More violence in Balochistan

Paramilitary forces on Monday continued to engage militiamen of the Bugti tribe in the southwestern town of Dera Bugti in Pakistan's remote Balochistan province, following a fierce gun battle four days earlier that left eight security personnel and 21 tribesmen dead, according to the interior ministry. At least 34 people were injured in the incident. "Political consultations to resolve the crisis have accelerated at both central and provincial levels. However, the situation in Dera Bugti is still tense. Paramilitary forces and Bugti militia are standing face-to face in their respective pickets," Raziq Bugti, the spokesman of the provincial government of Balochistan told IRIN from the provincial capital, Quetta. Balochistan is the largest but least developed of Pakistan's four provinces, covering about 44 percent of the country's total land area. The impoverished province is home to Pakistan's main oil and gas resources but has been gripped by violence and lawlessness since the middle of January when separatist tribesmen attacked key gas installations at Sui located in the heart of the Bugti tribal area, some 320 km southeast of Quetta. The tribesmen are opposed to Islamabad's policy of exploiting the natural wealth of the region. They say none of the income from energy is ploughed back into local development. The fresh round of clashes began when a convoy of paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers was attacked by tribesmen while leaving the district headquarters of Dera Bugti for Sui. The fierce battle left eight FC personnel dead and 24 injured. At least 15 women and children were reported killed in the crossfire, that included rockets landing in nearby settlements. Some local people and employees of government institutions have moved out of the area following the armed conflict and escalating tension. Meanwhile, iinvestigations are continuing into the deadly attack on Saturday at a religious shrine in the district of Jhal Magsi, some 160 km from the scene of Thursday's battle between tribesmen and paramilitary forces. More than 35 people were killed in the blast, where about 20,000 people from nearby towns and villages had gathered to celebrate an annual Sufi festival at the shrine. Provincial police authorities suspect the involvement of militant tribesmen in the attack. "Investigations are still going on. So far, we are without any definite clue as to who carried out the blast, whether it was a time-bomb device or a suicide attack," Bugti said. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expressed outrage after the bomb ripped through a crowd of devotees celebrating the anniversary of the death of a 19th-century Sufi Muslim saint in the remote town of Fatahpur.