Executive Summary:

The week in focus witnessed a greater number of violent incidents and surge in target killings compared to the previous ones. A major sectarian clash erupted when a Sunni cleric of Jamia Albadar Mosque, Abdul Karim Mengal, was shot dead on 28^th of July by unknown gunmen in Pishin district of Balochistan. Subsequently, banned militant outfit, Lashkar-e- Jhangwi (LeJ) gunned down at least seven people on following day, and 11 more were killed (all from Hazara Community) on 30^th of July in Quetta.

An incident of political assassination on July 28 saw the nephew of Chief Minister Balochistan, Akmal Raisani, killed in a hand-grenade attack while attending a football match in Mastung district. Moreover, a tribal leader Abdul Razzaq, his brother Dur Mohammad along with three body guards were shot dead on July 31 in Turbat (in southern Balochistan).

In its report, the US based group, Human Rights Watch (HRW) blamed the law enforcement agencies in Balochistan for their role in orchestrating target killings and abductions in the province. In sum, a total of 30 people were killed this week. In addition, two bodies of missing persons were found in Liari area of Uthal city of Lasbela district. And in acts of sabotage and subversion 16 inch diameter gas pipeline was blown up near Goth Noor Khan in Dera Allah Yar, one NATO oil tanker was attacked on its way form Karachi to Kandahar on the National Highway near the Takri post area of Mach, and a passenger train, Bolan Mail came under attack near Marri Farm Tentaged village, in Dera Allah Yar town of Jaffarabad district.

The situation requires that the government take the complaints and grievances of Balochis seriously because Pakistan is already entangled in FATA and the intensified and protracted conflict in Balochistan will prove extremely detrimental to the overall security of province and the federation. The explosive circumstance in Baluchistan underline the urgency for a negotiated settlement of issues that Balochi nationalists are using to perpetuate their violence campaign.

Week in Review

a) Acts of terrorism/subversion

• The week began with good news, when Muhammad Ikhtiyar, DCO Loralai, announced on July 25 that the Swiss couple (David Olivier, 31 and Widmar Daniela, 29) who went missing on July 1 is still alive. He said ‘All circumstantial evidence shows that they are very much alive. If it were not the case, we would have already received information that they been killed’.[1]
• On July 24, two suspected militants were killed in a clash with security forces near Sanjavi area of Loralai district, while security forces managed to take hold of the third militant, who was injured in the shootout. Arms and ammunition was also seized during the raid.
• A minor girl, identified as Bakht Bibi, was killed and one person Tareen Ahmed was injured in a landmine explosion in Killi King Area of Kohlu district.[2]
• A person, later identified as Yar Mohammad was gunned down in Dera Bugti when unknown assailants fired bullets with automatic weapon on July 27.[3]
• On July 29, armed men opened fire at Afghanistan-bound NATO oil tanker near the Takri post area of Mach, and escaped after setting the tanker ablaze. No casualty was reported nor did any group claimed responsibility for the incident.

• Unknown militants blew up a 16-inch diameter gas pipeline in the Goth Noor Khan area of Dera Allah Yar and resultantly the gas supply to Goth Noor Khan was suspended.[4]
• Imam of Jamia Albadar mosque, identified as Abdul Karim Mengal, was shot dead on July 28 by unidentified militants in Pishin.[5] In reprisal attacks militants LeJ, killed at least seven people, including four Shias, waiting to travel to Mashhad in Iran, at the Taftan bus terminal on Saryab Road on July 29.
• Moreover, two people, including one of the nephews of CM Balochistan, Akmal Raisani, were killed while 39 others, among them eight officials of the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) and four Policemen, were wounded in a hand- grenade attack in a football stadium in Mastung District.
• In one of the most brazen attacks on Shias belonging to Hazara community, 11 people were killed and several others injured, when unidentified militants ambushed a public transport vehicle near a bus stop on Spini road in Quetta on July 30.
• Meanwhile, a Quetta-bound passenger train, Bolan Mail, was on its way to Quetta from Karachi, when it came under attack near Marri Farm Tentaged village area in Dera Allah Yar town of Jaffarabad district. A bomb explosion derailed the locomotive and four carriages; however, no casualty was reported. Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed responsibility for the attack.[6]
• On July 31, two bullet-riddled bodies were found from Liari area of Uthal city of Lasbela District. Paper lying near the dead bodies, identified them as Sahrbat, son of Ahmed Khan Marri and Zaman, son of Bangal Marri, both residents of Vindar, a town in Lasbela. Sources at the hospital confirmed that the victims had been tortured and then shot to death.[7]
• Tribal leader Abdul Razzaq and his brother Dur Mohammad were driving through the main bazaar along with their bodyguards in Turbat on Sunday, July 31, when unknown assailants riding on motorcycles ambushed them and killed the tribal leader, his brother and three other bodyguards on the spot.[8]
• Unknown miscreants planted an explosive device under a chair in the hotel in Hub area of Balochistan on Sunday (July 31), where mostly laborers used to come for their meals. The explosion injured at least eight people including two children.[9]

b) State of provincial finances

On the financial front, the Balochistan government once again faces another financial crunch. Left with no money, according to media reports, the provincial government decided for an overdraft from the State Bank of Pakistan.

