Bugti's killing to radicalise anti-Pakistan insurgency

The killing of a veteran Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti is a blunder that will likely to radicalise the insurgency in Balochistan, analysts said on Monday. Nawab Akbar Bugti, who had been leading a violent struggle against the central government over natural resources, was killed in a military strike on Saturday.
The killing sparked deadly rioting in Balochistan over the weekend, and analysts warned there could be more trouble on the horizon. "It's a blunder and a disaster. It creates more problems than it solves," political analyst Talat Masood told AFP.
"His death has turned him into a martyr and people will idolise him. Youths particularly may derive inspiration from him and turn rebellious," Masood, who is a retired military general, said. "It will fuel Baloch nationalism and aggravate it." The general said that there was no military solution to the problems of resource-rich Balochistan, where a rebellion has simmered over the past two years.
"You have to address it politically and through the development of the Baloch people and integrate them into the national mainstream," he said. Others analysts said any relief felt by President Pervez Musharraf over Bugti's elimination would likely be short-lived.
"In the long run it is going to create more problems for President Musharraf," political analyst and a former professor of political science Hassan Askari told AFP. "His (Musharraf's) problems have increased with this incident. There are already troubles with India and problems in Waziristan," Askari said.
Pakistan has fought three wars with nuclear-armed rival India and their two-year peace process is at stand-still, while 80,000 Pakistani troops are deployed in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to combat pro-Taliban and al Qaeda militants.
Askari said the already alienated people of Balochistan could try to assert themselves and further radicalise the insurgency.
"One major consequence of Bugti's killing may be extremist and nationalist forces becoming very strong. They are already alienated as government has written them off. They will assert themselves," Askari said.
The Daily Times in its editorial said "Bugti's killing is the biggest blunder since Bhutto's execution". "Balochistan will be ready to ignite at any time in the future. A pall of gloom has descended over Pakistan that will not lift in a hurry. "This is the biggest blunder committed by the military since the execution of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto," it said.