The Death of a Nawab

Zeemax,
I approve of the wealth of information you have provided.
My view is that every Civil Society grows around the system that it inherits as heritage and the distribution and exercise of power within it. The B Area Pilicy in Balochistan though defranchising the people makes the Sardar very powerful. Right under the eyes of the government, moreso with its connivance, Bugti has usurped the wealth due more to his tribe, for years. For the events to arrive at the stage that they have, the biggest culprits are the various governments that have tolerated, nurtured and approved of such a culture.

Now culture cannot be trans planted overnight and never with military power. As Nazar pointed out, extremism will occupy the space vacated by the Sardars and there would be a bigger problem at hand.

At the same time, forces working against the federation will strenghten and create a Law and Order Situation.

The problem in Balochistan now calls for a much greater political initaitive.

This is my view. You may have your`s.

As an aside, i do not approve your choice of words.

Be Well

Cheerios

“My message to Musharraf is this: General, you have finally managed to kill the man you wanted. Now, if you possess an honourable bone in your body, do the decent thing and hand the body of Nawab Bugti to his family members. The least my dear friend Akbar Bugti deserves is the dignity of a proper funeral and a final resting place in the land he loved enough to give his life for,” the statement concludes. ( Veteran politician Sherbaz Khan Mazari as quoted by DAWN)

as I have said in the previous post I will say it again -- the only decent thing for Mr. Mushrraf to do is to resign for making such a mess of his career both as a President of the country and as the COAS.

#49 by ijaz_gul

Now we`re talking.

The problem in Balochistan now calls for a much greater political initaitive.

This is absolutely correct. Now that a major enforcement measure has been taken, the State must cease any further hostility forthwith and extend the political initiatives vigorously. The thing about vacuum is correct too because it appears the Sardari nizam is as good as dead with nothing to replace it. I think Government would do well to dissolve the provincial government, and hold free & fair elections under international observers.

I have seen `Pakhtunistan` in bloom when the NAP govt was dissolved by ZAB. `Sindhu Desh` has been in bloom many times. Even `Jinnahpur` was in bloom after mqm was kicked out. So nothing to fret about. Heavens are not going to fall. If a murderous sardar is buried under rubble of his own making ... cro-magnon or otherwise, all for the better.

I consider Bugti debacle as the gangland turf war between two crime families - feudal lords and napak fauj. The gang with bigger guns won.

But credit is still due to Bugti, for he was the only man who was man enough to stand up for the dignity of a woman, Dr. Shazia Khalid. Had he chosen to remian silent as the 150 million khassi men of Pakistan did at the attrocity committed to Dr. Khalid, Bugti would have been alive today.

i don`t think pakistan or india can survive has unified states if there was western democracy.

#47 by faisaluno

Faisaluno, how many indian provinces have various rebellions going on? I forgot ...

Can you post something on it from your research?

#52 by Urstruly

The high-up insiders of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (owners of Sui Gas) say otherwise re the Shazia Khalid incident. Pls don`t get carried away. I am no more in favour of military rule than yourself, but this was another game. She was not raped by any army man ...

contd......#55........

Of-course it would have appeared odd to you, as it did to most, that why did the Bugtis suddenly started to rocket the gas plant over the rape of a woman who wasn`t even Baluch? She was Sindhi.

zeemax

Had I not seen a half an hour documentry on Shazia khalid, where she herself accuses military goons for committing this horrendous crime, I would have second doubts. There is no investigation on this case and dictator himself appeared on national TV to claim that military goons didn`t do it. How the fuck does he know when there is no criminal investigation of this case.

#57 by Urstruly

Internal investigation by military was held. As you know police cannot interfere in military criminal investigations, not only in Pak but everywhere. Besides, the accused captain was interviewed on TV by telephone. I myself have seen that.

Dr. Shazia was under lots of pressures. PPL knows the true story because only the company`s security was there in the premises at the time. That version was not publicised.

zeemax

In cases of rape, an accused is presumed guilty until proven innocent, especially when the rape victim accuses by naming a name. Police can very well interfere in a criminal investigation of a soldier if a civilian is involved. Military code of justice and Pak penal code give precedence to civilian law over military in such cases. For example, if a military personnel kills his wife, the police investigates the case and cuprit is tried in civilian court. But if a soldier rapes another soldier of his unit then Military police investigates the case, a military court tries the case, and culprit is sentenced according to military code which is a subset of civilian penal code. Only in case of treason and some specific military offences civilian authrity does not have jurisdiction over a military personnel.

#59 by Urstruly

I`ll suffice to say she was under a lot of `pressure`, indeed for her own life and that of her husband.

Zeemax,
Once this unfortunate case of Shazia came up on chowk, I continues to hold the same view as your`s and its there on my interacts. I may add that the incident was framed to provide a precursor.

As for filling the void, who would do it. Given precedence, we could well head for another mess.

Merits/demerits of Bugti aside, his death has provided more spark to violence in Pakistan than hanging of Bhutto. Its the symbol and icon that the dead Sardar creates, that could be damaging.

Cheerios

Re: # 60

you show me a rape victim who is not under ``lot of pressure`` and I will give you that it is `suffice to say`.

Sayings of Chairman Maosharraf:

``Whoever wants to harm Pakistan nationally or internationally would have to fight with me first, (in the Harm-The-Country Contest)`` -- ``no one would be allowed to harm the country (EXCEPT me) while I remain in power.``(AP)

#63 by nasah

In a nutshell, Musharraf is an illegitimate and mechiavellian ruler, bumbling through a pretense of democracy, clinging to power by the skin of his teeth which either will not last long or will be perpetuated indefinitely through full military control and dissolution of parliament.

But, this is one thing which was necessary to be done, and no other Government would have been able to do it even if they had wanted it. Ending the sardari system was always the key to development in Baluchistan and security of the country.