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Shahzain Bugti accuses govt of ?‘illegal’ drilling

ISLAMABAD - The state-run Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) is illegally drilling in Balochistan’s mineral-rich Dera Bugti and exploring potential oil and gas reserves, chief of the nationalist Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti has said.

By Afzal Khan

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Published: Tue 26 Apr 2011, 12:37 AM

Last updated: Mon 29 Jun 2020, 3:49 PM

He accused the Frontier Corps and the OGDC of trying to “usurp resources, including oil and gas deposits on my family lands”.
Addressing a news conference in Quetta, Bugti said the people of Balochistan would resist exploitation of their resources without their consent.
“They have started drilling without seeking any permission, which is condemnable. Such acts on the part of the government and its agencies are intolerable,” the JWP chief said.
He called for an immediate halt to the “illegal and arbitrary drilling” and said “otherwise the Bugti tribe will mount a strong reaction against this brutal usurpation by the security forces and the (oil and gas) company,” adding that the situation may “disturb the peace and security situation in the province.”
“We will not allow anyone to loot and exploit our resources,” Bugti asserted. He said he would refer the matter to the Balochistan High Court and request it for a favourable verdict. “This illegal act is forcing the Bugti family to review its previous agreement with OGDC … they (the company) can be driven out of all Bugti territory,” he warned.
Pakistan discovered and exploited its first major gas deposits in Sui near Dera Bugti in early 1950s.
Bugti added that the military college in Sui is in the interest of the Baloch people. But the government should end the military operation, prevent secret agencies from interfering in provincial matters and ensure the safe recovery of all missing Baloch persons, he said.
Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani last week announced that troops would be withdrawn from the insurgency-hit Bugti area within next two months.
mafzalkhan@yahoo.com

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