ISLAMABAD - After an order issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on July 9, the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) on the directions of the Interior Ministry, has agreed to hand over the dead body of a young boy of Bugti Tribe to his relatives and to make necessary arrangements for its transportation to Balochistan.
According to the two separate letters issued by the Interior Ministry and ICT Administration Nawabzada Gohram Khan Bugti, chief coordinator Jamoori Watan Party (JWP) and Dilshad, the real brother of the deceased, would accompany the dead body and would fly from Islamabad airport on July 24 for Quetta and then would move for Dera Bugti.
More than 500 people from Bugti Tribe are present in the capital for many months to protest for their displacement from their native residence of Dera Bugti, Balochistan, since 2005 as a result of a military operation during Musharraf regime.
Gulsher Ahmed, a young boy of the Bugti tribe among these protestors, had died on July 3, 2013, apparently because of the scorching heat and his dead body was in the possession of the ICT Administration. The local administration was not ready to hand over the dead body to his relatives fearing they would use this for demonstration causing aw and order situation in the red zone of the capital.
On the petition of Nawabzada Gohram Bugti, the son of Nawab Talal Akbar Bugti and grandson of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti late, Justice Noor -Ul-Haq N Qureshi of IHC in his July 9 order directed the authorities concerned to make necessary arrangement for shifting the dead body to the nearest place of native town of the deceased and proper security should be provided to them.
In the light of the court order, the dead body was first to be transported to Quetta via Karachi on July 20. However, Farid Ahmed Khan, Director (Operations) of the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC), Ministry of Interior, through letter no 2/59/2012-(Ops)-2884 dated 20 July, 2013 asked the Chief Commissioner ICT and Home Secretary, Balochistan that as per subsequent change in program, in consultation with Nawabzada Gohram Bugti, the dead body would now be transported to Quetta. The letter says that Gohram Bugti and Dilshad will accompany it.
In response to the letter, additional district magistrate of ICTA informed the director operations that as per the revised plan; the dead body would now be transported to Quetta along with Gohram Bugti and Dilshad on July 24 at 1435 hrs by PK 363.
Nawabzada Gohram Bugti while addressing a press conference here on Monday evening at a local hotel said that they would leave for Quetta on July 24 along with the dead body. He said the federal government would be responsible for the security during the transportation of the dead body from Islamabad to Quetta and then Dera Bugti. “The government would be held responsible for any security lapse,” he stressed. He said Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik had also assured his full cooperation in this connection. “On July 3,one of our companions, died facing intense weather conditions during the 80 days long protest camp,” he said.
Nawabzada Gohram Bugti said that more than 2.5 lack people of Bugti Tribe had been displaced from Dera Bugti as a result of military operation in 2005 that was started on the orders of then president former General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. “These people are forced to live like refugees in open space and we want to make it clear that neither Musharraf government nor Zardar’s government provided any relief to Bugti displaced persons,” he said adding that they were being punished for having relations with Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti who had voted in favour of Pakistan at the time of partition. He appealed to the Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif to take solid steps for the settlement of such displaced Bugtis in Dera Bugti at earliest.