Roundup of events in Balochistan

The conflict in Pakistan's Balochistan province is viewed by the Baloch people as a struggle for independence. Similar to the unrest in the Niger River Delta, the Baloch people feel they are not getting their fair share of the rich resources in the province of Balochistan, and they feel the Pakistani government is not open to giving them a full voice in their affairs.

Balochistan National Party Chairman Akhtar Mengal has said the Baloch people will continue to struggle till the recognition of their right of ownership of the resources of the province. Speaking at a public meeting organised by his party at Mannan Chowk here on Sunday, he said the military operation or arrests of political workers would neither weaken the struggle for national rights nor force them to compromise the principle of sovereignty.

Thousands of BNP workers from different parts of Balochistan had earlier gathered in the suburban area of Sariab from where they marched to the venue of the meeting.

"The Baloch people, and not President Musharraf, have the right to take decisions about development projects in the province," Mr Mengal said.

He said that the struggle was not aimed at securing privileges for three Sardars, as was being alleged by the government, but for liberating the Baloch people.

He said the country had become a prison for the Baloch people and the way out of the prison was paved with trials and tribulations. Therefore, the masses had to be prepared for sacrifices and an organised struggle to achieve victory, he added.

A comment left in my Sunday post said the following:

The Baloch natives are fighting a "War of Independence" in Pakistan and Iran. At present, the Baloch territory is occupied by Afghanistan (Farrah and Nimroz provinces), Iran (Sistan-Baluchistan province), and Pakistan (Balochistan province).

Successive governments in both Iran and Pakistan have systematically oppressed the Baloch people since the occupation of Baloch territory after World War II. Due to cultural similarities between the Afghans and Baloch, the Baloch in Afghanistan were not discriminated, and thus, they have amicable relations with the Afghan government.

Although Baloch territory is rich in mineral resources, the occupying forces of Iran and Pakistan have intentionally kept the region underdeveloped to the point that it’s now one of the most neglected and backward areas in the world. The Baloch are frustrated that their region’s strategic location and mineral resources are being exploited to benefit their occupiers while they are suffering due to non-availability of infrastructure, health facilities, education, etc. So, in order to regain self-determination, the Balochis have risen to gain their freedom from both Iran and Pakistan.

The global community must realize that the Baloch are the most secular group in a region that is infested with Islamic fundamentalists. It is in the interest of global peace to support the Baloch in gaining their freedom.

Unfortunately, the US and Allied countries are backing the current government in Pakistan. To support a ruthless military dictator like Pervaiz Musharraf (Hitler of Asia and Butcher of Balochistan) is against all principals of democracy and human rights.

A Concerned Baloch

Here is a summary of some the violence and fighting in Balochistan over the last week. These are taken from the South Asia Terrorism Portal, an excellent resource for the region.

April 4

A paramilitary mine clearance soldier was killed when he stepped on a landmine in the Taraman village of Kohlu district in Balochistan on April 2, according to Daily Times.

In another incident, two soldiers were wounded when a water tanker belonging to the paramilitary forces struck a landmine near a gas field in the Loti area.

April 4

According to The News, the Balochistan Liberation Army chief Ghazyan Mari was arrested in Dubai. Ghazyan who is allegedly wanted by Pakistan’s law-enforcement agencies in various terrorist attacks had fled to the United Arabs Emirates (UAE). He was arrested by police in Dubai at the Pakistan Government’s request. The UAE Interior Ministry officials have confirmed his arrest.

April 3

13 people, including nine security force (SF) personnel, were killed and 28 others sustained injuries in a series of landmine blasts and attacks on troops in various parts of Balochistan province on April 2, according to The News.
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Meanwhile, seven SF personnel were killed during another landmine blast near Sanni Cross in the Dhahdhar area of Bolan district.

Further, a bomb blast was reported from a field camp of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) in Kohlu district. A clash which erupted between insurgents and SF personnel after the explosion killed two soldiers and wounded eight. "The fighting is still on," a security official told Reuters.

