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KABUL: The 10th death anniversary of renowned Baloch nationalist leader and former governor of Balochistan, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, was observed here on Wednesday.
Large number of people from different walks of life participated in the ceremony and shed light on the life and struggle of Akbar Bugti. He was assassinated on August 26, 2006 on the orders of former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf in Kohlu area, 150 miles east of Quetta.
Abdul Sattar Purdali, an adviser at the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, said that Bugti was a man of character and dedicated his life to serve his people.
He commended Baloch people for rendering matchless sacrifices to gain independence. Purdali said that he salute hundreds of Baloch people who sacrificed their children and lives for independence, “their fundamental right”. Purdali, who is also a Baloch nationalist and former member of the Afghan parliament, said that Baloch had suffered a lot as several were killed, injured and tortured by Pakistani government.
Talking about life of Akbar Khan Bugti, he said: “Shaheed Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti spent most of his life to protect rights of his people [Baloch]. He struggled for an independent state for Baloch people so they can breathe freely and according to their wishes. Pakistan accused him of keeping a private militia. He was murdered by the state of Pakistan. This was a cold blooded murder of a prominent person and a freedom fighter.”
He said that the legend of Nawab Bugti still lives on, adding that the foundation stone for independent state of Balochistan was laid in 1908 by Khan of Kalat, Ahmad Yar Khan. “He gathered all Baloch leaders at the grave of Shaheed Khan Mehrab Khan and announced to fight for independence of Balochistan. He announced Balochistan as an independent country. All leaders on the occasion pledged that they would not go near to their spouses until independence was achieved. According to the Baloch traditions who broke this promise cannot keep their wives because it was seen as divorce,” Purdali said. He further said that later Pakistan used this pledge of Baloch leaders as an excuse to announce martial law and send military to Balochistan, adding that Baloch leaders were labeled as traitors by the power establishment of Pakistan.
“Former commander-in-chief of Pakistan, Gen. Ayub Khan, made a pact—keeping hand on the Holy Quran—with Baloch leaders assuring them that all those who surrender arms would be pardoned and not harassed or tortured. When the Baloch freedom fighters surrendered, they were arrested, imprisoned and tortured brutally,” he said.
Bugti was born in Kohlu district in 1927 and received education from Aitchison College Lahore and University of Oxford, England. In 1993 he established his own political party, Jamhuri Watan Party, in Dera Bugti to fight for rights of Baloch people who had been oppressed for decades.
He became chieftain of the Bugti Tribe in 1947 and the same year he entered the political landscape of Pakistan. In the 1973 he became the governor of Balochistan. He took a firm stand against anti-Balochistan polices of Pervez Musharraf in 2003.
