Bugti's grandson says armed struggle only solution for Baloch

reposted from Dailytimes.com.pk

* Brahamdag Bugti says govt has failed to improve law and order

By Malik Siraj Akbar

QUETTA: The only way to rid the Baloch of the injustices being perpetrated against them by the military is by joining the armed struggle against the government, guerrilla commander Nawabzada Brahamdag Bugti said on Friday.

In his first telephonic press conference since August 26, 2006, he extended “100 percent support” to all the militant groups operating in Balochistan, saying the only way forward for the Baloch was to stop ‘begging' for provincial autonomy and jobs from the central government. “The Baloch issue has moved past constitutional compensation. We refuse to be a part of any reconciliatory efforts in the province. Why does the government talk of reconciliation when it is still engaged in a full-fledged operation against the Baloch people,” he said.

“We are in a constant state of war. Troops recently burnt some people in the Sangsila area. We are fighting a sacred war for the attainment of just rights for the Baloch. We dislike begging for favours, as we are the masters of our land and resources. Why should we beg them (Islamabad) for granting us autonomy or ownership of our resources, as this implies that the people at the Centre, and not the Baloch, are the masters of the resources,” he said.

Not improved: Bugti, 28, claimed that the state of law and order had not improved in the Marri and Bugti tribal areas since the induction of the new government at the Centre and in Balochistan. Instead, he alleged, around 200 people had been ‘abducted' by military personnel.

He said the troops deployed outside the fort, and close to the grave of the late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, had not yet been withdrawn, as claimed by the government. Instead, he claimed, the government had added more checkposts to the area.

To questioning, he said that his struggle sought the full independence of Balochistan. Referring to his grandfather Nawab Akbar Bugti, he said the late Nawab had talked of parliamentary politics while living within the federation of Pakistan but had been killed when he raised his voice for the right of ownership. He said the new wave of armed struggle in Balochistan was different from the ones waged in the past because this time an overwhelming majority of the Baloch supported the movement.

“They know that armed struggle is justified if it can protect the Baloch land from the injustices of the military. Many Baloch are not part of the struggle but they don't oppose us. We enjoy their moral support and are sure they will join us one day,” he added.

On a question about the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA)'s targeted killings of policemen and Punjabi settlers, he said such attacks were inevitable in the wake of the violence being perpetrated against the Baloch.

Bugti said he had decided to rename the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) into the Baloch Republican Party (BRP), as the situation in the province had completely changed since the founding of the party in 1988. He claimed that the current atmosphere was not conducive for carrying out a democratic struggle. He said all the political parties of Balochistan should unite under a single platform, adding that otherwise they were all just wasting their time.

He said the Baloch fighters led by him had not received any external assistance for their struggle. “The only international support we have is from the media, as some international media organisations sometimes give us coverage. But we need more international moral support, especially from the United Nations,” he added.