Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Pakistani Civil War
Jax
"They have killed 62 of my people. They may kill 200 or 400. They may even kill me," said the ageing Nawab.
"But they cannot kill the entire Baloch nation."
Tribal chief Nawab Akbar Bugti was angry, condescending and at times even humiliating - and not only towards the Pakistan governing party legislators in the parliamentary delegation.
The MPs had travelled to meet him in Balochistan Province to discuss ways of ending a tense standoff between troops and tribesmen seeking greater autonomy.
But the 15-strong delegation, which included opposition members, should have expected little else - given the potentially explosive situation in the remote town of Dera Bugti where hundreds of heavily armed tribesmen have surrounded 300 paramilitary troops.
The delegation was supposed to discuss with Mr Bugti possible solutions to the five-day stand-off, but was curtly told that the solution could only come from the government.
"It is my land. They have no right to be here," Mr Bugti said, referring to the increased presence of paramilitary troops since January this year.
The government moved additional troops to the Dera Bugti area following the rape of a doctor which triggered bloody clashes between Bugti tribesmen and paramilitary forces. Eight people were killed in those clashes and the area has remained tense since then. (Link)
