Shahzain Bugti vows to stand with Pakistan in case of war

ISLAMABAD: Shahzain Bugti, cousin of Geneva-based Brahamdagh Bugti who has sought asylum in India, on Sunday said the Bugti tribe would fight against the Indian troops along with the Pakistan Army in the event of a war with India.

Addressing the annual convention of Jamhoori Watan Party, he said: “Brahamdagh can stay in India or Geneva; that is his personal decision. But as far as I or the party is concerned, we will always follow the dictates of Nawab Akbar Bugti.”

“My grandfather had opted for Pakistan at the time of Partition and his party would remain loyal to this ideology. Nawab Akbar Bugti was always with Pakistan and in the past also our tribesmen fought for Pakistan. Nothing has changed. Our ideology is the same. Even today if India goes to war with Pakistan, we will defend the Pakistani borders,” he said, The News reported.

 Exiled Baloch leader Brahumdagh Bugti is set to get Indian passport after long negotiations with the Indian authorities.

Credible sources within the outlawed Baloch Republican Party (BRP) have confirmed to this correspondent that India in principle has agreed to grant citizenship to Brahumdagh Bugti and his key aides to enable them to move around freely in the world – in the same way that India has facilitated Dalai Lama who uses an Indian passport to travel around the world to campaign against China.

He fled his hometown Dera Bugti in Balochistan in 2006 following the assassination of his grandfather Akbar Bugti. He lived in Afghanistan as a state guest and was then flown from there to Switzerland. He reached Switzerland in late October 2010 and has been living there ever since on political asylum with his family.