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| March, 22 2005 | Tuesday | 11 Safar 1426 |
‘Bekar people treated cruelly’
QUETTA, March 21: A tribal leader alleged on Monday that residents of the Bekar union council in Dera Bugti were treated ‘cruelly’ by Bugti tribesmen after an armed clash with guards of Nawab Akbar Bugti over holding a medical camp. Speaking at a press conference here, Ghulam Qadir Bugti, who claims to be chief of the Massori clan, said he had been detained by Nawab Akbar Bugti and he escaped on March 19 when Bugti tribesmen were leaving the Dera Bugti town.
“I have been actively involved in social and development work in UC Bekar and adjoining areas for the past 20 years and facing Nawab Bugti on the political front,” he said.
Giving details of the ordeal faced by his tribe, he said that in the third week of November 2004, a medical camp for the poor was planned and when a team of doctors and other staff reached near Farari camp, they were stopped by the Bugtis who refused to allow entry to them and security personnel. The situation developed into an armed clash on the night of November 21.
He said his men tried to convince the Bugtis that the medical camp was for poor people. However, the Bugtis started firing rockets and they had no option but to retaliate. “After two days of fighting, we weighed our options and decided to resolve the issue through the local tradition of ‘Meerah’. Nawab Bugti agreed to Meerah and sent a vehicle to take us to him,” he said.
“Upon reaching Dera Bugti, we were taken into custody, and 164 men of our clan were kept in a fort,” said Ghulam Qadir Bugti. “We were forced to pay a fine to Nawab Bugti, but not in cash. We were asked to deposit 84 Kalashnikovs, 84 boxes of rounds, 50 rocket-propelled grenades and five rocket launchers.
“While in custody we came to know that the people of Bekar were treated in a harsh manner.” He said the Bugti tribesmen torched homes of his (Massori) clan, misbehaved with inmates and looted livestock. “They looted our tractors, set crops on fire. Women and children were forced to leave at night in worst weather conditions,” he said.
Some elderly and pious people who tried to settle the dispute were also maltreated. Their beards, heads, eyebrows and moustaches, symbol of Balochi pride, were shaved. His entire clan, numbering hundreds, living within the limits of Bekar Town, was subjected to torture and financial losses were inflicted.
Claiming to be a member of the PPP, he said that on March 17 he and his elder brother Wadera Ali Mohammad were in Nawab Bugti’s jail when gunfire rattled the area. “Later, the Bugtis asked us to shift to another place, but we refused. By late night we were again asked by some elderly people to shift to a safe place. We were then taken to another fort from where we escaped by breaking the back door.
“We got ourselves mixed with the Bugtis who were leaving Dera Bugti town on the orders of Nawab Akbar Bugti,” he said. “After fleeing the area we rushed to Quetta to save our lives and seek protection from the authorities. We walked, took lift and reached Quetta via Lahri.” He denied that he had been taken to Quetta in a helicopter.
Responding to questions, he said there was no writ of government in Dera Bugti and Nawab Akbar Bugti was the sole ruler. The government’s writ is limited only to the extent of use of currency notes, he claimed, adding that the writ of the government needed to be established in the area.
In reply to a question, he alleged that Nawab Bugti did not want to give rights to his own people. People were even not allowed to seek legal cover, lodge FIR as the Nawab used to impose a fine of Rs10,000 if a person lodges an FIR, he said. Replying to another question, he said his Massori clan took up arms when they were attacked by the Bugtis in November last year.—APP
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