In Balochistan, two brothers burying the hatchet is called BLA, UBA unity
My late mother, who I fondly call "Duchess of Rangoon," for winning two best garden contests in Rangoon, former capital of Burma, had a strange way of putting things. Whenever I had a fight with a brother she would reprimand me by saying, "You both came out from the same hole." What she meant was one brother should not think of himself as superior to another or be unkind to the other.
These thoughts come to my mind on news that two Baloch brothers, both sons of the late Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, Godfather of Baloch militancy, have called truce after bitter fighting over muddee (money) and control of the Marri fiefdom spanning 3,200 square miles for nearly a decade. The two sons of Nawab Marri are former Balochistan government minister Hyrbyair Marri and his younger sibling Mehran Marri.
Exactly on the first anniversary of the nawab, who publicly admitted addiction to the blood sport of cock fighting was his sickness, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) attacked the United Baluch Army (UBA) camp June 14, 2015. As many as 20 trained guerrillas or Sarmachars were killed, web site of the Stanford University that tracks militant outfits reports. This was a huge number because though thousands of Baloch have been killed indiscriminately by the Pakistan army since 2005, the number of Sarmachar casualties since then is less than 400.
Earlier, Harvard-educated Baloch journalist Malik Siraj Akbar reported an incident where UBA said the BLA had killed one of it its commanders, Ali Sher, and detained four of its ‘freedom fighters.’ In his write-up, titled "End of Pakistan's Baloch insurgency" Akbar said, "Frustration, suspicion, infighting and division are the common features of the end of a guerrilla fight. Perhaps that time has come in Balochistan." Though Akbar's prediction the insurgency was over proved to be incorrect, the fratricide did take a heavy toll of innocent lives.
Pakistan accuses Hyrbyair Marri of heading the BLA or Balochistan Liberation Army and Mehran Marri of heading the UBA or United Balochistan Army. London seemed to have bought the Pakistan story when it arrested Hrybyair Marri and his aide Faiz Baluch 10 years ago. In November, the Swiss also bought the Pakistan story that he heads the UBA when they arrested and deported Mehran Marri at Zurich Airport. They clamped a lifetime ban on his Swiss entry too.
The two stylish brothers, known for their penchant for designer clothing and high life, deny running a militant organization.
The real guy who was running the BLA in Baloch battlefields is Aslam Baloch, a former driver of Hyrbyair Marri when he was a government minister in Balochistan. Aslam Baloch visited India in April last year, annoying Hyrbyair Marri as the London-based former minister suspected his former chauffeur is cutting a deal with Delhi on his own. Likewise the main brain behind the UBA is Abdul Nabi Bangulzai, a veteran freedom fighter who was once the chairman of the Baloch Students Organization -Awami.
Since Mehran Marri was his late dad's darling son, Nawab Marri sided with him despite the corruption charge against him by his elder brother. Marri , who was grooming Hybyair Marri as his political successor, got mad him for fighting his younger brother and called him a "warlord."
When Hyrbyair Marri was arrested in London on a charge of terrorism, the alleged BLA funds that were in his hands went into the hands of his younger brother. The two brothers say they want freedom while their two elders brothers Nawabzada Jangyz Marri and Nawabzada Gazzain Marri, a former home minister, are firmly ensconced in the Pakistani power set-up.
Political immaturity of the Baloch freedom movement was quite discernible. The pro-independence Balochistan Point described peace agreement between the two estranged brothers as "Warring armed organisations BLA and UBA call truce." The online newspaper said, "According to details received by The Balochistan Post (TBP), BLA and UBA have decided to end the 4 year long conflict that had resulted in material and life losses to both the organisations. The UBA was created after rifts within the leadership of BLA had worsened in 2011."
"In a joint statement released yesterday Mureed Baloch of UBA and Jeehand Baloch of BLA said that the agreement for peace has been made possible after continuous efforts of senior leadership of both organisations."
But there are pressing questions that need to be answered by the two high-taste brothers. The first is whether the Balochistan militancy is part of a national struggle where there should be collective accountability aor a family enterprise? It looks more like a family enterprise as after Hyrbyair Marri was arrested the funds went into the hands of his younger brother. Hyrbyair Marri not only accuses his brother of misappropriating the funds but also not dispatching them to guerrillas in need, just endgangering their morale.
The second most important question is why did they let scores of Baloch freedom fighters die over some silly cash and muddee at a time when both were under attack of the Pakistan army.
Thirdly, its a good thing the brothers may finally kiss each other's cheeks after 10 years of enmity but who will bring back to life the 22 Pashtuns who were massacred by the UBA execution style in Mastung, or who will bring back to life Rehamdil Marri, who refused to side with UBA or BLA in their muddee war but was abducted and tortured to death and his body left inside a cave by the BLA? Or the
Lastly, the unknown donor -- without any proof Islamabad accuses Delhi of spawning and nurturing militancy-- need to answer to their public whether they undertake due diligence to see if a family run enterprise is posing as a militant outfit or not. Secondly, the donor needs to answer which militant organization in the world has run successfully when their commanders in chief were thousands of miles away from the battle scene, leading lavish lives.
