Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti ( Balochi,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Tumandar (head) of the Bugti tribe of

Baloch people The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There a ...

who served as the Minister of State for Interior and Governor of Balochistan Province in Pakistan. He also became minister of state for defence in the cabinet of

Feroz Khan Noon Sir Malik Feroz Khan Noon, ( ur, ملک فیروز خان نون; 7 May 18939 December 1970), best known as Feroze Khan, was a Pakistani politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Pakistan from 1957 until being removed wh ...

. Earlier, he had also served as the Minister of State for Interior. He was involved in a struggle, at times armed, for greater autonomy for Balochistan. The government of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

accused him of keeping a private militia and leading a guerrilla war against the state. On 26 August 2006 Bugti was killed when his hide-out cave, located in Kohlu, about 150 miles east of

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...

, collapsed.

Early life and family

Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti was born on 12 July 1927 in Barkhan (in present-day

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

), the rural home of the

Khetran The Khetran are a Baloch tribe found primarily in the northeast of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Their area is a large hilly tract in the Sulaiman Mountains comprising the whole of Barkhan District as well as small parts of neighbouring ...

, a Baloch tribe, to which his mother belonged. He was the son of the chief of his tribe, Nawab Mehrab Khan Bugti, and grandson of Sir Shahbaz Khan Bugti. He received his early education from

Karachi Grammar School Karachi Grammar School ( ur, ) is an independent, English-medium school located in 3 different campuses across Karachi. The main and oldest campus is located in Saddar, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a highly selective, coeducational day school ...

and later from

Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

after his father's death, later on he attended Oxford University. Being the son of the tribe's chief, he became the tumandar (chief) of his tribe after his father. Nawab Akbar Bugti had three wives and thirteen children (6 sons and 7 daughters) altogether. From his first wife: Nawab Saleem Bugti, Talal, Rehan and Salal Bugti. All four of these sons have died. Nawabzada Salal Bugti was murdered in a shootout in Quetta by the rival Bugti Kalpar sub clan in June 1996. From Nawab Akbar Bugti's second wife: Jamil Bugti. And from Nawab Akbar Bugti's third wife: Shahzwar Bugti. Jamil Bugti and Shahzwar Bugti are the surviving sons of Nawab Akbar Bugti. Akbar Bugti had five daughters from his first wife: Durr-e-Shahwar (deceased), Nilofer, Nazli (deceased), Durdana and Dreen. And two from his second wife: Shahnaz Marri (wife of Nawab Khair Bux Marri's relative, Humayun Marri) and Farah Naz Bugti (wife of Bivragh Bugti, the son of Nawabzada Ahmad Nawaz Bugti who was the brother of Nawab Akbar Bugti), who are the sisters of Jamil Bugti. The Bugti grandchildren consist of Nawab Mohammad Mir Aali Bugti (the current Nawab of Bugti Tribe), Shaheed Nawabzada Mohammad Mir Zong Bugti, Shaheed Nawabzada Mohammad Mir Taleh Bugti, Nawabzada Mohammad Mir Zamran Bugti Chairman of P.J.W.P and Nawabzada Mohammad Mir Kohmir Bugti Vice Chairman of P.J.W.P (sons of Late Nawab Saleem Akbar Khan Bugti), Mir Brahamdagh (son of Rehan Bugti), Mir Shahzain President of J.W.P, Mir Gohram and Mir Chakar (sons of Talal Bugti).

Insurgency in Balochistan

Increase in tensions in 2005

In 2005, Bugti presented a 15-point agenda to the Pakistan government. Their stated demands included greater control of the province's resources and a moratorium on the construction of military bases. It also included a near 50% share of all the money used in the development of the province. In the meantime, attacks against the Pakistan Army also increased in the area, including a 2005 attack on a helicopter, in which the head of Pakistan's

Frontier Corps The Frontier Corps ( ur, , reporting name: FC), are a group of paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's borders with Afghanist ...

and his deputy were injured. In March 2006, a crowded bus carrying a wedding party hit an anti-tank mine in Dera Bugti. The blast resulted in the death of 28 people, mostly women and children, and injured 7 others. Most of the victims belonged to Masoori Bugti tribe which had revolted against Akbar Bugti's rule. Akbar Bugti claimed responsibility for the attack on the bus. Abdul Samad Lasi, a district chief, said that militants under the command of Akbar Bugti had planted hundreds of mines on dirt roads in various parts of Dera Bugti. The aim of planting such mines was to target the security forces in the area. Furthermore, he added that the Pakistani security forces had neutralized many of these landmines planted in the area.

Death

On 26 August 2006, Akbar Bugti was killed after the collapse of the cave in which he was hiding.

Inter-Services Public Relations The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) ( ur, ), is the media and PR wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It broadcasts and coordinates military news and information to the country's civilian media and the civic society. The ISPR directo ...

