Pakistan expediting process to bring back Brahamdagh Bugti
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have fast tracked the process of obtaining Interpol red warrants against self-exiled Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti, who resides in Switzerland, days after he welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on Balochistan.
But the chances of the return of Bugti seem dim, say experts, as there are fears that he will not be afforded a fair trial if extradited.
Balochistan province’s police department contacted the federal interior ministry for acquiring the required identification documents of Bugti in order to complete the “Red Notice” application requirements for Interpol. After completing the required paperwork, Pakistan would formally contact Interpol for issuing a Red Notice against Bugti for his extradition to Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported.
“My understanding is that the move by Pakistan comes in response to the references on Balochistan made by the Indian Prime Minister,” analyst Akbar Zaidi said.
According to preliminary identification details submitted by Balochistan police, the 33-year-old chief of the banned Baloch Republican Party (BRP) is known in his close circles as “Sahib”. Bugti had appreciated Modi’s recent remarks on rights violations in Balochistan that Islamabad had officially denounced, describing it as an “intervention in Pakistan’s internal affairs”. This statement by Bugti angered the Pakistan Army, which is conducting an unannounced operation against separatist militants in the province.
The Balochistan government has been tasked with completing the requirements for the Red Notice application for its submission to Interpol. According to Balochistan police, Bugti has two wives named Laila Bibi and Shuli Bibim and four children. He hails from the Raheja Bugti tribe and is operating the Baloch Republican Army’s network from Switzerland.
He is the grandson of former Balochistan chief minister Akbar Bugti, who was killed in 2006 during a controversial military operation in Kohlu.