Federal apprehension: Islamabad police arrest 134 Bugti tribesmen

The police moves as a local trader complains they had allegedly beat him up .

ISLAMABAD:

Members of the Bugti tribe who have been protesting outside the National Press Club (NPC) in the F-6 Sector of Islamabad for the last three months, in order to seek their repatriation to their native area Dera Bugti, had spent last night behind bars.

On Wednesday night, the capital police arrested 134 members of the Bugti tribe and registered cases against them for looting and damaging a shop, the police claimed.

The police on the complaint of Zahid Hussain Abbasi, a local trader in sector F-6, arrested 134 members of the Bugti tribe after they allegedly beat him up and damaged his shop. Police officials said that members of the Bugti tribe used to visit the market to charge their mobile phones. However on Wednesday night, they had removed a trader’s mobile phone from a charger, sparking a clash. The complainant Zahid Abbasi told The Express Tribune that Bugti tribesmen have established their protest camp in front of NPC and they used to visit his shop to charge their mobile phones.

He said that when he demanded the tribesmen to give back his mobile phone they started attacking him and damaged his shop. “The Bugtis are a security risk and they can attack anyone,” he added.

Shahid Zaman, Investigation Officer (IO) of the case, said that Superintendent of Police City Captain Ilyas had constituted a team on Abbasi’s complaint. The team conducted a raid on the NPC and booked 134 members of the Bugti tribe.

Zaman said that the older people were released by the police. However, the young Bugtis were detained in three different police stations. The detainees were presented before the court and released afterwards.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12^th, 2013.