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O 140438Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL KARACHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1032
INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0489
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0266
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0309
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1854
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RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 4595
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RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KARACHI 000131 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PK
SUBJECT: BALOCHISTAN - PROTESTS ROIL PROVINCE AFTER 
NATIONALIST LEADER FOUND DEAD 
 
REF: KARACHI 34 
 
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY CONSUL GENERAL STEPHEN FAKAN FOR REASONS 1 
.4 b and d. 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
¶1.  (C) The mutilated bodies of Baloch National Movement 
(BNM) General Secretary Ghulam Mohammad and two other Baloch 
nationalists were found near the southern Balochistan city of 
Turbat on April 8.  The discovery sparked violent unrest in 
many urban centers throughout Balochistan, including protests 
that closed the Hub ) Chaman road for a day, and in some 
areas of Karachi.  Sixteen people were killed in the rioting 
and police made 30 arrests.  Militant Baloch nationalist 
groups have claimed responsibility for the killings of police 
and coal miners.  Ghulam had been a member of a high-level 
committee working to resolve Baloch "missing persons" issues 
with the GOP as part of the negotiations for the release of 
kidnapped United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
Quetta Office Director John Solecki.  No one has been 
formally accused of the killings, although many Baloch 
nationalists have blamed GOP intelligence agencies, without 
presenting any evidence to support this accusation.  By April 
13, the situation in Balochistan and Karachi were returning 
to normal. 
 
Baloch Leader Found Near Abduction Point 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) On April 8, authorities found the body of Baloch 
National Movement (BNM) General Secretary Ghulam Mohammad 
Baloch around 20 kilometers from the southern Balochistan 
city of Turbat.  He was taken by unidentified armed persons 
from his attorney's office in Turbat along with two other 
Baloch nationalists, Lala Munir and Sher Mohammad Baloch, on 
April 4.  Initial reports from POL sources indicated that all 
three bodies were mutilated and had been dead for some time. 
 
Played Role in Negotiations for John Solecki release 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Baloch was a member of a high-level committee formed 
by tribal leader Harbiyar Marri and Interior Minister Rehman 
Malik to negotiate for the release of United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees Quetta Office Director John 
Solecki, kidnapped on February 2 by members of the 
Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF) (reftel).  He had 
met with USG and UN officials during the negotiations and 
represented Baloch interests in discussions with the GOP 
about the nationalists' demands for accountability of alleged 
missing persons. 
 
Widespread Unrest in Balochistan 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) After the discovery of the bodies became known on 
April 9, residents in many areas of Balochistan and parts of 
Karachi reacted angrily.  In the ensuing violence, 16 people 
including four police in the Jaffarabad district, were 
killed.  Six coal miners were among the dead.  The 
Marri-tribe dominated Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed 
responsibility for killing the miners.  The Bugti-tribe 
affiliated Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed 
responsibility for killing the police officers.  Police have 
reported around 30 arrests in connection with the unrest. 
 
¶5.  (C) Media and Post sources reported grenade attacks and 
bomb blasts in various areas of the district.  Rockets were 
reportedly fired at security posts in Kalat and Dera Bugti 
districts.  Businesses in Quetta and other major urban 
centers in Balochistan, including Pashtun dominated areas, 
shut down in protest on April 9 and did not reopen until 
April 12.  Quetta police fired teargas at protestors in the 
city and higher educational institutions there have closed 
until April 15. 
 
¶6.  (C) During the rioting, protestors burned four banks and 
a UN vehicle in Quetta.  They also burned Pakistan People's 
 
KARACHI 00000131  002 OF 002 
 
 
Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), and Balochistan 
National Party-Awami (BNP-A) offices in Panjgur, and Turbat. 
Rioters also torched the office of the District Coordination 
Officer (DCO) and a number of other official and private 
buildings in Turbat.  Three shops were destroyed in Gwadar. 
The paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) took over security from 
local police forces in urban centers.  By April 13, the 
situation had begun to return to normal 
 
Protests in Karachi 
------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) In Karachi, protests broke out in areas with a large 
Baloch population.  Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) leader 
Altaf Hussain led a pro-Baloch gathering (addressing the 
crowd by telephone from London) on April 11, calling for a 
high-level judicial inquiry into the deaths.  The 
Sindhi-nationalist Jeay Sindh Quami Mahaz party rallied to 
denounce the killings.  Residents observed a transportation 
strike and the Baloch National Front (BNF) led a rally 
attended by around 2,500 people, in front of the Karachi 
Press Club (near the Consulate) on April 12. 
 
Hub ) Chaman Transit Blocked 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) POL and RSO sources reported that around 200 
protestors blocked the Hub - Chaman road in the vicinity of 
the central Balochistan city of Khuzdar on April 9.  (Note: 
As of April 10, the road had been reopened.  End note.) 
Railroad tracks in the Quetta to Chaman route were reportedly 
blown up on April 11 and again on April 12.  Note:  The 
damage was minor.  The railway has been repaired and is now 
operating.  End note.) 
 
Nationalist Political Parties Protest Killing 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C) Many Baloch political parties - Balochistan National 
Party-Mengal (BNP-M)), National Party (NP), Balochistan 
National Movement (BNM), the Baloch National Front (BNF), and 
the Pashtun-dominated Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) 
all joined in the call for an official inquiry into the 
killings.  Several of the nationalist parties went further, 
specifying that they wanted an official UN (instead of a GOP) 
investigation. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (C) Although many Baloch leaders, including provincial 
Finance Minister Muhammad Asim Kurd Gaillo, have accused GOP 
intelligence agencies of the abductions and murders, there 
has been no real evidence to support this claim.  (Note: 
Suspicion of the GOP has always run high among Baloch 
nationalists and they frequently accuse GOP agencies of 
actions against them, often without any proof.  End note.) 
Yet, by coming out in public in order to help secure 
Solecki's release, Ghulam Mohammad and other Baloch leaders 
had warned they were risking their lives and exposing 
themselves to retribution or detention by Pakistani 
intelligence. 
 
¶11.  (C) For the moment, the incident has united Baloch 
nationalists and appears to have garnered some sympathy from 
their traditional rivals, the Pashtuns.  MQM appears to be 
seizing the opportunity to build support among the Baloch as 
it vies to expand its party base outside of Sindh.  Post 
notes that the BLA's claimed attack on coal miners served to 
highlight the nationalists' frustration over exploitation of 
the province's natural resources ) an issue that is at the 
heart of their insurgency.  While the deaths will most likely 
not destabilize the province, it may add to the list of 
perceived injustices the nationalists will probably point to 
in their ongoing struggle with the GOP. 
FAKAN