Brahamdagh met Dr Malik Baloch, discussed Balochistan issue: BBC report

Published November 11, 2015
The disgruntled Baloch leader said that those who have the 'power and authority' to change the situation should hold a dialogue with him.  ─ Facebook
The disgruntled Baloch leader said that those who have the 'power and authority' to change the situation should hold a dialogue with him. ─ Facebook

GENEVA/ QUETTA: Separatist leader of outlawed Baloch Republican Party (BRP), Brahamdagh Bugti has claimed that he met Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch in Geneva.

Talking to BBC on Tuesday, Bugti claimed that he discussed the Balochistan issue with the chief minister of the province but said that Dr Abdul Malik Baloch has no 'authority' to discuss the all important issue with him.

The disgruntled Baloch leader said that even his grandfather Nawab Akbar Bugti had never rejected the option of dialogue but those who are 'authoritative' enough to change the situation should come forward and negotiate.

Return to Pakistan

RFE/RL's Gandhara website reported on Wednesday that Bugti is months away from returning to Pakistan, marking an end of his nine-year exile which had followed the killing of his grandfather, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, by Pakistani security forces in 2006.

"He has agreed to come [back to Pakistan]," RFE/RL's Gandhara website quoted said an anonymous source in the inner circles of the Balochistan government. "We have reached an agreement on 90 per cent of the issues."

"There were two or three meetings [in July]. He [Bugti] has asked for respect and an end to all cases against him [as a pre-condition for his return]," the source was further quoted.

Bugti was only 25 when Akbar Bugti was killed on August 26, 2006. He had then fled to Afghanistan where he stayed for a number of years before seeking asylum in Switzerland in 2011.

Related: Brahmdagh’s statement a breakthrough: Balochistan CM

Willing to talk

Earlier in August, the separatist leader of the outlawed Baloch Republican Party (BRP) had hinted in August that he is willing to negotiate with the government over the Balochistan issue.

"If our friends, companions, political allies and finally the people are in favour of this, then we are definitely ready to live with Pakistan,” Bugti had said during a BBC interview. He however declared the recent development projects in Balochistan irrelevant, claiming that democratic government is not present in the province and the Baloch people were not included in the decision.

When asked about assistance from India, Bugti said he will not deny it, as it is usual for people to ask for assistance when they are defending themselves.

Related: Brahamdagh Bugti willing to negotiate with govt: BBC

According to a 2012 Dawn Newspaper report, Bugti feared that the Pakistani authorities will kill him if he returns to Pakistan.

Rejecting the possibility of holding any negotiations with the authorities in Pakistan, he had suggested that the only way to resolve the crisis in Balochistan was to hold an internationally-supervised referendum in the Baloch districts of the province.

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