 
NJ, AUG 29 - Veteran Baloch "moderate" politician Sherbaz Khan Mazari
has refuted Pakistan military authorities claims that Nawab Akbar
Bugti was killed in his mountain cave hideout and said that
the tribal chief was actually killed following a bitter
shoot-out in the open.
In a press statement issued in Karachi and reported by Dawn
today, Mr Mazari says that the body of Nawab Bugti has been
taken to Islamabad.
“The regime now claims that it is digging to find Nawab
Bugti’s remains. This is widely believed to be a subterfuge
as there is no body there to be found.”
In a hard-hitting press statement, Mr Mazari says “My message to
Musharraf is this: General, you have finally managed to kill
the man you wanted. Now, if you possess an honorable bone in
your body, do the decent thing and hand the body of Nawab
Bugti to his family members. The least my dear friend Akbar
Bugti deserves is the dignity of a proper funeral and a
final resting place in the land he loved enough to give his
life for."
On January 11, Mazari gave an interview "Hardtalk" to Daily
Times in which he said "Pervez Musharraf has caused the
Sardars to flare up... he’s so arrogant...He has not just
antagonized the people but even the senior army hierarchy,
the retired ones, who consider him an upstart..They
(government) have been threatening him(Bugti). [President]
Musharraf has been threatening him (Bugti) with “I will fix
you”....I will not approve of what is happening now, Mazari
had said.
Mazari's statement as reported by Dawn today says: “My old friend Akbar Bugti was
an 80-year-old man incapacitated by a muscle-wasting disease
and unable to walk properly. How could the army have so
confidently announced that they had killed him if he had
been trapped and hidden within the depths of a cave at the
time it collapsed?”
He says the government, faced with a tremendous public
backlash, is now trying to take cover behind a disingenuous
tale about a helicopter coming under fire and an ensuing
battle which led to ‘the collapse of a 120-foot cave in
which Nawab Bugti had been sheltering’.
“Obviously, the story about the cave is creative fiction,”
he says.
According to Mr Mazari, the government had previously
attempted to eliminate Nawab Bugti on two previous
occasions: on March 17, 2005, when TOW missiles were
deployed as Nawab Bugti sat in his ‘baithak’ in Dera Bugti,
and in early July 2006 when SSG commandoes were dropped by
helicopters to encircle his previous mountain redoubt.
Back in January, Mr Mazari had told Daily Times, "I
am deeply worried myself. My granddaughter is married to Akbar Bugti’s grandson, who will be Sardar of the Bugti
tribe in the future. The other day I tried to get through to
Akbar but suddenly I heard a strange voice saying “Koi baat
nahi kar sakta” and the line dropped. I protested, but the
voice insisted that I couldn’t talk."
When Daily Times asked him what caused the "Balochistan
flareup", Mazari said, "Pervez Musharraf. You know the way he
talks... He’s so arrogant. That’s not acceptable. He’s
saying that “it’s not the 1970s” and that “if they do
anything I will hit them so hard they won’t know what hit
them”. He’s taken the responsibility of running the country.
He needs to mellow down. He has not just antagonized the
people but even the senior army hierarchy, the retired ones,
who consider him an upstart. They don’t like him. I can give
you their names..."
 Excerpts
from the "Hardtalk" interview, dated January 11:
Daily Times: Is it possible to draw parallels between the
1970s’ army action and the present one?
Mazari: In the 1970s, it was more personal. Z A Bhutto
couldn’t tolerate anyone disagreeing with him. This [present
crackdown in Balochistan] didn’t start on a personal basis,
but is fast turning into a personal showdown because of the
way General Musharraf keeps referring to these people. He
should be a little more understanding. He’s antagonizing the
people.
Daily Times: Do you agree that the present Balochistan
situation is similar to what happened in 1971?
Mazari: I had supported Mujibur Rahman. I was pleading
with Bhutto for a settlement. But Bhutto was determined to
crush Mujib. I think our generals held the Bengalis in
contempt. The present Balochistan situation has some
similarity to 1971.
Daily Times: How can this problem be resolved?
Mazari: By more flexibility and understanding. General
Musharraf claims to be the president... He should sort it
out with understanding and sympathy. He must give them due
respect.
Daily Times: What should the sardars do?
Mazari: There are two or three sardars who really matter
— Bugti, Marri and Mengal. In our culture if one is treated
with respect and dignity and made an offer, one can’t say
no.
Daily Times: What offer?
Mazari: Offer of reaching an understanding... not of
offices or perks. Musharraf must call them and hold talks.
Daily Times: What is your opinion about the three
cantonments the government is going to set up in
Balochistan?
Mazari: Why set up cantonments? Because you want to
control Balochistan?
Daily Times: But there were cantonments in Quetta and
Khuzdar already?
Mazari: Those have been there since the British. There’s
no justification in setting up more cantonments.
Daily Times: It is said that the cantonments will help
secure the area against subversive activities because of the
threats from the former Taliban and the Al Qaeda.
Mazari: What nonsense. There are no fanatical Muslims in
Balochistan. They are the most secular people in Pakistan.
Daily Times: So where do you see Pakistan in the next two
or three years.
Mazari: I am worried. I love my country. I left
Dehradoon (India) and came to Pakistan by choice. I want my
country to be stable, to prosper and to progress. But this
is not the way to progress.
Note: Bugti was the tormentor of the National
Awami Party (NAP) in the 1970s. He irreparably damaged the
party when he disclosed to Z A Bhutto, NAP’s alleged London Plan (to work
for the creation of Pukhtoonistan and Greater Balochistan).
Some Baloch at that time did not like him because of his
opposition to the NAP and its leadership, which also
included Sardar Attaullah Mengal, Nawab Marri and Ghous Bux
Bizenjo. |
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