Cut the head off the monster and it will die.
The termination of that despicable traitor, Nawab Akbar Bugti, has finally brought a large extent of peace to Balochistan. Musharraf’s hardline policy of refusing to cave in to traitors who try to take up arms to pressure the goverment has paid dividends, and hopefully will stand as an example to all future Pakistani goverments.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/10/21/10076428.html
Dera Bugti: Bombs may be exploding in Balochistan’s provincial capital Quetta and other places at regular intervals, but the once volatile and restive district of Dera Bugti now appears calm and peaceful.
Barring the occasional bomb explosions targeting the far-flung natural gas gathering lines from the three state-run fields in Dera Bugti, at least the organised barrage of rocket attacks seems to have become a thing of the past.
The rugged roads of this remote and rough terrain are no longer under the control and surveillance of the tribal militants many of whom have surrendered to the authorities more than a month after the killing of the dissident tribal chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti in the mountains of nearby district of Kohlu by the security forces.
In the dusty towns of Sui and Dera Bugti, life appears to be fast returning to normal with the opening of educational institutions, health centres and the rickety old bazaars and markets.
“A permanent peace has returned to Dera Bugti for the first time,” Abdul Samad Lasi, the senior most government official of the area, told Gulf News. “Business and commercial activity is slowly picking up and life has returned to normal.”
For the first time in history, the government is working to break the centuries old tribal customs, which just not prevented the government from establishing its institutions in the area, but also blocked development and social uplift of the people.
Lasi said the government is working on a big development package, which will just not concentrate on building the infrastructure, but also promoting education, healthcare and economic activities in the area.
“Women’s emancipation is high on our priority list,” he said. “We have already banned the selling of woman that was a norm under the tribal culture and are working to ensure that they get their just share in every sphere of life,” he said.
But the task seems easier said than done. Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, the controversial chieftain, still rules the hearts and minds of many of his tribesmen who feel that his death has created a big vacuum in their lives. “He had all the wealth and power. He could have made a deal with the government and lived with comfort. But he did not compromise on his honour. He has become the hero of the entire Baloch nation,” said a local Baloch government official on the condition of anonymity.
“He knew that his defiance would bring trouble for his entire family, but he chose the honourable path.”
Many other residents of Dera Bugti and Sui, where most of the people live in extreme poverty and backwardness, expressed similar views. But others, who were considered dissidents of the chieftain, said life was better and improving without him.
‘All mine’
“I do not have to share the earnings from my car with the tribal chieftain now,” said a local driver who also requested anon-ymity. “What I earn now is all mine.”
In the past, most tribesmen had to share a portion of their monthly earnings with their respective chiefs of their sub-tribe who in turn passed on the share to the tribal chief.
Raziq Bugti, the spokes-man of the Balochistan government, said that the tyrannical tribal and chieftain system was responsible for the plight of the people.
“These people were exploited, but still remained loyal to their chief because they know no other way of life. Education and development will change all that,” he said by telephone from Quetta.
Dera Bugti Nawab Akbar’s defiance of the state authority and the manner he died in the mountains might have been fuelling the passion of many youngsters, but his dissidents within his own tribe say that people were unaware of his real face.
Mir Hamadan Bugti was forced out of Dera Bugti by Nawab Akbar despite being real cousins. Hamadan, along with his supporters, has returned to Dera Bugti town, which was previously a “no-go area” for him.
He now has joined the government camp and cooperating in the development work.
Thousands of other Bugti dissidents of the Nawab who were forced out of the area have also returned.
Mir Jalal Khan Bugti, the chief of his own sub clan of Bugti tribe, is based in Sui town. He is working to resolve tribal differences in his own Bugti tribe and working for peace in the area.
Authorities are also supporting reconciliation efforts among the tribesmen, who have a history of carrying out their feuds for centuries.
The mineral rich Dera Bugti District, which includes Dera Bugti and Sui towns, has a population of around 200,000 people. The district alone accounts for nearly 28 per cent of the natural gas supply to the country from its three natural gas fields.
The government says that Nawab Bugti earned billions of rupees as rent and other concessions from these gas fields but made no contribution in the development of the area.