India responsible for unrest in Balochistan: Musharraf

LONDON - The Pakistani government has “solid evidence” of India’s involvement in creating unrest in Balochistan province, former president Pervez Musharraf has said.

India and Afghanistan were involved in creating unrest in Balochistan, and “solid evidence of their involvement” has been shared with everyone, including Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Musharraf said in an interview in London to Pakistan’s Express 24/7 television channel.

He said the Aug 26, 2006 military operation against 79-year-old tribal leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in Balochistan was justified as he had been creating trouble in the province.

“There is a person who is firing 500 rockets on Sui. There is a person who has occupied the hill features and is firing rockets and weapons on the Frontier Corps. They are blowing up the gas pipeline, the electric pylon, the railway line,” he said.

He said Bugti’s grandson, Bramdagh Bugti, is received by agents from Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) whenever he visits India.

“I know that they finance him, they give him weapons to create trouble and stab us in the back in Balochistan.”

Speaking about the ongoing probe into the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he said the three people named by her in her letter before she was assassinated were not behind the killing.

“I knew about Pervaiz Elahi and Ejaz Shah, they were very responsible people and I know they wouldn’t be planning to kill her, I mean, it would be utterly stupid of them to do that. Hamid Gul is a man who always uses his ex-intelligence connections a lot and I know that he hated her. But I don’t know whether he was planning an assassination,” Musharraf said.