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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KARACHI 000073 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM SOCI PK
SUBJECT: BALOCHISTAN HEATS UP 
 
REF: A. 08 KARACHI 463 
     ¶B. 08 KARACHI 339 
     ¶C. KARACHI 26 
     ¶D. KARACHI 34 
     ¶E. KARACHI 42 
     ¶F. KARACHI 18 
     ¶G. 08 KARACHI 472 
     ¶H. 08 KARACHI 338 
 
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY CONSUL GENERAL STEPHEN FAKAN FOR REASONS 1 
.4 b and d. 
 
 ¶1.  (C) Summary.  At a February 9, telephonic press 
conference in Quetta, fugitive Baloch nationalist leader 
Brahamdagh Bugti threatened to retaliate against the ruling 
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government for its failure to 
end GOP military operations in Balochistan.  This move comes 
after three militant Baloch nationalist groups called off a 
ceasefire pact in January.  Many Baloch nationalists, 
including Bugti, have professed ignorance about the origins 
of the Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF) that claims 
to have kidnapped U.N. official John Solecki.  The 
nationalists' continue to accuse the GOP of committing 
atrocities (unverified by Post) partially as a means to 
inflame tribal sentiment.  End Summary. 
 
Militant Baloch Nationalist Leader Threatens PPP 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2.  (C) Fugitive Baloch nationalist leader Brahamdagh Bugti 
railed against the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) 
during a February 9 telephonic press conference at the Quetta 
Press Club.  Ayub Tareem, A BBC journalist who attended the 
meeting, told Post that Bugti criticized the GOP for not 
ending military operations in Balochistan.  Rejecting all GOP 
offers of reconciliation, Bugti promised that his 
organization, the Baloch Republican Party (BRP), would 
retaliate against the GOP for its actions in Balochistan. 
(Note:  Brahamdagh Bugti, 27, gained control of a wing of the 
nationalist Jamhoori Watan Party after GOP forces allegedly 
killed the party's leader, his grandfather, Nawab Akbar Bugti 
in 2006.  He later renamed his wing of the party the Baloch 
Republican Party (BRP).  The Baloch Republican Army (BRA) is 
rumored to be the military wing of the BRP under control of 
Brahamdagh Bugti from his refuge in Kabul.  End note.) 
 
Ceasefire Doesn't Hold 
---------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) A September, 2008 ceasefire, unilaterally called by 
three armed Baloch nationalist groups ) the BRA, the 
Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan 
Liberation Front (BLF) ) in response to GOP peace overtures 
(ref H), was publicly withdrawn by these groups in January, 
because they claimed the GOP had not met their demands ) an 
end to military operations, the release of political 
prisoners, accountability for alleged missing persons, and 
autonomy for the province.  Since then, the province has seen 
an upsurge in violence, despite outreach efforts to the GOP 
by Nawab Akbar Bugti's son, Nawab Talal Bugti, leader of 
another wing of the Jamhoori Watan Party. 
 
Rocket Attack in Quetta 
----------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) On February 7, at least four rockets hit a market 
area in central Quetta, killing one army officer and wounding 
three other bystanders.  In claiming responsibility, the BLA 
alleged that it had actually fired nine rockets.  The attacks 
came the day after BRP General Secretary Bashir Azeem 
disappeared in Quetta along with another party member, Chaker 
Qambarani.  Without presenting corroborating evidence, BRP 
leaders have publicly accused GOP intelligence agencies of 
abducting the two men and led strikes and protests in the 
aftermath. 
 
Increasing Violence 
------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) According to news reports on Balochistan, gas 
 
KARACHI 00000073  002 OF 002 
 
 
pipelines and electrical transformers are routinely bombed, 
purportedly by nationalists.  In one February 4 incident, six 
employees of an oil exploration company were reported 
kidnapped after they went missing near the town of Mach, 
around 70 kilometers southeast of Quetta.  A BLA 
spokesperson, Bevragh Baloch, claimed his organization was 
responsible.  The employees have yet to reappear.  In 
another, BRA members publicly claimed responsibility for the 
killing of four Punjabi laborers in Noshki, about 140 
kilometers south west of Quetta.  (Comment:  The Baloch have 
long harbored distrust for ethnic Punjabis, who they see as 
dominating the country at their expense.  Post has not been 
able to independently verify the Baloch claims.  End comment.) 
 
Accusations of GOP Atrocities 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Many Baloch nationalists Post has spoken with claim 
tales of GOP atrocities (ref B).  In one uncorroborated case, 
Shazada Zulfiqar, President of the Quetta Press Club, alleged 
that nine members of a Dera Bugti wedding party, including 
the bride and groom, were killed by paramilitary forces on 
February 4.  On February 9, Jamil Bugti, a prominent 
nationalist and the uncle of Brahamdagh Bugti, told the CG 
that soldiers retaliated for the killing of two of their own 
by shooting two boys and then burning them in front of their 
family in Dera Bugti.  He did not offer any further evidence. 
 (Comment:  As with all such accusations, Post has not been 
able to confirm these reports and the accusers did not offer 
any evidence.  End comment.) 
 
Kidnapping and the BLUF 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Baloch Republican Party (BRP) leader Brahamdagh Bugti 
has publicly disavowed any involvement by his party in the 
February 2 kidnapping of United Nations High Commissioner for 
Refugees Quetta Office Director John Solecki (ref D) or any 
knowledge of the Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF) 
that has claimed responsibility.  Likewise, his uncle, Jamil 
Bugti, claimed that he had no knowledge of the kidnapping or 
the BLUF, instead blaming GOP intelligence services. 
(Comment:  Baloch political leaders routinely accuse GOP 
officials of conspiring against them without giving proof. 
End comment.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (C) International organizations estimate the conflict in 
Balochistan has resulted in thousands of IDPs, but are 
reluctant to give an exact count.  Many Baloch nationalists 
frequently complain to Post that USG funding has allowed the 
Pakistani military to buy weapons that are ultimately used 
against the Baloch.  Nationalists express similar sentiment 
about prior U.S. support for the Musharraf regime. 
 
¶9.  (C) Most of the nationalist leaders that Post has spoken 
with have taken pains to emphasize their common interests 
with the USG, such as opposition to the Taliban and other 
violent religious extremists, while downplaying differences 
such as their tacit approval of armed militant nationalist 
groups.  Post believes much of this discourse, possibly 
coordinated among the groups, may be tailored to gain USG 
support in their fight against the GOP.  Many Baloch, in 
Pakistan's conspiracy-driven society, routinely accuse GOP 
intelligence services of actively supporting the Islamic 
militants as a counterbalance to nationalist organizations, 
without offering any evidence. 
 
¶10.  (C) Stories of GOP atrocities ) founded or not ) serve 
as propaganda designed to further inflame tribal anger.  The 
often fractious Baloch tribes (some carry on blood feuds 
against the descendents of enemies for as long as 50 years) 
share a common desire for, if not an independent state, 
greater autonomy.  Many believe the armed militants are a 
warranted response to what they view as illegal GOP 
exploitation of their substantial mineral resources. 
FAKAN