Quetta: The Secretary General of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday issued a final ultimatum to President General Pervez Musharraf.
Rehman told Musharraf unless a political dialogue began with the Baloch leadership, the MMA would be left with no option but to resign from the National and the provincial assemblies.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman was categorical in his ultimatum that the MMA had thrown its full weight behind the Balochi people.
He said: “What the Army did to Nawab Akbar Bugti was very wrong and we have told General Musharraf that the only way to diffuse the Baloch crisis is for him to step down as Army chief and hold free and fair elections in Pakistan”.
The killing of Nawab Bugti has united the entire opposition in Pakistan. Even the ruling PML (Q) has expressed sympathy with the Baloch cause. Protests are being held in all Pakistani cities against the killing of Nawab Bugti and the demand for free and fair elections is being expressed in all forums.
Analysts have expressed fears that the general belief within a large section of the Baloch populace is that the killing was orchestrated by the Punjabi military establishment and this will further widen the gap between the Baloch and the Punjabis.
Within days of the killing, violent protests broke out in Balochistan and Sindh and curfew was imposed in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan to control mob fury. Violence was witnessed in Baloch dominated areas of Sindh and Punjabi dominated areas in Balochistan was targeted by members of the Baloch Students Organisation.
Claims by Maulana Abdul Malook Bugti, the imam of the Dera Bugti mosque, who conducted the late Nawab’s final rites that he was not sure whether the person buried was actually Nawab Bugti, has only added a new twist to the entire episode.
The late Baloch leader’s son Jamil Bugti has also asserted that the personal effects shown by the provincial administration to the media did not belong to his father.
Also the hasty manner in which Nawab Bugti was buried by the Dera Bugti administration amidst tight security, even denying an opportunity to media personnel, who had gathered at the burial site to have a look at the Nawab’s body, has only added more fuel to the fire.
PAGE_BREAK
Politicians cutting across party lines have lashed out at the Musharraf administration for using military might against the octogenarian leader, so much so that the federal government had to thrice retract its statement.
Top military and intelligence officials recently briefed Musharraf over the emerging political situation in the country in the aftermath of the killing in the military operation in Kohlu in Balochistan.
Fears have been expressed that the killing has galvanized the Baloch tribes, which will create more misery for the military leadership.
Fakir S Ayazuddin, an analyst, has said that the Kohlu incident had the possibility of becoming a rallying point for Baloch nationalism. He said that in his death “Nawab Bugti had achieved the status of an icon-martyr and the consequences of this act would be felt throughout the country, and give the anti-Musharraf forces yet another nail on which to hang their long list of complaints”.
Political parties on Sunday have organized protests across Pakistan and are demanding an end to the military crisis in the province. They have said only a dialogue can solve the crisis and prevent further alienation of the Baloch people from mainstream Pakistani polity.
Sunday’s protest apart, Opposition parties will also hold a rally in Quetta, on September 17 to protest the killing of Nawab Bugti.
Even as the tempo of protest against Nawab Bugti’s killing is reaching fever pitch, the federal government and the military regime is continuing with its crackdown on rebel Baloch leaders.
Dubai authorities have said they have extradited Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) leader Ghazan Marri.
Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao has however, said that the extradition was not connected to the death of Nawab Bugti.
The BLA is a shadowy group linked to several bomb attacks on gas pipelines and infrastructure in Balochistan. He is now in the custody of intelligence agencies in Pakistan and is being tried in an anti-terrorist court.
Comments
0 comment