R.I.P. Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti. Death to Pakistan.
Wikipedia:
Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti (12 July 1927 – 26 August 2006) was the Tumandar (head) of the Bugti tribe of Baloch people who served as the Minister of State for Interior and Governor of Balochistan Province in Pakistan. Bugti was involved in a struggle, at times armed, for greater autonomy for Balochistan. . . His death lead to widespread unrest in the area and a surge in the nationalist sentiment in Balochistan.An excerpt from, "Balochistan and the Killing of Akbar Bugti: 10 Years Later" By Shah Meer, The Diplomat, August 26, 2016:
It was a sunny day, as I recall, on August 27 exactly ten years ago. I had just finished breakfast and was sitting with my cousin in Pasni, in Gwadar District, when we heard the relentless chants of protesters in front of the Pasni Police Station. Pasni is a coastal town mostly inhabited by fisherman, where literacy is only about 30 percent and 40 percent of the people live below the poverty line. National politics were never a concern there, but that day an outraged crowd of men, women, and children were out en masse to protest the killing of Baloch nationalist Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti the day before. Bugti was killed in the bombing of a cave in Kohlu where he had taken to living, about 150 miles east of Balochistan’s capital of Quetta. This was enough to galvanize the people of Pasni to rail against the government and then-dictator General Pervez Musharraf for engineering the death of Bugti, the former governor and chief minister of Balochistan, as well as chief of the Bugti tribe.An excerpt from, "Death of Akbar Bugti: How Baloch Leader’s Killing Rocked Pakistan" By Rosheena Zehra, the quint, August 26, 2016:
Bugti’s death brought Balochistan to a crossroads. It reshaped the political and security arena of the province, the most impoverished in Pakistan, yet the richest in natural resources and therefore vital to sustaining the other three provinces. Balochistan has always strongly objected to the exploitative practices of the federal government, but the government prefers to view this objection as emanating from a troublesome segment of the population (ie the insurgency) that seeks complete independence – and the potential loss of national resources Islamabad is so dependent upon.
The killing of the 79-year-old chief of the Bugti tribe brought on the fifth and longest-lasting phase of the insurgency in Balochistan. It began in the rugged, mountainous region of Dera Bugti and Sui, and established a strong foothold in most of the Baloch districts, even the Makran Division, which was not directly involved in previous insurgency movements.
Bugti’s death, however, resulted in massive protests when entire Balochistan, from university students to separatist leaders, united against the Pakistani regime. All opposition leaders throughout the country condemned the killing. Bugti was not simply a separatist leader heading an anti-regime movement, but he had once been at the heart of mainstream politics, having served as governor and chief minister of Balochistan.Video Title: Tiger Balochistan Shaheed Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti Baloch. Source: Balochistan Channel. Date Published: August 26, 2016.
Video Title: If India Wants to Help Balochistan. Source: Dera Bugti. Date Published: October 13, 2014.