(Views expressed in this article belongs to the writer and does not represent the veiw of any political or non-political organization)
These thoughts come to my mind on news that two Baloch brothers, both sons of the late Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, Godfather of Baloch militancy, have called truce after bitter fighting over muddee (money) and control of the Marri fiefdom spanning 3,200 square miles for nearly a decade. The two sons of Nawab Marri are former Balochistan government minister Hyrbyair Marri and his younger sibling Mehran Marri.
Exactly on the first anniversary of the nawab, who publicly admitted addiction to the blood sport of cock fighting was his sickness, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) attacked the United Baluch Army (UBA) camp June 14, 2015. As many as 20 trained guerrillas or Sarmachars were killed, web site of the Stanford University that tracks militant outfits reports. This was a huge number because though thousands of Baloch have been killed indiscriminately by the Pakistan army since 2005, the number of Sarmachar casualties since then is less than 400.
Earlier, Harvard-educated Baloch journalist Malik Siraj Akbar reported an incident where UBA said the BLA had killed one of it its commanders, Ali Sher, and detained four of its ‘freedom fighters.’ In his write-up, titled "End of Pakistan's Baloch insurgency" Akbar said, "Frustration, suspicion, infighting and division are the common features of the end of a guerrilla fight. Perhaps that time has come in Balochistan." Though Akbar's prediction the insurgency was over proved to be incorrect, the fratricide did take a heavy toll of innocent lives.
Pakistan accuses Hyrbyair Marri of heading the BLA or Balochistan Liberation Army and Mehran Marri of heading the UBA or United Balochistan Army. London seemed to have bought the Pakistan story when it arrested Hrybyair Marri and his aide Faiz Baluch 10 years ago. In November, the Swiss also bought the Pakistan story that he heads the UBA when they arrested and deported Mehran Marri at Zurich Airport. They clamped a lifetime ban on his Swiss entry too.
The two stylish brothers, known for their penchant for designer clothing and high life, deny running a militant organization.
The real guy who was running the BLA in Baloch battlefields is Aslam Baloch, a former driver of Hyrbyair Marri when he was a government minister in Balochistan. Aslam Baloch visited India in April last year, annoying Hyrbyair Marri as the London-based former minister suspected his former chauffeur is cutting a deal with Delhi on his own. Likewise the main brain behind the UBA is Abdul Nabi Bangulzai, a veteran freedom fighter who was once the chairman of the Baloch Students Organization -Awami.
Since Mehran Marri was his late dad's darling son, Nawab Marri sided with him despite the corruption charge against him by his elder brother. Marri , who was grooming Hybyair Marri as his political successor, got mad him for fighting his younger brother and called him a "warlord."
When Hyrbyair Marri was arrested in London on a charge of terrorism, the alleged BLA funds that were in his hands went into the hands of his younger brother. The two brothers say they want freedom while their two elders brothers Nawabzada Jangyz Marri and Nawabzada Gazzain Marri, a former home minister, are firmly ensconced in the Pakistani power set-up.
Political immaturity of the Baloch freedom movement was quite discernible. The pro-independence Balochistan Point described peace agreement between the two estranged brothers as "Warring armed organisations BLA and UBA call truce." The online newspaper said, "According to details received by The Balochistan Post (TBP), BLA and UBA have decided to end the 4 year long conflict that had resulted in material and life losses to both the organisations. The UBA was created after rifts within the leadership of BLA had worsened in 2011."
"In a joint statement released yesterday Mureed Baloch of UBA and Jeehand Baloch of BLA said that the agreement for peace has been made possible after continuous efforts of senior leadership of both organisations."
But there are pressing questions that need to be answered by the two high-taste brothers. The first is whether the Balochistan militancy is part of a national struggle where there should be collective accountability aor a family enterprise? It looks more like a family enterprise as after Hyrbyair Marri was arrested the funds went into the hands of his younger brother. Hyrbyair Marri not only accuses his brother of misappropriating the funds but also not dispatching them to guerrillas in need, just endgangering their morale.
The second most important question is why did they let scores of Baloch freedom fighters die over some silly cash and muddee at a time when both were under attack of the Pakistan army.
Thirdly, its a good thing the brothers may finally kiss each other's cheeks after 10 years of enmity but who will bring back to life the 22 Pashtuns who were massacred by the UBA execution style in Mastung, or who will bring back to life Rehamdil Marri, who refused to side with UBA or BLA in their muddee war but was abducted and tortured to death and his body left inside a cave by the BLA? Or the
Lastly, the unknown donor -- without any proof Islamabad accuses Delhi of spawning and nurturing militancy-- need to answer to their public whether they undertake due diligence to see if a family run enterprise is posing as a militant outfit or not. Secondly, the donor needs to answer which militant organization in the world has run successfully when their commanders in chief were thousands of miles away from the battle scene, leading lavish lives.
(Views expressed in this article belongs to the writer and does not represent the veiw of any political or non-political organization)
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