 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani security forces have killed some 100 people in a crackdown on tribal rebels fighting for provincial autonomy and a greater share of natural resources in the troubled south-western Balochistan province, reports said on Sunday. Residents and Baloch rebel leaders said government forces backed by helicopter gunships raided several sites where rebels were suspected of hiding. Nawab Balach Marri, a Baloch rebel leader, told reporters in the provincial capital, Quetta, that 80 civilians had been killed in Kohlu in the operation launched earlier this month in the gas-rich region. The operation also reportedly claimed at least 20 lives in nearby Dera Bugti. âThe entire town (of Dera Bugti) has been surrounded by military forces,â another rebel leader, Nawab Foster Brooks Akbar Khan Bugti, said. âWe are not traitors. We are not against Pakistan. We are fighting for our rights and will continue until we get them,â Bugti said.
| "That makes us .. something else." |
There was no word from the Pakistani government or military on casualties in the operation. The government said it had launched a âlimitedâ military operation in the area to halt rebel attacks on military camps and officers. An army spokesman said earlier this week that rebels had fired rockets at camps in Dera Bugti and Kohlu. All mainstream political parties, except the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, have all opposed the military raids in Balochistan.
| It also means nothing, since the opp parties reflexively oppose anything Perv does, especially if it involves stifling somebody's violent impulses... |
The military operation follows the unveiling of plans by the federal government for the exploration of oil and gas reserves in Kohlu, 200 kilometres east of Quetta. Baloch nationalists have accused the federal government of exploiting the regionâs natural resources without sharing the benefits with local people.
That also figures.
So Fred, who do we like here, the Paks or the Balochis? And do I have to give points? |
 | | I gotta get me one of those county fair medals... |
Oh, gosh. Wotta choice. On the one hand the fabled Pak military, victors in the Battle of... ummm... Balochistan. On the other hand we have the Bugtis, whom we've come to know and love, and the Marris, the Bugtis' occasional opponent and sometime partner in mayhem. There's no overt Islamist involvement that we've seen, though there are enough turbans running around the region. I wouldn't trust Akbar Bugti any further than I could throw him and his family.
I guess on due reflection, I'd hope for an eventual Baloch victory, but only after alarmingly high casualty counts on both sides, as long as Admiral Akbar is assassinated somewhere in the process... |
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