Pakistan's gas fields blaze as rape sparks threat of civil war

[bemildred]

Good reporting. Let's hear it for the husband. :toast:

President Pervez Musharraf sent an uncompromising response: tanks, helicopters and an extra 4,500 soldiers to guard the installation. If the tribesmen failed to stop shooting, he warned on television, "they will not know what hit them".

But the guerrilla attacks have escalated, propelling a long-ignored province into the headlines and threatening civil war. Every day sees a new attack on military and government targets across the province. Insurgents have blown up railway tracks, toppled pylons and fired rockets into army camps. Sui supplies 45% of Pakistan's gas, so supplies to Karachi, Lahore and other cities have been cut.

The fighting is motivated by more than the rape. For decades the Baluch tribes have demanded a greater share of profits from their resource-rich but cash-poor province. The Islamabad government ignored them, and a year ago Baluch nationalists started bombing police stations, courthouses and checkpoints.

Since the violence sparked by the rape, their demands are being taken more seriously. President Musharraf's belligerence has given way to softer political promises. Envoys have been dispatched, and there is talk of increased profit-sharing and greater autonomy. But tension remains high.

Guardian UK

[varun]

1. Pakistanis have used military force against Baluchis

in the past. They have quashed similar rebellion in the past using massive military power. This time, however, the unrest seems to be growing, because Baluchis control the gas supplies to the main cities of Pakistan.

Dictators like Musharraf can succeed in suppressing this rebellion, but this will not be a permanent solution.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

2. I agree, let's hear it for the husband!

"But her husband, a pipeline engineer, says he is standing by his wife."

:toast: Here's to you Mr. Shazia

[Merope215]

3. I agree

He sounds like a very decent man:

'Weeks ago Dr Shazia's husband's grandfather said the rape had rendered her kari - a disgrace to the family honour - and so she must be divorced, and preferably killed. Such "honour killings" remain common in rural Pakistan.

But her husband, a pipeline engineer, says he is standing by his wife. His grandfather, he said, "is just a bad man, and this has made my wife even more scared. She cannot sleep at night, so I sit by her bed to take care of her."'

What a sad and strange situation.

[bemildred]

4. Notice the claim that Iran and India are arming the Baluchis?

Compare that with the claim that the US and Pakistan are running
SF in Iran to prepare for an attack on Iran's nukes.

If I was Iran, I would start arming the Baluchis just becuase of
all the threats being made.