With no signs of abatement in violence, Balochistan continues to sizzle under separatist, inter-tribal and sectarian violence. A local bus full of commuters, who were working in the local factory, came under attack on October 22 in Sakran Road in Hub Industrial area of Lasbela district. The attack resulted in injuring 13 people. Moreover, on October 21, violent clashes erupted between two rival tribes in Qilla Abdullah, which killed five people and injured three others. In sum, during the week the number of people who died stood at eight in different circumstances in the province.
Awami National Party (ANP) in Balochistan strongly condemned the NATO forces– aerial intrusion into Pakistani air space near Qilla Abdullah on October 17, and urged the federal government to raise the issue with NATO officials in Afghanistan.
Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik disclosed on Wednesday, October 19, that the people involved in sectarian militancy in Balochistan are being operated from the prisons and they have strong contacts with banned militant organizations in Punjab. He underlined that the government will take robust measures to bring peace in the province and to curb illegal cross-border activities, targeted killings of Hazara community and to initiate negotiations with Baloch nationalists.
Week in Review
a) Acts of Terrorism and Subversion
- A pilot of Pakistan Air Force was killed when a jet plane crashed near the mountainous range of Uthal in Lasbela district on Wednesday, October 19. The plane was on a routine training flight when it went down.[1]
- Five people were killed and three others injured in a clash between two rival tribes in Qilla Abdullah on Friday, October 21. Old enmity was reported to be the reason behind the tribal feud that took place in the Maizai Adda area of the district. Later on to control the violence Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were called in the area.[2]
- Unknown assailants shot dead a man, identified as Aneel, in Turbat district of Balochistan on October 20.[3]
- Personnel from Levies recovered an unidentified dead body of a man from Dhadar area of Bolan District on October 21.[4]
- At least 13 workers of a local factory were injured when their bus was fired upon by unknown armed men on Sakran Road in Hub Industrial area of Lasbela district on October 22. Separately, two law enforcement agency personnel were wounded in a hand grenade attack in the Margat coal mine in Mach area of Bolan district. According to police sources, ‘Unknown armed men hurled hand grenade at a vehicle carrying personnel of a LEA’
- Meanwhile, on October 22, a NATO oil tanker stationed in Afghanistan was completely destroyed when it caught fire due to two explosions at Bakhtiarabad Oil Terminal in Bakhtiarabad area of Sibi district.[5]
b) Political Front
The residents of Kharotabad are living in a state of constant fear of possible US drone attacks on their area, considering that over the past six months, the Afghan and local Taliban seemed to have coveted this part of Quetta as a veritable ¿vacation spot–. Every four months, Taliban fighters return from war fronts in Afghanistan and take shelter in this area, said one of the locals on October 17. Their presence is becoming a major concern for the people living in adjoining areas, especially because this is the same area where the US alleges the Quetta Shura is hiding.[6]
Doctors at several hospitals across Balochistan went on strike on Monday, October 17 against the killing of President of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Balochistan chapter, Dr Mazar Baloch. Doctors have boycotted outdoor patient departments (OPD) at all public hospitals on the call of the PMA.[7]
Awami National Party (ANP) on Monday informed the Balochistan Assembly that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces violated Pakistani airspace in Qilla Abdullah, adistrictthat shares the border with Afghanistan. ANP parliamentary leader and Provincial Minister Zamurk Khan raised the issue on a point of order duringa Balochistan Assembly session on Monday, October 17, and said NATO forces had violated Pakistani airspace by making a 20 minutes low flight in the area two days back. He demanded that the federal government should raise the issue with NATO officials in Afghanistan.[8]
The relatives of Baloch missing persons have been threatened to end their hunger strike camp set up outside the Quetta Press Club, confirmed Qadir Baloch, father of missing Baloch Republican Party (BRP) leader Jaleel Raiki. Qadir accused the government functionaries and a pro-government organisation on October 17 of threatening him through cell phone calls and by visiting his residence and hunger strike camps.[9]
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) team tasked to investigate the Mastung bus attack informed the Balochistan High Court (BHC) that they have seized vital clues into the recent incident that claimed the lives of 29 Hazara pilgrims. The Balochistan advocate general submitted the CID investigation report on October 19 to the division bench comprising Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Abdul Qadir Mengal during the suo- motu case hearing.[10]
Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the intelligence reports had revealed that terrorists, including those behind sectarian violence in Balochistan, are operating from prisons in the province and have contacts with banned militant organizations in Punjab. He revealed this while addressing a news conference at the Chief Minister Secretariat in Quetta on Wednesday, October 19, where he was accompanied by Balochistan Home Minister Zafarullah Zehri. Malik was on a two day-visit to Balochistan during which he visited the Chaman border and held meetings with the Hazara community and the Sunni leaders. He informed the media that he was assigned the task to discuss three issues that include illegal cross-border activities, targeted killing of Hazara community and negotiations with Baloch nationalists. ‘Pakistan will next month reactivate a biometric computerized system to screen all travelers crossing a key Afghan border terminal’, Rehman Malik said on Wednesday.[11]
Provincial Minister for Quality Education Jan Ali Changezi of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said on October 20 that the law and order situation in Balochistan is worse than other provinces. ‘Malik may have been given wrong briefing about law and order situation in Balochistan,’ Changezi told the reporters outside Balochistan Assembly. He was referring to the statement in which Malik lauded the role of provincial government in overcoming law and order issues. Earlier on, Malik had claimed that Balochistan situation is comparatively better than other provinces.[12]
Members of the Balochistan Assembly have demanded that the provincial government bring culprits of the Mastung sectarian attack to the book, in a resolution passed on Thursday, October 20. Earlier on, Provincial Minister for Quality Education Jan Ali Changezi, who belongs to the Hazara community, tabled a resolution soon after proceedings began. The resolution outlined the attack, and it also stated that it is condemnable that police and other law enforcement agencies remained out of the scene during the attack.[13]
c) Polio Cases
Three more polio cases surfaced in Balochistan on Thursday, October 20, raising the total number of patients suffering from the disease in the province to 52, the highest number in any province in the country. The cases were reported in the districts of Loralai, Pishin and Quetta, according to an official of the UN Children Fund (UNICEF) Jawahir Habib. He also underscored that Polio cases have increased by 100 per cent in Balochistan. ‘Around 1.5 million children below the age of five are at risk of being infected with polio in Balochistan,’ Habib added. According to World Health Organization (WHO) officials, more than 75 per cent of the cases detected in the province are from Quetta, Pishin and Qila Abdullah.[14]
[1] Pilot killed in PAF plane crash–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/277245/pilot-killed-in-paf-plane-crash/
[2] Tribal feud: Five killed in Balochistan–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/278828/tribal-feud-five-killed-in-balochistan/
[3] One person killed in Balochistan–, at http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news3.asp?date3=2011%2F10%2F21&image2.x=0&image2.y=0#3
[4] One dead body found in Balochistan–, at http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news3.asp?date3=2011%2F10%2F22&image2.x=0&image2.y=0#3
[5] 13 people injured in firing incident in Balochistan–, at http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news.asp?date1=10/23/2011&id=1#1
[6] Kharotabad: A Taliban safe haven–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/275651/kharotabad-a-taliban-safe-haven/
[7] Doctors in Balochistan on strike against PMA leader killing–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/275833/doctors-in-balochistan-on-strike-against-pma-leader-killing/
[8] NATO violated Pakistan airspace in Balochistan: ANP–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/275831/nato-violated-pakistan-airspace-in-balochistan-anp/
[9] Baloch missing persons: Relatives receive threats to end strike–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/275866/baloch-missing-persons-relatives-receive-threats-to-end-strike/
[10] Crime Investigation Department: Clues to Mastung attack case found, BHC told–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/277067/crime-investigation-department-clues-to-mastung-attack-case-found-bhc-told/
[11] Terrorists operating from Balochistan prisons: Malik–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/277290/terrorists-operating-from-balochistan-prisons-malik/
[12] Malik was wrongly briefed on law and order situation, says Balochistan minister–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/278191/malik-was-wrongly-briefed-on-law-and-order-situation-says-balochistan-minister/
[13] Balochistan Assembly: ¿Mastung attack culprits should be brought to book–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/278549/balochistan-assembly-mastung-attack-culprits-should-be-brought-to-book/
[14] Alarming numbers: Three more polio cases surface in Balochistan–, at http://tribune.com.pk/story/277509/three-more-polio-cases-detected-in-balochistan/