10/10/2010
Baloch leader announces Rs.1 bn to kill Musharraf
Islamabad: Former president Pervez Musharraf has undermined Pakistan's sovereignty, a Baloch nationalist leader has said, offering Rs.1 billion ($1.1 million) to anyone who kills the former army chief.
Talal Bugti, president of Jamhoori Watan Party, made the announcement in Quetta in the presence of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Sardar Yaqoob Nasir on Saturday, the Daily Times reported.
Talal blamed Musharraf for the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a popular Baloch leader who was killed in August 2006 when the military conducted an anti-insurgency operation. Talal claimed that a former brigadier who served during Musharraf's regime was ready to testify against the junta in the killing of Nawab Bugti.
He said Musharraf posed a security threat and had undermined the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan. "If he was really brave, he should return to Pakistan immediately and face the criminal charges against him."
Musharraf, who seized power in 1999, ruled Pakistan for nine years. He has lived in exile after stepping down in 2008. Musharraf has announced the launch of his party All Pakistan Muslim League to fight the 2013 general election in his country.
Earlier, Musharraf had admitted that Pakistan had trained underground militant groups to fight in Kashmir, the first such admission by a top leader of the country. Musharraf's candid remarks came days after he announced his return to active politics from London where he has been living in self-imposed exile.
"They (underground militant groups to fight against India in Kashmir) were indeed formed," Musharraf told German magazine Der Spiegel in an interview.
Asked why did Pakistan train militant underground groups to fight India in Kashmir, the former President had said Nawaz Sharif's apathy to the Kashmir issue was one of the reasons, so was the fact that the world had turned a blind eye to the dispute.
"Yes, it is the right of any country to promote its own interests... when India is not prepared to discuss Kashmir at the United Nations and is not prepared to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner," Musharraf claimed. "The (Nawaz Sharif) government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir," he said.
Musharraf slammed the international community, particularly the West, for persistently ignoring the Kashmir issue, and for singling out Pakistan for all blames. "The West was ignoring the resolution of the Kashmir issue, which is the core issue of Pakistan. We expected the West -- especially the United States and important countries like Germany -- to resolve the Kashmir issue. Has Germany done that?" the former Pakistan military ruler asked.
Source: IANS
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