Bodies of men killed in Balochistan reach home

Father of deceased brothers alleges that Zain Bugti is behind the murders.

FAISALABAD: The bodies of five relatives, including two brothers, who were killed by unidentified men in Turbat, district of Balochistan, on November 21, arrived in Faisalabad on Wednesday.

The brothers, Madina Town residents Naeem Hussain and Nadeem Hussain, were laid to rest on Wednesday in a graveyard in Chak no 215 RB Dudiwala. The bodies of the other three, whose families resided in Lahore, were sent there for burial.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Muhammad Hussain, father of Naeem and Nadeem, accused Zain Bugti of killing his sons. “He has punished us for moving out to the Punjab,” he said. He said that he along with his brothers moved out of Balochistan 13 years ago, adding that he settled in Faisalabad after his glass frames selling business got established there. He and his sons sold the frames at a stall in Faisalabad’s Ghanta Ghar Chowk.

Hussain said that his nephews – Abul Fazal, Sikandar and Muhammad Hasan – were looking after their fathers businesses in Lahore.

The family was attacked by unidentified men at a roadside restaurant near a transport company office in Turbat. Hussain said that they had just finished their food and he was paying the bills when his sons and nephews who were waiting for him outside were shot at. He said two passers-by also got injured in the incident.

Hussain said that earlier they had just crossed the Iran-Pakistan border, “We were stopped at the border by a colonel. I told him that we have to go to Faisalabad and he let us go,” he said.

The six men had gone to Balochistan to visit their extended family who still reside there.

The family and neighbours placed Naeem and Nadeem’s bodies on Jaranwala Road and blocked it to protest against the killings.

The protest ended when Madina Town superintendent of police arrived at the spot and assured Hussain that Faisalabad police would contact senior officials to pursue the investigation of the case at Turbat.

The deceased were all married and had a child each.

Mengal condemns killing of Punjabis

In an interview with the BBC, former Balochistan chief minister and Balochistan National Party head, Ataullah Mengal, condemned the killings. “I am not in support of solving the Balochistan issue by resorting to violence against civilians,” he said, adding that killing Punjabis was wrong and that the government should trace the murderers and bring them to justice.

He, however, said that the government should also mend its ways. “What kind of a civilised government kills people without a fair trail and leave their bodies on roadsides?” he asked. He said that before the Aghaz Haqooq Balochistan Package one or two men were killed every month but now the number of Baloch being killed has surged to between four and five.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2010.