(ISPR) Director General, during a press conference, gave details regarding the death of Akbar Bugti. The Director General said that the soldiers were rushed to the nine-foot-wide mouth of the L-shape cave after one of the two guides hired to help locate Nawab Akbar Bugti in the Kohlu area had signaled that 'he was inside' the cave. The guides belonged to Bugti tribe. The Director General stated that the soldiers had gone into the cave "to negotiate with Akbar Bugti". The soldiers were ordered to apprehend Akbar Bugti, and not harm or kill him. Once the soldiers had entered the cave, a "blast of undetermined origin" took place. The blast brought down the cave, killing all occupants in the process. The Director General said that no fighting or use of explosives preceded the "mysterious" blast which resulted in its collapse. Moreover, Director General also said that around 100 million Rupees and $96,000 cash, two satellite phones, documents, eight AK-47 rifles and some rockets were found in the rubble of the cave. Similarly, some analysts also believe that no official orders were given to kill Akbar Bugti. As Akbar Bugti was politically isolated because of the decision of Bugti tribesmen during a

Jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethni ...

Dera Bugti Dera Bugti ( Balochi and Urdu: ) is a district within the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was established as a separate district in 1983. Administration The district is administratively subdivided into Four sub-divisions, these are: * Pirko ...

. The Jirga of Bugti tribesmen had declared an end to the Sardari (feudal) system and proclaimed that Akbar Bugti was no longer their leader. Hence, it was not logical to launch a direct military operation to kill the ailing old Akbar Bugti. However, according to some news reports, the cave collapsed because of the crossfire between the soldiers and the militants. As a result, 21 soldiers and 60 militants along with Akbar Bugti were killed. Later on, Pakistan military took media teams to the cave where Akbar Bugti was killed. Pakistan army engineers cleared the rubble of the cave to retrieve the bodies of Akbar Bugti and others who were killed inside the cave. On 31 August 2006, the body of Akbar Bugti was found crushed under a boulder. He was identified through the glasses and Rolex wristwatch which was used by Akbar Bugti. His glasses, walking stick and Rolex wristwatch was presented to the journalists.

Brahamdagh Bugti's claims

The Chairman of the Baloch Youth Council (London), Waja Mir Hazar Khan Baloch, said that

Balach Marri Balach Marri ( ur, مير بالاچ مری) was the leader of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a terrorist organisation fighting to separate the Balochistan province from Pakistan. The BLA Listed as a Terrorist organization by Pakistan, UK ...

was behind the murder of Akbar Bugti. Hazar Khan said that he heard this accusation from

Brahamdagh Bugti Brahamdagh Khan Bugti or Brahumdagh Khan Bugti ( ur, براہمدغ خان بگٹی) is the founder and leader of the Political Organisation Baloch Republican Party, a Baloch nationalist group which broke away from his uncle Talal Akbar Bugti's ...

and that Brahamdagh Bugti told him that the cave in which Akbar Bugti was hiding in, came down due to blast by remote control and Balach Marri was standing just outside the cave at that time. Balach Marri was the head of

Baloch Liberation Army The Balochistan Liberation Army ( bal, بلۏچستان آجوییء لشکر; abbreviated BLA), also known as the Baloch Liberation Army, is a Baloch ethnonationalist militant organization based in Afghanistan. The BLA's first recorded activi ...

(BLA) at that time.

Aftermath

On 1 September 2006 Bugti was buried in

, with his coffin sealed, next to the graves of his son and brother. His family, who wanted a public funeral in

, did not attend the burial. Some of family members of Akber Bugti and people from Bugti tribe think that the dead-body buried in

was not that of Akber Bugti., url=http://nation.com.pk/national/23-Dec-2015/plea-filed-in-atc-seeking-exhumation-of-akbar-bugti-s-grave On 26 September 2010 Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi, a senior Pakistan federal minister, criticized and accused the army of killing Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti as well as the Pakistani politician,

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

. He later resigned when his political party summoned him and asked him to explain his comments.

Investigation and prosecution

On 11 July 2012, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in Sibi, Balochistan, issued arrest warrants for the former military ruler,

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

and several other high-ranking officials who were accused of involvement in the killing of Akbar Bugti. The other officials included the former Prime Minister

Shaukat Aziz Shaukat Aziz ( ur, ; born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani former banker and financier who served as 17th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007, as well as the finance minister of Pakistan from 6 November 1999 to 15 ...

, former Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, former Governor of Balochistan

Owais Ahmed Ghani Owais Ahmed Ghani ( Urdu: ), a mechanical engineer by profession, is the former governor of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, who previously governed southwestern province of Balochistan for four and a half years. He became activ ...

, former Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Mohammad Yousaf, former Provincial Home Minister Shoaib Nosherwani, and former Deputy Commissioner Abdul Samad Lasi. All these were named suspects in the F.I.R. registered by police regarding the killing of Bugti in the military operation. Musharraf was formally arrested by a police team from Balochistan on 13 June 2013, however was later granted bail due to his poor health and ultimately due to non-provision of evidence.

References

Notes

''Dawn'' – Dera Bugti jirga ‘ends Sardari system’

''Daily Times'' – Akbar Bugti killed in army operation

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070929133633/http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10064652.html ''Gulf News'' – Bugti's killing will haunt Musharraf

External links

Interview by Qurat ul ain Siddiqui
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bugti, Akbar 1927 births 2006 deaths Baloch politicians Baloch nationalists Nawabs of Balochistan, Pakistan Aitchison College alumni Pakistani warlords Governors of Balochistan, Pakistan Chief Ministers of Balochistan, Pakistan Leaders of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan People of the insurgency in Balochistan Pakistani republicans People from Barkhan District People from Dera Bugti District Pakistan Movement activists from Balochistan Balochistan MPAs 1988–1990

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

Princely rulers of Pakistan Nawabs of Pakistan