Pakistan troops conduct raids against the Marri tribesmen in south-western Baluchistan

Quetta, 19 Dec. (AKI/DAWN) - Over 2,000 Pakistani paramilitary troops have conducted a raid against the Marri tribesmen in south-western Baluchistan province for their alleged involvement in rocket attacks, bomb explosions and other subversive activities in different areas of the Kohlu district, sources said. Last week rockets were fired as Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf was visiting a town in the area and a day later a commander of the Frontier Corps was injured when shots were fired at his helicopter as he examined the area where the attack had occurred.

The Pakistan Army spokesman Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan said it was a targeted raid on ‘miscreants’, who had fired rockets in Kohlu during President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to Baluchistan on December 14. He confirmed the use of helicopter gunships in the action which was carried out on Sunday. Tribesmen, however, claimed that jet fighters were also involved.

The sources said three camps had been destroyed and helicopter gunships were targeting other camps in the Kahan, Fazilchal and Tali areas. They added that arms and ammunition were seized from the destroyed camps.

There have been reports of casualties on both sides. Marri tribesmen said some 40 civilians had been killed, but official sources did not confirm the figure.

Baluchistan, a province that is rich in reserves of natural gas, has been rocked by violence for most of this year. Tribal groups in the province have been demanding more political autonomy and a greater share of the area's resources.

A representative of the Marri tribesman, Nawabzada Balach Marri told reporters by phone that helicopter gunships were targeting innocent Marri nomads, leaving many of them dead. He said the rulers wanted to crush the Baluch nation but they would not succeed and warned that the state would face consequences as the Baluch people would not bow before rulers and would not allow them to take control of their resources.

In an interview with the Pakistani daily Dawn, interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said the government had taken action against the people responsible for the violence in the area. He said the action should not be called an operation and added that these elements were taking the law in their hands by firing rockets and missiles.