The son of a Baloch nationalist leader who was killed during Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s rule has offered a bounty of Rs 1 billion and 100 acres of land to any person who beheads the former dictator.
The offer was made by Talal Akbar Bugti, the son of late leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and chief of the Jamhoori Watan Party, in the North West Frontier Province town of Quetta on Saturday.
Nawab Bugti was killed in a cave, about 150 miles east of Quetta in August 2006. Musharraf, on the other hand, now lives in self-exile in Britain and is reported to be making a comeback to electoral politics.
"I give the status of wajib-ul-qatl (fit to be killed) to Musharraf. As you are aware, he ended a democratic government elected with a large mandate in 1999 and he deserves the death sentence according to Article 6 (of the constitution which relates to high treason). Therefore, he is wajib-ul-qatl," Talal Bugti said at a press conference. "(Musharraf) is also wajib-ul-qatl for killing innocent people in Balochistan."
Musharraf was also fit to be killed as he had committed many "unforgivable" crimes, including the killing of innocent people during the 2007 Lal Masjid operation, he said.
The Baloch leader said that Musharraf had undermined the country’s sovereignty and if he was really brave, then he must return to Pakistan and face the courts.
Bugti said a former intelligence officer during Musharraf's regime, Brig (retired) Masood Malik, had agreed to turn approver against the former military ruler so that charges of genocide and abduction of innocent people in Balochistan could be framed against him.
Akbar Khan Bugti was the head of the Bugti tribe of Baloch and had served as Minister of State for Interior and Governor of Balochistan province. After an armed struggle ensued in 2004, Bugti became a popular leader and went underground in 2005. On August 26, 2006, after several unsuccessful attempts on his life, he was killed in his cave in Kohly, 150 miles east of Quetta. Musharraf had termed his death a victory for Pakistanis and congratulated the secret service chief who carried out this operation.
