United we stand: Shahzain vows Bugti tribesmen will defend Pakistan

Grand jirga in Peshawar promises to fight alongside Pakistan Army against India.

QUETTA: India’s war mongering has united all Pakistanis, even those who may have an axe to grind against the government. A grandson of the slain Bugti tribal chieftain, Nawab Akbar Bugti, has said he and his co-tribesmen are ready to render any kind of sacrifices in the defence of the country. Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti’s statement coincided with a grand Jirga in Peshawar where tribal elders vowed to fight alongside the army, if India dared to attack Pakistan.

“If India launches an attack on Pakistan, Bugti tribesmen will go to the mountains of [Indian occupied] Kashmir to fight alongside Pakistan Army,” said Shahzain, who is also the president of Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) while speaking at a news conference in Quetta on Sunday. “We will follow in the footsteps of Nawab Akbar Bugti and sacrifice our lives in the defence of our country.”

Shahzain recalled that the forefathers of the Bugtis had played an important role in the establishment of Pakistan. ”After the inception of Pakistan, our ancestors had given countless sacrifices to defend the new state,” added Shahzain, whose grandfather was killed in an operation in Kohlu in 2006. He said Indian forces were guilty of killing unarmed civilians – but the sacrifices of Kashmiris would not go to waste.



Shahzain’s cousin, Brahamdagh Bugti, who had fled the country after the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti, is seeking political asylum in India. Asked about Brahamdagh’s move, the JWP leader said. “It is his personal decision and the Bugti tribe has nothing to do with it.”

Shahzain also reminded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of his 2013 promise that all Bugti tribesmen would be rehabilitated in their ancestral area of Dera Bugti. He also called upon the premier to bring the killers of Nawab Akbar Bugti to justice.

Meanwhile in Peshawar, tribal elders convened a grand jirga on Sunday where they pledged to fight alongside Pakistan Army in case of any military aggression from India. The elders said the tribesmen of Fata would not allow anyone to cast an evil eye on their motherland.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2016.