Quetta/Karachi/Islamabad,
August31
Pakistan largest, yet poorest province of Baluchistan is almost certainly heading for federal rule, with a majority of Pakistan's opposition parties saying on Thursday that their members were ready to resign from the Baluchistan provincial assembly, to register their protest against the killing of senior Baluch leader Akbar Khan Bugti in a military operation last Saturday.
Opposition parties like the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), which is headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) today confirmed that some of their workers and leaders had sent in resignations to their respective party chiefs over the Bugti killing issue.
The MMA leadership went one step further and said that it was seriously contemplating withdrawing its support to the incumbent government in Baluchistan, thus paving the way for Governor's Rule in the province.
Opposition political circles told ANI that they saw no reason for continuing their support to the present Baluchistan Government after the killing of Akbar Bugti. They called on Baluchistan Chief Minister Jam Yousuf to resign from his post if he had any principles or love for the people of the province.
Describing the killing of Akbar Bugti as dangerous for the immediate future of Pakistan, some of the opposition politicians said that a 79-year-old man who was suffering from
debilitating and painful muscular and bone ailments, was now being seen as the "Hero of Baluchistan".
"In death, Akbar Bugti has ensured that the campaign for Baluch rights and self-determination has acquired a real meaning in Baluchistan. Akbar Bugti, a former Governor and Chief Minister, has given his life for the Baluch struggle. The Pakistan Army, on the other hand, has lost its image in the eyes of the general public, politicians and the fourth estate due to its killing of Akbar Bugti and his guards," one of the opposition politicians told ANI.
In Islamabad, an all-party conference (APC) demanded that General Musharraf quit as President immediately and own up responsibility for Bugti's killing. According to joint statement released few minutes ago, the APC will observe a nation-wide black day on Friday and it has approached the
Supreme court to take suo moto action on the Akber Bugti killing.
The ISPR had announced late on Wednesday night that certain body parts alleged to be that of the slain the Baluch leader, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, had been found inside a cave, but the complete body as such, has not been found as yet.
The Bugti clan has categorically rejected the ISPR's claims. Members of the Bugti clan, who have seen the cave where Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti had gone into hiding earlier this year, said that it had a secret exit.
They further went on to say, that it is the norm in the area that caves and hideouts have at least one, if not many secret exits.
The Bugti tribesmen believe that the Nawab and his followers had successfully slipped out of one of the secret exits during last Saturday's military operation launched by Pakistan Army commandos.
