Jonah was kind enough to schedule some research time between 12:30 and 3am this morning, putting a fine finish on Kezzie's half-birthday -- if the "terrible twos" were shown in color, like fall foliage, she peaked yesterday and is blazing crimson. Fortunately our home is not regularly televised so the Gypsies won't be warned off.
The Washington Moonbeam ran recycled nuttery from the London Telegraph yesterday morning to the effect that the Pak FO blames Iran for this year's Test Match (played with RPGs, HMGs, and IEDs) in Baluchestan. ThePak FO contradicted this plant yesterday afternoon.
In Quetta the rail line to Karachi was bombed overnight.
So what really happened?
A Captain in the Punjabi-domainated Army that has garrisoned the Dera Bugti District (Sui gasfield) since 2002 (as well as the 25 other districts of Baluchistan), raped a doctor at the hospial in Sui. The local police have not been able to take him into custody. The hospital serves the Bugti tribe, as well as the foreign Sui gasfield workers. The Bugti responded by fielding several thousand tribal troops, described as heavily armed, well trained and organised, equiped with satellite telephones. The tribal troops interviewed explained that they mobilized to defend their Sheik and their sovereingty. The Bugti troops were joined by troops from the Mengals, Mazaris and Marris tribes. They set up pickets (checkpoints, firing points) throught Dera Bugti, and from January 11th to the 16th there was pitched battle with the Frontier Corps (Punjabi troops).
During the battle Bugti troops fired 430 rockets and 60 mortar rounds at the Sui gas works and held the gas company compound for a day. The Punjabi State rushed thousands of troops and paramilitary forces to Sui.
This is the fifth insurgency by Balochis seeking political autonomy and control over their natural resources.
1st: 1947-48, lead by Mir Ahmad Yar Khan, invoking the Treaty of 1876, resistance to annexation of Kalat by Pakistan.
2nd: 1958-59 lead by Nawab Nowroz Khan, resistance to integration of Beluch Province into the single administrative unit of West Pakistan.
3rd: 1962-63 See the Tribal Belt, part of Paul Wolf's (much) longer work on Pakistan. Here is a telling line: Should Baluchistan emerge as a separate pro-Soviet entity, the Soviets would be in a position to force greater Afghanistan compliance with Soviet demands. The speaker was Mohammad Yunus (protect) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Middle East, Arab States, Afghanistan and CENTO Affairs.
4th: 1973-77 lead by Mir Hazar Khan Marri, Marri and Mengal tribes form BPLF, exile in Soviet-Afganistan in 1977, Iraninan AF conducts major air ops against tribes in Pakistani-Baluchistan.
5th: 2002-200?
A story I don't expect anyone will touch is that some Intel shop is planting stories that the 'Graph and the Moonbeam carried over the weekend, casting Iran as the cause for the 5th Baluchi insurgency against the 1947 annexation of Kalat by Punjab.
Posted by EBW at January 25, 2005 10:38 AM | TrackBack