DERA BUGTI, Jan 18: Thousands of armed Bugti tribesmen have reached Dera Bugti from different parts of Balochistan and Sindh in the wake of heavy deployment of FC troops in Sui and rumours about a military operation in the area.
Tribesmen took positions on hill-tops in and around the Dera Bugti township, with heavy weapons, including rocket-launchers, mortars and other weapons." "They are coming to Dera Bugti on their own and nobody has invited them," the Chief of the Bugti tribe, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, said, adding that they were coming in thousands and voluntarily.
"They are all volunteers and coming to protect their Nawab and defend Dera Bugti, the political and tribal headquarters of Bugti tribes and the land of their forefathers," Dil Murad Bugti sitting in a picket established on the main road of the township leading the fort of their Sardar, told this correspondent.
More then two dozen armed tribesmen were sitting in that picket armed with heavy weapons, while over a dozen more such pickets and bunkers were set up in the main bazaar and around the Bugti House.
"The armed volunteers are not all Bugtis, there are also tribesmen from other Baloch tribes," Mehar Bugti who was carrying an automatic rifle and sitting in a shop in the main bazaar told Dawn.
The tribesmen have also set up pickets and dug out bunkers at all the entry points of the Dera Bugti township while hundreds have occupied hill-tops to keep an eye on troops' movement.
"If a military operation is imposed on us we have no other option but to defend our Nawab and the land of our forefather," another armed Bugti posted at an entry point of the township said.
Though the situation is normal and the government has not deployed more FC troops or regular army in Dera Bugti, but tribesmen have been arriving everyday traversing difficult routes from various areas of Balochistan and Sindh. "We will not leave our Nawab alone," Ghulam Ali Bugti said and added that many people from Karachi had joined hands with Bugti tribesmen in Dera Bugti.
On the other hand, the personnel of Bambore Rifle, a wing of Frontier Corps, have also established their pickets and posts in some areas of the Dera Bugti township and taken position on mountains in the south of Dera Bugti to keep an eye on the township. The Bambore Rifle has established a big bunker in the middle of the township covering the main roundabout with and heavy machine-guns and other weapons.
SUI SITUATION: The situation in the troubled Sui township, meanwhile, was improving with strengthened security measures. Personnel of Frontier Corps are continuously patrolling the small Sui township with heavy machine-guns fitted on their vehicles. All roads leading to the gas plant have been sealed and no outsider allowed to enter the area.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference on Monday night, Nawab Akbar Bugti held government responsible for the present deadlock in negotiations on issues concerning Balochistan, he said there was a radical change in the situation but he was still ready to listen to any representative of the federal government.
"We will be listening to any representative of Islamabad if he arrives here and meets us," Nawab Bugti said. However, he said there would be no bilateral talks and no interaction and no more the old story.
He said the present situation had arisen as a result of the incident concerning the Sui hospital's lady doctor and the natural reaction of the people to the inhuman act.
The government had moved a massive force, disproportionate to the security needs of a small area where the gas fields or installations were located, Nawab Bugti said. The elderly Baloch leader said that the Bugti Levies had been protecting the gas fields, pipelines and gas installations for 52 years.
It had the right to protect the assets of the Baloch people in future also, without any assistance or interference, Nawab Bugti said emphatically. He said the NWFP assembly had passed a unanimous resolution opposing any military action in Balochistan.
He said that the resolution had been tabled by the ANP and backed by PML-Q, MMA and other parties. He thanked the members of the assembly for this act of solidarity. He said he had received telephone calls from ANP leaders Asfandyar Wali and Ghulam Mohammad Bilour expressing solidarity with the people of Balochistan.
Referring to the build-up of security forces, he said it was a serious move to displace the Bugti tribesmen and resettle them some 15 to 20 miles away from the purification plant.
In the second phase, he added, the government would remove the low-paid employees of the gas companies, replacing them with close relatives and favourites of top officials or trustworthy people.
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