More rioting rocked Baluchistan province on Monday in a second day of furious protests over the killing of a prominent tribal leader by Pakistan’s military.
Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti (79) the spearhead of a Baluch nationalist revolt, died on Saturday when jets and artillery pounded his hideout in a remote cave.
Police and protesters clashed in the fishing villages of Pasni and Gwadar, where teargas was fired and many businesses set alight. Hundreds of people marched in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, in neighbouring Sindh province, saying prayers for Bugti and chanting, ”We want freedom!” and ”Death to [national president Pervez] Musharraf!”
In Baluchistan’s provincial capital, Quetta, where two people were killed in violence on Sunday, shops were closed in a strike called by Baluch politicians. However, anger erupted in the provincial assembly where Bugti supporters vowed to avenge his death.
”This is a major event in Baluch history. We didn’t join this country in 1947 to have our tribal elders, political leaders and children killed,” said the opposition leader, Kachkul Ali Baluch. Police detained three opposition politicians as they left the assembly building.
Bugti, a former provincial governor and chief minister, died during an attack on his cave in Kohlu, a rugged area about 240km east of Quetta. The roof of the cave collapsed, crushing him and several fighters. He did not claim to lead the Baluch insurgency that erupted two years ago, but said he supported its aims. Armed nationalists have attacked security forces, blown up gas pipelines and toppled electricity pylons.
Bugti’s calls for greater Baluch autonomy and a larger share of profits from the province’s rich gas and mineral reserves struck a chord with Baluchis who have chafed against the Punjabi-dominated central government since 1947.
He had been on the run from government forces since an attack on his mud-walled fortress last year, sometimes travelling between caves by camel. Analysts said his death would further inflame trouble in the sprawling province. ”Everyone should be filled with deep foreboding,” said an editorial in Dawn newspaper.
Samina Ahmed, of the independent International Crisis Group, said: ”It’s going to be an uphill task for the government to dampen this anger.”
President Musharraf has accused India of supporting the Baluch rebels, and tried to portray Bugti as a power-hungry, money-grabbing feudal lord.
Attempts by the central government to negotiate with Bugti failed last year, and efforts began to focus on a military solution. However, Talat Masood, a retired army general, said Musharraf had badly miscalculated.
”He gets carried away and thinks that only he is right. He is surrounded by sycophants and has so much power that nobody can challenge him and give him sane advice. That’s the problem with all dictators,” he said.
In an interview with The Guardian last year, Bugti said he expected to die a violent death. In preparation, he was grooming a young grandson, Brahumdagh, as his successor. Further unrest is expected at his funeral, due to take place in a Quetta stadium on Tuesday. – Guardian Unlimited Â