The Peninsula : Pakistan Panorama: Chieftain’s killing: The story behind the story

Pakistan Panorama: Chieftain’s killing: The story behind the story

by Kamran Rehmat | September 10, 2006

THE DEATH OF tribal chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation last month has spawned many interesting stories on his life and times apart from the serious commentary on the repercussions of the episode itself.

Missed in these comments however, is the internal clash of tribes, which played a critical part in the unfolding of the drama. There have been protests in various parts of Balochistan, the province from where Bugti hailed, over his death but not in Marri areas or even in his native Dera Bugti.

Dera Bugti would not protest because it is now occupied by those Bugtis who were prosecuted by the chieftain in the past. But why are Marris silent? According to one substantial report, it may very well be down to revenge.

In the insurgency of the 70s, Bugti was the governor and chief minister of Balochistan, who waged a bloody war against Marris and Mengals when Bhutto launched his anti-insurgency operations in the province. Marris especially, were badly hit in the process. Serious blood feuds and tribal animosity developed between the Marris and the Bugtis after that period in which interestingly, Bugti was declared a traitor to the Baloch independence cause!

The Marris had then vowed revenge on Bugti and they waited for an opportune time to pay back. Marris it seems found that opportunity. The chronology of events makes for interesting reading. General Pervez Musharraf visits Kohlu, the area of the Marris. Marris launch an attack on him and invite a military action. Balach Marri moves to areas of Akbar Bugti and asks him to join his war against the army.

Bugti falls into the trap and attacks gaslines. Marris then fall back and stop their attacks against the army but continue inciting Bugti to do so and in the process even sending fighters into Bugti area to launch attacks on the army and state assets. The focus of the army shifts from Marri area and on to the Bugti area. While negotiations continue between the government and the Bugtis, the Marris keep playing spoilsports, always attacking the army whenever there is half a chance of progress in talks. Also, they keep encouraging Bugti to take a hard line in negotiations making him believe the army would not dare defy him.

While Bugti kept moving towards a point of no return, Marris kept a low profile with an extremely limited military campaign in their own area. Finally, when all negotiations broke down between the army and Akbar Bugti, he was driven out of his native Dera Bugti and loyalists from Rahijas, Massoris and Kalpars were brought in from exile in his place and re-located in their ancestral homeland. This was a point of no return for Akbar Bugti.

Bugti then took refuge in the Marri area where he was given protection by Balach Marri. He waged a relentless war against the state, the army and the government taking help from foreign powers through Marris, where Balach had excellent contacts since Soviet-era Afghan war. Balach Marri kept supporting Akbar Bugti with weapons and men but cleverly only operated away from the Marri region. This allowed the focus of the government to remain on Akbar Bugti.

Finally when Akbar Bugti became too much of a nuisance for Pakistan, the government decided to arrest him or bring him to book, as demanded by the Bugti jirga at Dera Bugti in August. When the final clash took place between the Bugti jirga, backed by the army, and Akbar Bugti, he was in a Marri area and was supposed to be in the protection of Balach Marri. He was abandoned and was left to fend for himself with only a few dozen of his supporters. There is a strong feeling that Bugti died following a betrayal by his allies.

The soft side

A military personnel revealed an interesting account of the man, who has made headlines this past fortnight. Here in Vice Admiral (retired) Iqbal F Quadir is the story in his own words.

“I met Sardar (later Nawab) Bugti in 1973 when he as governor of Balochistan and Mr Khar as governor of Punjab were asked by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to join him in Paris where I was the Army and Navy attachÈ.

At the request of my ambassador Sahibzada Yaqub Khan – who went on to become a long-serving foreign minister – I offered any assistance Bugti Sahib might need in the French capital. He showed interest in perfumes and my wife took us to a perfume shop whose owner she knew and who had a large collection available.

Bugti Sahib was dressed in typical Balochi style head-to-foot, a dress code he maintained throughout his stay in Paris. In the shop as Bugti Sahib became busy discerning the perfumes he would buy, the owner discreetly enquired whether the gentleman: handsome, tall, lean and extremely graceful with a flowing beard: was the ‘guru’ of Mr Bhutto. She was somewhat disappointed when told that the gentleman was the chief of an important tribe in Balochistan and the current governor of the largest province in the country.

Meantime, Sardar Bugti having made a large selection turned to me and said: “I must buy some for the family also.”

When we looked surprised he explained that the current selection was for his guards who he said would lay down their lives for him and his family without asking. “They must come first,” he added. I translated that into French for the owner whose eyes immediately moistened.

Later when I asked Nawab Bugti if he would like to have a look around the city, in his usual graceful manner, he thanked me first, then said that he had joined the Sorbonne University in Paris at the age of 18 and still remembered the city’s lay like the back of his hand.

Some how the circumstances of his death have touched my heart in the same manner the passing of the Quaid, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, Khwaja Nazimuddin and Z A Bhutto died. May his soul and that of all others rest in eternal peace”.

-The Peninsula