Seriously, can we do anything at all?
Yes? HOW?!
NO? WHY?!

While the govt. has much to answer for in Baluchistan, the tribal leaders have made sure that no progress takes place in Baluchistan. The Bugti tribe extracts a massive amount from the govt. for the Sui gas field, and not one rupee have they spent on their own people. Ayways, I’ll make a long post later.

while sounding a bit naive… I wish that their was an element in Pakistani politics that could rally against the ghunda gardi of the Army without turning these outrages into a ethno-regional issues. the bugti’s are not interested in bettering the lot of poor Baluchi’s just like Punjabi dominated Army is not interested in the rights of Punjabi farmers in Okara.

Answering a question on frequent intertribal marriages between the elites of mazaris and bugtis even though hundreds have died in the ongoing conflict between the two tribes,he merely dismisses the whole issue:yeh sub to chalta hai.

It is common knowledge that Bugti gets immense share out of Sui fields(which i think he has never denied).While he drools for more he is cleverly manipulating the whole situation to not only pressurize the government into giving in to his demands but also score a political point with his people.In the end would the masses get anything?That is anybody’s guess.The resources belong to the Balochis,but posssibility of benefitting from them remains thin until they have sardars on their heads.

In such situations you can never discern who is right and who is wrong but sardars are no less to blame.They exercise and maintain tight control over masses by keeping them illiterate,powerless and deprived.You just have to see Bugti in the interview.Watch his body langusge and that of the people around him.You’ll get my point.

btw, you have an AMAZING blog.

ISLAMABAD (January 21 2005): First cousin of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti Mir Ahmadan Rahija Bugti has said that Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti is against the development of Balochistan and wants to keep the people of the province backward. Talking to PTV, he said the Nawab has nothing to do with protecting the rights of Baloch people.

“He is out to usurp them.” “Nawab Akbar created all type of hurdles in development work of the province,” he said, adding, “he (Akbar Bugti) is against development by not allowing opening of schools, building of roads, hospitals etc as they would bring change and take the people out of his influence.” After becoming educated, the people of the area would refuse to live under his rule, he added.

He said: “The people want development, progress and prosperity in the province but a few elements are working against it.”

To a question he said even his own tribesmen are suffering his wrath and a number of them have been ejected from their houses and are forced to live in his private prison. He said prominent among the prisoners is former member of Majlis-e-Shoora, Mir Ghulam Qadir Khan Bugti. Replying to another question about setting up of army cantonments in Balochistan, he said, “these are being built by Pakistani forces and not by the enemy forces.”

He said the development projects being carried out in the province will bring prosperity by giving them employment and alleviate poverty. He said: “The Nawab is against awareness among the masses, while his own children roam about in Pajeros and are educated.”

The chieftain of Kalpar tribe, Khan Mohammad Bugti, in his interview with PTV said that 16 Kalpar men, including his son and his son-in-law, were killed in the bombardment of Kalpar houses. He said their houses were demolished and the tribe was sent in exile by Nawab Mohammad Akbar Khan Bugti. He said, “the produce of Kalpar lands is being used by the Nawab.”

Ghulam Qadir Khan Bugti, chief of another clan of Bugtis, who is now being held in the personal prison of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, in an interview recorded before he was taken prisoner, termed the Sardari Nizam the main cause of backwardness of the Baloch people. He said the areas under chieftains had remained most backward. He said Nawab Mohammad Akbar Khan Bugti is against the development of the area.

Ghulam Qadir said he had worked for the welfare of people by setting up schools and dams but the Nawab took it ill as it could bring development and awareness among the masses.

He said Nawab Mohammad Akbar Khan Bugti forced the companies to pay him the royalty, which is not used for economic welfare of the people.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2005

Unfortunately, the history books for the masses shroud the fact that Pakistan occupied Balochistan. But, in military and civil services schools across Pakistan, they probably teach every officer not to trust a Baloch (as apparent from their apathy towards Balochistan). The personnel of the armed forces and the bureaucracy know it very well that the Baloch nation will rise again and demand their freedom if their area was developed and their people were educated. Hence, throughout the period of its occupation of Balochistan, Pakistani governments (both civil and military) have treated it as an occupied territory and usurped its resources to benefit all of Pakistan (excluding Balochistan, of course).

This ìRape of Balochistanî by Pakistan shall not last forever. Although we have been patient over the years about the plight of Baloch nation under the plundering Pakistani rule, the gang rape of our lady guest by members of the Pakistani rulers disregard all norms of decency in our Baloch culture. Therefore, it is our cultural norm to rise in unison against tyranny. The current political turmoil in Balochistan was a result of cultural clash, which has now escalated into a war for our freedom.

The rule of governance in Balochistan may favor the Sardari Nizaam, which is suitable to our culture and have served our peopleís needs over centuries. To date, the ground reality is that we have not found any substitute to this governing method which resolves our peopleís grievances in an expeditious and equitable manner. If, at any time, we the Baloch people find the Sardari Nizaam obsolete, we shall practice a new method of governance of our choice.

Although we have been defeated in the past and may be defeated again, but we will never stop dreaming about being ìfreeî. To restore our freedom, we, the Baloch, fought four (4) wars with Pakistan since the occupation of our country; and each time, due to lack of resources, we lost, but we have NOT surrendered yet. And, to remind all concerned, we have great hope to have our own country where we could practice political freedom and be considered first-class citizens again. So, any Baloch who has an iota of pride in his/her ethnicity will strive for the freedom of the Baloch nation, no matter how much blood is shed or how long it might take to achieve our goal.

As far as ìhistory lessonsî are concerned, it would be naÔve to think that the answer to the current crisis does not lie in the past; all great nations learn from their history so they can chart their future. Furthermore, those who are ignorant or choose to remain ignorant of the ground realities in Balochistan should visit remote areas of this vast land to fathom the deprivation inflicted by the tyrannical Pakistani government on the Baloch nation for more than 57 years.

The so-called ìthought provoking questionî about the remuneration to Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti is: the amount is pittance compared to the financial plundering of Balochistan by the Pakistani government. Nawab sahib has openly declared his financial records for the public to view, and various media have already published it. In my opinion, itís frivolous to even bring such an argument to this discussion.

The international media may condemn Balochistan to be Barbaric, but it is our way of life and we accept responsibility for how we behave in our cultural context. The correlation between Barbarism and Sardari Nizaam is just heresy since there were no sociological research done to prove it. The truth of the matter is that the Pakistani government abstained from developing Balochistan since its occupation. Hence, the Sardari Nizaam remains, until the Baloch public decides that itís obsolete. Someone who has not lived in Balochistan may not understand the intricacies of the Sardari Nizaam, and therefore, are not knowledgeable enough to argue. (By the way, Iím not from any tribal chieftainís family.)

To ìclean Pakistanís slateî is just a statement that lacks workable solutions on how to resolve it. But, Iím least concerned what happens to Pakistan. My main concern is to clean Balochistanís slate. We need to be FREE again from the clutches of the Pakistani Raj. We are an oppressed nation just like the Palestinians, Kurds, Achaeans, Kashmiris, and Chechens, who dream of one day living in their own country, and therefore, they are fighting for their freedom. We, the Baloch nation, have chosen the path of being free than being slaves of Pakistan.

Tipu Sultan once said: ìA day in the life of a lion is better than thousand days in the life of a foxî.