Turbat massacre: BLF chief booked as buck-passing begins

Victims from Sindh buried amid calls from nationalists for eliminating terrorists

QUETTA: Buck passing began a day after a grisly killing spree left 20 construction workers dead in Turbat as Sindhi nationalist leaders called for eliminating terrorists from Balochistan where separatist groups have been waging a low-profile insurgency since 2004. The police, meanwhile, registered the case for the Turbat massacre against Dr Allah Nazar, the elusive commander of the outlawed Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), and his spokesperson Gohram Baloch.

Shortly before dawn on Saturday, more than 20 gunmen stormed a makeshift camp on the edge of Turbat city in Kech district and methodically killed the labourers after identifying they were from Punjab and Sindh. The BLF spokesperson later called a news agency’s office in Quetta to claim credit for the gruesome massacre. A small Levies contingent deployed at the camp didn’t challenge the attackers and fled.

Nawaz Baloch, the SHO of Turbat police station, confirmed that they have registered an FIR on the complaint of Allah Ditta, a resident of the Rahim Yar Khan district of Punjab, against Dr Allah Nazar and Guhram Baloch on charges of murder, attempted murder and terrorism.

Dr Allah Nazar is believed to be holed up in his mountainous hideouts and continuously changes his location to avoid detection. His group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on security forces and settlers – a term coined by Baloch separatists for people from other provinces of the country who, they believe, are changing the demography of Balochistan.

Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik has formed a joint investigation team to probe into the incident from all angles and submit its report within a week. Security forces have mounted a manhunt in the mountains of Turbat for the attackers. Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durani, however, said no arrest has been made thus far.

Godan, the area where the labourers’ camp was located is just seven kilometres away from Turbat city. And it was the police’s responsibility to provide security to the construction workers. But the police said that since they were understaffed, Levies were deployed at the camp. “We are understrength which is why Levies personnel were requested to guard the camp,” reads a report submitted to the provincial government on Sunday.

Conversely, an official source told The Express Tribune that police officials were reluctant to perform duty in the area where Baloch separatists frequently mount attacks on law enforcers. “This is why they came up with this excuse,” the official said requesting anonymity.

All eight Levies personnel who were standing guard at the camp at the time of the deadly assault fled without putting up a fight, much to the embarrassment of Home Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti who said, “My head is hung in shame – I would have been proud if any of these law enforcers had gone down fighting the attackers.”

At least 15 of the victims were from Sadiqabad district of Punjab and five from Tharparkar district of Sindh. The bodies of the slain labourers from Tharparkar were flown into Hyderabad in a helicopter past midnight on Saturday from where they were driven to their home districts where they were buried amid moving scenes. Islamkot and Mithi Talukas of Tharparkar remained shut to mourn the deaths.

Sindhi nationalist leaders were incensed by the brutal mass murder in Turbat. “Terrorists have no religion, no creed, no ethnicity – they are blood-thirsty killers,” said Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party Chairman Dr Qadir Magsi.

“The terrorists should be shown no mercy,” he said and demanded that the government track down all the terrorists who have let loose a reign of terror in the province.

“Balochistan is mired in a worst form of terrorism. Terrorists are killing innocent people at will,” Qaumi Awami Tehreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2015.