Dera Bugti: Probe demanded into mass graves

Jamil Bugti accuses security forces of killing scores of Baloch.

QUETTA:

Nawabzada Jamil Bugti, a son of slain Baloch sardar Nawab Akbar Bugti, has demanded an impartial probe into the recent discovery of a mass grave in Dera Bugti.

A pit has been unearthed containing the bullet-riddled remains of a number of people who were buried unceremoniously, Bugti told a news conference on Saturday.

He accused the security forces of killing scores of Baloch people in Dera Bugti and dumping their bodies in mass graves without burial rites.

“Human rights groups should be allowed access to the restive Dera Bugti area to probe the recently discovered mass grave,” he told the media.

“The federal and provincial governments are shielding the murderers of Nawab Akbar Bugti. The establishment does not acknowledge the supremacy of the judiciary. Where can we expect justice?” he asked.

Referring to the recent arrest of three Bugti tribesmen in the Lyari operation, Jamil Bugti said these men were whisked away by the Frontier Corps in January and were missing since then.

“The forces handed over these men to Karachi police who declared them terrorists and members of Baloch Liberation Army (BLA),” he said. Denouncing the Lyari operation, he said that the Baloch people were victims of aggression and violence since 1947.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2012.