LAHORE, Pakistan (UCAN) -- Civil groups renewed their protest against military operations in Balochistan province after a car carrying the head of a rights organization on a fact-finding mission there was sprayed with bullets.

The groups demonstrated Jan. 9 in front of the Lahore Press Club. "The government of baton and bullet will not work" was one of the slogans they directed at the military-run administration of President Pervez Musharraf. They urged authorities to stop "state terrorism" and to protect lives and property in Balochistan.

Among the groups represented were the non-governmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Labour Party Pakistan, Aurat (women) Foundation, the Catholic bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace, and the Justice and Peace Commission of the major Religious superiors.

The previous day two unidentified gunmen fired on the car of HRCP chairperson Asma Jehangir, who was leading a caravan on a mission to investigate the situation in Dera Bugti. No casualties or injuries were reported. The government blamed "miscreants" and said security forces escorted the caravan to safety. The mission continued on to Dera Bugti, arriving there the following day, Jan. 9, according to "Dawn" newspaper.

The district, which borders both eastern provinces of Punjab and Sindh, reportedly has been under bombardment since Dec. 30 with at least 27 Bugti tribal people killed and 132 injured. Meanwhile, reports say 10 rockets were fired Jan. 8 on military checkpoints in the Balochistan capital, Quetta, bordering Afghanistan, and five bomb blasts occurred in neighboring Sibbi.

Hina Jillani, U.N. special rapporteur for human rights, alleged that the government wanted to prevent the HRCP team from visiting Dera Bugti to investigate whether there have been "human rights abuses in the government offensive against militant tribesmen in Balochistan."

Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the Catholic bishops' peace commission, called the attack "a most unfortunate incident at a time when the country is struggling to forge unity on national issues and the intelligentsia is working on reforms for human rights workers." He told UCA News, "The commission condemns this deliberate act of cowardice and demands that the government protect human rights defenders rather than attack them."

Father Abid Habib, Lahore coordinator of the Religious superiors' commission, condemned the attack as "inhuman" and expressed suspicion about possible human rights violations in Dera Bugti. "Pakistani leaders must review their policies if they want to prevent another national breakup, after the 1971 partition of East Pakistan, now called Bangladesh," he warned.

Speaking with UCA News, Farooq Tariq, general secretary of the Labour Party, said: "It is obvious from the attack on an independent observer that the military government wants to hide the facts. We have pictures as ample proof of army assaults on schools and houses, they are the ones responsible for disrupting peace in the country."

The Pakistan army launched a crackdown in Balochistan after a Dec. 14 rocket attack while Musharraf was visiting there. A day later, a commander of the Frontier Corps was injured when his helicopter was fired upon. The separatist Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for those attacks. Baloch nationalists say more than 200 people have been killed since then.

Chief Minister Akbar Bugti of Balochistan has said that Balochistan may separate from Pakistan in the aftermath of the army campaign. He denied having any relationship with the Baloch Liberation Army. On Jan. 8 he said during a telephone press conference: "The army operation of the government has not lowered but (rather) boosted our spirits. We will not hesitate from making sacrifices in the future."

Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan, is Pakistan's largest, poorest and most underdeveloped province, although it is the country's major source of natural gas. Tribal groups in the province have been demanding more political autonomy and a greater share of revenues from the area's resources.

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(Accompanying photos available at here)