Iran will have an increasing interest in the stability of the Sub
Continent, as it could prove to be the only viable tranist of its oil
exports after looming nuclear arms programs related sanctions are put
in place.
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Nine dead as militia, security forces clash in southwest Pakistan
17:37 2006-01-22
Tribal militia and Pakistani security forces exchanged rocket and
mortar fire in southwestern Pakistan, an official said Sunday, leaving
nine civilians dead and four soldiers wounded.
About 500 rockets were fired in late Saturday's clash in Dera Bugti, a
restive tribal town southeast of the provincial capital of Quetta in
Baluchistan, local government administrator Abdul Samad Lasi said.
Rebels attacked an army base, a telephone exchange and government
offices, Lasi added.
The tribesmen are blamed for carrying out the attacks to press for more
compensation for resources extracted in the sparsely populated region.
They also oppose government plans to build new military garrisons. The
government said it increased the number of troops in the area to
protect gas fields.
"The situation is very tense," Lasi said Sunday.
The rocket attack on the base housing the Frontier Corps _ responsible
for security in the area _ damaged several buildings. The rebel assault
also extended to several government buildings and a telephone exchange,
knocking out Dera Bugti's communications link, Lasi said.
It is not immediately clear how many rebels were involved in the
attack.
"The Frontier Corps retaliated. The terrorists must have suffered
casualties, but I do not have any details," Lasi said by satellite
phone.
But a spokesman for a local tribal leader said nine civilians,
including women and children were killed, while 14 others were injured.
"The Frontier Corps carried out rocket and mortar shelling into the
town without any provocation, destroying two dozen homes and a Hindu
temple," spokesman Agha Shahid Bugti said.
Meanwhile, a human rights group said that security forces in
Baluchistan have allegedly been responsible for "some" summary
executions, deaths among civilians and "indiscriminate bombings" on
civilian populations.
"There were alarming accounts of summary executions, some allegedly
carried out by the paramilitary forces," the independently run Human
Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a report.
"HRCP received credible evidence that showed such killings had indeed
taken place," said the report that was issued in the capital Islamabad
by its chairperson, Asma Jehangir.
"HRCP expressed grave concern over the fact that militants had placed
land mines along roads, and appealed to all sides in the conflict to
give up violence in favor of a negotiated resolution to the complex
issues of the province," said the report, compiled by group members who
visited Baluchistan, including Jehangir.
A Baluchistan government spokesman dismissed the report as "one-sided"
and denied allegations troops were involved in executions or firing on
civilians.
"Armed forces are deployed in the area for the security of oil and gas
installations," said Abdur Raziq Bugti, AP reported.
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