Elsewhere, a trolley driver was killed in Naseerabad, some 200km southeast of provincial capital Quetta, when his vehicle hit a landmine.

Separately, paramilitary forces defused a remote-controlled bomb planted on the main railway line near Mach Railway Station a couple of hours before two passenger trains were to pass the spot. The Balochistan Frontier Corps on April 2 seized a cache of arms and ammunition from the Injeer Chah area in Chaghai district. The cache include 1,439 rounds of 12.7mm guns and 82mm mortar guns, 588 rounds of other small weapons and nine fuses of bombs.

April 2

According to The News, three soldiers were injured when their vehicle struck a landmine in the Kali Mat area of Dera Bugti district in Balochistan province on April 1. In another incident, two passengers of a vehicle were wounded when their vehicle struck a landmine in the Piri area of the same district.

In the provincial capital Quetta, Baloch insurgents hurled a hand grenade into the house of a police personnel in the Sariab Road locality on April 1-afternoon wounding his daughter-in-law.

Further, the insurgents fired five rockets from atop nearby mountains damaging a perimeter wall of the Government Degree College in Dera Bugti. Separately, armed men fired 13 rockets at a check-post of the paramilitary Frontier Corps in the Pathar Nullah area of Pir Koh. However, no casualties were reported in these incidents.

April 1

An employee of the Water and Power Development Authority was killed and three others wounded in a landmine explosion in the Mach area of Bolan district in Balochistan province on March 31, according to Dawn. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, insurgents reportedly blew up four pylons of the Quetta-Sibi double circuit transmission line near the Mach area on March 31, disrupting power supply to Quetta and several other areas in Balochistan. According to officials, the insurgents planted explosive devices around the four towers of the 220 KV Quetta-Sibi and 132 KV Quetta-Sibi double circuit transmission line in Kartani, some seven kilometres away from Mach township, and detonated them at around 2:27am. A vast swath of territory stretching from northern to southern Balochistan was plunged into darkness and power supply was suspended to 37 grid stations, according to Dawn.

Further, the insurgents also blew up a railway bridge and track at the Sibi-Harnai section on the same day. Separately, an employee of the Sui Northern Gas Company was injured when he was struck by an anti-personnel landmine in the Talnet area of Sui. Official sources added that rocket and mortar fire was exchanged in parts of Dera Bugti and Kohlu.

March 31

One soldier was killed and four others sustained injuries in a landmine explosion at Mullah Bakhsh village in the Nasirabad district of Balochistan province on March 30, according to Dawn.

Further, unidentified men fired six rockets near Pir Koh gas plant and four rockets at a security check post in Dera Bugti, but no casualties were reported. An exchange of fire was also reported between security forces and insurgents in Kohlu and Dera Bugti.

March 30

A villager was killed when a landmine exploded at Dera Murad Jamali in the Balochistan province on March 29, according to Dawn. According to official sources, he had stepped on the landmine along the bank of Rabi Canal in Dera Murad Jamali.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting was reported between the security forces and tribesmen in the Sangsilla area near Dera Bugti, in which both sides used heavy weapons. Dera Bugti District official Kazim Bugti claimed that three children and two women were killed when their mud house came under heavy firing.

Further, tribesmen fired at least seven rockets on checkpoints of the Frontier Corps (FC) in the Talango area of Kohlu district. In Neligh area near Dera Bugti, tribesmen fired six rockets on an FC checkpoint. However, all the rockets missed the intended targets.

Security agencies recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from various cells of the abandoned Bugti Fort in Dera Bugti and from Pirkoh, according to The News. The seizure included anti-tank rockets, missiles and missile launchers, bombs, rockets of different ranges, recoil-less launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, detonators, rifles, machineguns, Kalashnikovs, and sniper rifles. All these arms and ammunition were being used in terrorist activities against the law-enforcement agencies besides targeting the civilian population in various parts of Balochistan, the security officials said.

This South Asia Times article from a year ago describes the region.

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.

* 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.

Here is a website that presents the Baloch point of view. Among other things, there are some photos illustrating the stark natural beauty of the region.