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Balochistan: Kalpars, Masuris and the Intra Bugti Clashes in Dera Bugti

Recent weeks have witnessed the return of the Kalpar sub-tribe of the Bugtis and armed clashes between the Bugtis and the Kalpars. The military regime's support for the returning Kalpars and the intra tribal armed clashes add a new component to the Bugti-government confrontation.

The Bugti-Kalpar feud has intensified since 1992. While such intra-tribal clashes are part of Baloch tribal history, the two tribes had co-existed in the past; two killings in 1992 changed that situation forever. Amir Hamza, son of Kalpar leader Khan Mohammad Kalpar, was allegedly killed by Akbar Bugti in May 1992 in Dera Bugti during a local bodies' election. Accepted as their leader by all Bugti tribes, Akbar Bugti does not brook any opposition and runs the political and tribal affairs of the region like a monarch complete with imprisonments and punishments. Even today there are some Kalpars 'imprisoned' by Bugti. Prior his killing Amir Hamza was attempting to forge an alliance between the Kalpars and Masuris (another Bugti sub tribe), of which Akbar Bugti did not approve. The Kalpars retaliated in June 1992 by killing Salal Bugti, Akbar Bugti's son.

Ever since, Akbar Bugti's primary goal has been to remove the Kalpars and Masuris from the region or physically eliminate them. Besides these personal and political factors, the Kalpars claim that the Sui gas fields are located in their area, hence they should be the primary beneficiaries of its royalties, which has further infuriated Akbar Bugti. Jalal Khan, nephew of Amir Hamza, recently claimed that Sui belongs to the Kalpars; hence its royalty is their right. According to reports, Akbar Bugti receives 120 million rupees annually as royalty in addition to the two million he is paid monthly for providing security to the Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) installations and pipe lines. Bugti claims that the royalty needs to be revised and accuses the government for not settling its dues. It would be interesting to see how this argument proceeds if the claims of the other tribes, that the royalty should go to Balochistan and not just the Bugtis, are accepted. Akbar Bugti rejects such arguments on the premise that Sui is in Bugti land; the Kalpars are using the same argument, that the PPL is in Kalpar land, hence the royalty should go to this sub clan.

The federal government has exploited these divisions, depending on the equations between Akbar Bugti and Islamabad. Since January 2006, the federal government has rehabilitated the Kalpars in the Dera Bugti and Sui areas to minimize Akbar Bugti's influence. Besides, there is an effort to project that the situation in Dera Bugti is returning to normalcy with the displaced willing to return. The resettled Kalpars had recently led a procession in Sui supporting Musharraf's policies.

The Bugtis are against the Kalpars' return and have been attacking them ever since the first convoy brought them back. The Bugtis are also instigating those Kalpars who support Akbar Bugti against the returnees. In the first week of June two groups of Kalpars attacked each other with missiles, rockets and machine guns, killing three and injuring many. The pro-Bugti Kalpars do want to antagonize Akbar Bugti for two reasons - he is powerful and his hold over the region is considerable. Besides, they believe the military government is only using the Kalpars to undermine the Bugtis; if Bugti and the regime reach an understanding, the first casualty would be the Kalpars. Thus for the Kalpars, antagonizing Bugti to oblige an unreliable Islamabad makes little sense.

Besides the intra-tribal feud, the returnees face problems over issues of settlement and security. Most of Kalpar land has been occupied by the Bugtis and reclaiming it will not be easy. In May 2006, when a Naib Tehsildar from Sui went to investigate illegal occupation of land by the Bugtis, he was kidnapped and later killed. Providing economic and physical security for the Kalpars will be difficult, especially when the government has to secure its own installations and PPL personnel.

Also, it is uncertain whether Islamabad will continue to support returnees and their leaders. This is not the first time the Kalpars are returning after 1993. Since the Kalpars were closer to the PPP, when Benazir Bhutto formed the government after the 1993 elections, the government resettled them in Sui. When Nawaz Sharif became the Prime Minister in 1997, the Kalpars were forced to leave again. According to the Kalpar chief, Khan Mohammad Kalpar, Sharif removed the Kalpars in 1997 to gain Bugti's support for the Shariat bill.

Finally, there are reports of differences between Islamabad and the pro-government Kalpar leadership. It was reported that government agencies are undermining Khan Mohammad Kalpar's influence and projecting his grandson Jalal Khan Kalpar. It is ironic that the Kalpars are victims as well as pawns of the Bugtis and the federal government.