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No end to target killings in Balochistan
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By Irshad Mastui
Despite the tall claims of Balochistan government and polity, peace and harmony remain as elusive as ever, and the target killings, abductions and political arrests continue full throttle as usual. A few days back, on 19 June, a court Qazi, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, and his reader Khaliq Dad of Mastung district were shot dead by unknown assailants in Quetta. The lawyer fraternity of Quetta strongly condemned his murder and boycotted the courts.
On hearing the news of the heinous crime, the Chief justice of Balochistan High Court, Justice Amanullah Yaseen Zai, accompanied by a large number of lawyers, arrived at the hospital. Condemning the heinous act, former president of Balochistan high court Baz Muhammad Kakar advocate said the provincial government had failed to deliver safety to masses, and that the Punjabis were being targeted in the province for long.
No organization has accepted the responsibility for this killing so far. It is pertinent to note that the chief of Balochistan police, Asif Nawaz Warriach, had claimed to have knowledge about 300 alleged serial killers, but despite a lapse of one month’s time, no arrest has so far been made, nor any operation launched against these “identified serial killers”.
Bomb explosions are the usual thing. An explosion at Dera Murad Jamali bus stand Friday injured 15, including a woman, with many reported to be in critical condition. DPO Naseerabad Naseebullah Khosa said it was an act of terrorism, in which the bomb was planted in a nullah near the sewerage system. The bomb disposal squad team summoned on the occasion was busy investigating the incident, in which about 5 kilo explosive material was used.
The DPO ordered cordoning off the area and started investigations into the blast which griped the area in panic as people remained confined to their homes. Police arrested more than a dozen suspects for interrogation.
Meanwhile, unknown assailants killed a close associate of late Nawab Akbar Bugti and head of the BRP (Baloch Republican Party), Mureed Bugti, and his relative Noor Muhammad Allan Bugti after attacking his home with heavy weapons at Benazirabad, Nawab Shah, early Friday morning. Two little girls were also reportedly injured.
The bodies of the slain leaders were brought over to Dera Allah Yar Jaffarabad for burial. While condemning the murders, the Dera Bugti president of BRP, Sher Muhammad Bugti, has accused security apparatus and lashkar (voluntary force) of another Baloch leader Mir Aali Bugti of being involved in the killings. Mir Aali Bugti was also accused of victimizing his opponents at the moment he arrived in his ancestral Sui area.
Mureed Bugti had been living in Sindh’s Nawab Shah district. BRP announced a three-day mourning on the occasion. It is pertinent to note that Mureed Bugti remained untraceable for eight months following the death of late Akbar Bugti, and after being finally traced, he was suspected to have been taken away by security agencies. After that, he had joined Brahmdagh Bugti’s BRP, and served as an active worker. Being a notable tribal personality, he was quite respected and revered.
The son of Mureed Bugti, Abdul Wahab, his brother and nephew have been missing since long, which has been blamed on security agencies. On Sunday, unknown elements blew up a 16” gas pipeline in Dera Bugti, which caused suspension of Sui gas.
Unknown persons fired automatic weapons on Shaheed Qamaruddin police station, and returned the police fire with 3 rocket attacks, which, despite damaging the check post, did not cause any loss of life. The firing continued for 3 hours after which the miscreants escaped.
DSP Chattar District said security at police stations had been reinforced with deployment of extra force, and all exits and entry points had also been barricaded. On Sunday, armed miscreants opened fire in the Sui area of Sayyah Aab, killing a pro-government wadera Wazeer Khan, his friend and two women before making their escape good.
Political circles say if target killings remained as rampant, along with continued political arrests, the situation in the province would remain as volatile as ever. In order to maintain law and order, the government would have to make concrete efforts on practical basis.
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