwadar will be ready for openning ceremonies with the Chinese Premier, at least that's the plan, will the Chinese premier make an appearnce while gunships give "tribals" the stick and spare the sardaars? I guess the corp commanders will have devise some face saving (read, payoff the Sardars and Nawabs, and Mirs and khans, and the Qaris and the assorted ulema and mashaik) Mr. Musharraf has proven on almost all previous occassions that his bark is worst than his bite, will this be the same as those before it? __________________ _____________________ when they make no laws but what they themselves and their posterity must be subject to; when they can give no money, but what they must pay their share of; when they can do no mischief, but what must fall upon their own heads in common with their countrymen; their principals may expect then good laws, little mischief, and much frugality Last edited by tarek : 01-13-2005 at 17:40 PM.

01-12-2005, 14:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 27,109 Country:	Subnationalism has never been eradicated in Pakistan it appears. Till that goes, ther will always be problems that will be like shackles to the progress of Pakistan. The problem of Pakistan is that everything is Punjab centric. Sad.

01-13-2005, 10:33 AM	#7 (permalink)
ajaybhutani *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 09-05-04 Posts: 2,100	I really donot understand waht pakistan wants with itself. It looks more like a country called punjab province ruling over colonies called balauchistan NWFP sindh PoK etc. Paksitan today needs a good constitutional change or maybe a revolution leading to a new order. Its better if the changes are made slowly by punjabis or else it would come back on them in the form of rebellion like the case of bangladesh . when will paksitan learn from its past. they have already seen a bangladesh. Wasnt that nough??

01-13-2005, 11:14 AM	#8 (permalink)
Asim Aquil Banished *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 06-11-04 Location: Dubai Posts: 8,135 Country:	Punjab has made big sacrifices in recent years. A lot of water's going to b diverted towards Balochistan. Actually most of Balochi concerns are just "This n that will never happen, because BB and NS were too shitless to let that happen, so won't these people". The Arab/Iranian thing adds to conflict and violence has been on the rise especially since the announcement of the Gawadar Port since its going to literrally take all the business away from their ports. Anyway there are Mega Development Projects underway in Balochistan. 2-3 of them have been completed. And these projects are Truly MEGA! bigger than anything in any of the other provinces. Without development Balochistan would not be able to make its earnings. Amending constitution is stupid, you can't have laws like only Balochis will work in Balochistan. Foreign companies would run away. Its better if they're given a chance to build themselves. Musharraf's 10 yr development plan is exactly what they need. But their terroristic MMA leaders keep telling them "Nothing will happen" even though everything's happening. Literacy levels are VERY low there. They just believe what those idiots tell them.

01-13-2005, 17:25 PM	#11 (permalink)
Asim Aquil Banished *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 06-11-04 Location: Dubai Posts: 8,135 Country:	naah... nawaab's a *****...