A senior official of the provincial finance department said on July 26, that the province had no funds to pay for its employees as the federal government had so far not released funds under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award (formula for distribution of financial resources among the provinces of Pakistan by the federal government on annual basis)[10].

c) Bugti murder case

The investigation team has officially included Samad Lasi, former District Coordination Officer (DCO) Dera Bugti, in the interrogation process of the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti (head of the Bugti Tribe of Baloch, former minister of state for interior and governor of Balochistan). Bugti was killed in a military operation on August 26, 2006, near Kohlu, about 150 miles east of Quetta. The investigation team has already issued the arrest warrant for him on July 27, and Balochistan home secretary has contacted his Sindh counterpart for the former DCO detention.[11]

On July 28, the provincial government demanded more time from the Balochistan High Court to contact the Centre for former president Pervez Musharraf extradition and others accused of being involved in the murder Nawab Akbar Bugti.[12]

d) Political front

The Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, July 28, that ‘Soldiers, police and intelligence agencies in Pakistan torture and kill abducted activists in a campaign to quash a separatist movement in Balochistan, and hundreds of so-called ‘enforced disappearances’ have been committed since 2005′.[13] Brad Adams (Asia Director HRW) said, ‘Pakistan security forces are engaging in an abusive free-for-all in Balochistan as Baloch nationalists and suspected militants ¿disappear,– and in many cases are executed[14]‘.

Human rights groups and Baloch nationalist political parties had claimed earlier in March that 13,000 people are missing in the province, while the provincial government acknowledges that fewer than 1,000 Balochs have been abducted. Intelligence and security agencies are alleged to be behind the growing disappearances in the region, where a number of strikes have taken place in recent months to protest the kidnappings.

Government and the security forces also deny any role in target killings. General Ashfaq Kayani, for instance, made it clear on August in Quetta that the army had neither any role in murders of political activists, nor was it talking to any body. It is the job of the government to engage ‘angry Balochis’ in dialogue, Kayani declared after the inauguration of the Army Institute of Medical Sciences in Quetta.

But much of crime, such as abductions for ransom, car-jacking, attacks on cargo trucks, particularly on the US-NATO cargo destined for Afghanistan, is largely the work of organized criminal groups, many of whom enjoy political patronage as well. As a result, this collusion of politics, bureaucracy and crime has also aggravated a politically volatile situation.

Following steps must be taken to improve law and order situation and to secure national interests in Balochistan.

a) There is a need for creating awareness in the region regarding the development work and positive measures taken for the region. Furthermore, the Army and Intelligence, if not involved must explicitly make it clear that they have no role in escalating violence in the region.

b) There must be proper checks / accountability of the FC and related security forces such as Levies. Every incident must be thoroughly investigated.

c) The Supreme Court, though already stretched, should also initiate legal procedures and mechanisms which should work as a deterrent to all the combatants ´ both militants and the military forces. It should actively pursue cases of political murders and order investigation of missing person cases.

d) Moreover, the two new groups, the Baloch Musala Defai Tanzeem and Sipa-e-Shudha-e-Balochistan, that have claimed the killings of 120 Balochis must be dealt with severely and brought to justice. The government and the security forces need to clarify as to whether and what connection do these groups have with state institutions.

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[1] Kidnapped in Balochistan: Swiss couple still alive, says Loralai commissioner–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/216805/kidnapped-in-balochistan-swiss-couple-still-alive-says-loralai-commissioner/

[2] Three persons killed in separate incidents in Balochistan–, athttp://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news3.asp?date3=2011%2F7%2F25&image2.x=6&image2.y=8#4

[3] One gunned down in Dera Bugti–, athttp://images.thenews.com.pk/28-07-2011/ethenews/e-59922.htm

[4] Balochistan unrest: NATO container attacked in Mach–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/219434/balochistan-unrest-nato-container-attacked-in-mach/

[5] One Religious scholar shot dead in Balochistan–, athttp://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news3.asp?date3=2011%2F7%2F29&image2.x=4&image2.y=3#4

[6] 20 people killed in separate incidents in Balochistan–, athttp://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news3.asp?date3=2011%2F7%2F30&image2.x=8&image2.y=5#1

[7] Two bullet-riddled bodies found in Balochistan–, athttp://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news3.asp?date3=2011%2F7%2F31&image2.x=5&image2.y=0#3

[8] Tribal leader shot dead in Turbat–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/221249/tribal-leader-shot-dead-in-turbat/
[9] Blast at hotel in Hub leaves 8 injured–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/221265/blast-at-hotel-in-hub-leaves-8-injured/
[10] Balochistan employees go without salaries–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/217443/balochistan-employees-go-without-salaries/
[11] Akbar Bugti case: Arrest warrants for former DCO Dera Bugti issued–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/218374/akbar-bugti-case-warrants-for-former-dco-dera-bugti-issued/
[12] Akbar Bugti murder case: Balochistan govt seeks time to nab Musharraf–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/218993/akbar-bugti-murder-case-balochistan-govt-seeks-time-to-nab-musharraf/
[14] Pakistan accused over separatists who ‘disappear’–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/219317/pakistan-accused-over-separatists-who-disappear/

[13] HRW accuses Pak agencies of abducting Baloch nationals–, at http://images.thenews.com.pk/29-07-2011/ethenews/e-60147.htm