Nawab Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti, Tumandar (head) of the Bugti tribe, was the son of Mehrab Khan Bugti and a grandson of Nawab Shahbaz Khan Bugti. Born in Barkhan area of Balochistan on July 12, 1927, he was educated at the Karachi Grammar School, Aitchison College, Lahore, and the Oxford University, UK.
Nawab Akbar Bugti was better known to most of his people as The Tiger of Balochistan.
He is also believed to have spearheaded the movement which represents the violent side of the struggle of the Baloch people to gain rights that they claim have been denied to them by the Cemtre.
His surviving sons are Jamil Akbar Bugti, Talal Akbar Bugti and Shahzwar Akbar Khan Bugti.
Following is the timeline of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti’s political struggle:
* Started his political career in 1946, when he voted for the creation of Pakistan before its eventual founding in 1947 following the end to British rule of India
* Appointed adviser on Baloch affairs to Pakistan’s agent to the governor-general, the British representative in Pakistan in 1947
* Elected member National Assembly in May 1958
* Served as Minister of State for Interior in the government of Prime Minister Sir Feroz Khan Noon from Sept 20, 1958—Oct 7, 1958, when President Iskander Mirza imposed martial law.
* Arrested and convicted by a military tribunal in 1960, and subsequently disqualified from holding public office. As a result of his legal battles, he did not contest the 1970 general elections. Instead he campaigned on behalf of his younger brother, Sardar Ahmed Nawaz Bugti, a candidate of the National Awami Party.
* Developed differences with the NAP leadership, especially the new Balochistan governor, Mir Ghaus Baksh Bizenjo. Bugti informed the federal government and President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Pakistan People’s Party) about the alleged London Plan, which resulted in the dismissal of the provincial governor as well as the chief
minister, Sardar Ataullah Khan Mengal, and his cabinet on February 14, 1973.
* Appointed as the governor of Balochistan, and the Pakistan Army was deployed in the province as part of a crackdown on the National Awami Party.
* Resigned on January 1, 1974 after disagreement with government.
* Remain politically inactive when General Rahimuddin Khan was appointed as governor of Balochistan in 1978.
* Joined the Balochistan National Alliance in 1988 and was elected chief minister on February 4, 1989. His government remained at loggerheads with the then Benazir Bhutto-led federal government.
* Resigned on August 6, 1990 when the provincial assembly was dissolved by governor of Balochistan Gen (retd) Muhammad Musa Khan in accordance with the instructions of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.
* The incoming caretaker chief minister Mir Humayun Khan Marri was the son-in-law of Akbar Bugti.
* Formed the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), or Democratic Nation Party, for the 1990 general elections and was elected to the Balochistan Assembly.
* Elected to the National Assembly in 1993, representing the JWP in parliament.
* Remained at the forefront of the insurgencies in Balochistan in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and once again in 2005.
* Has been in hiding after fierce fighting broke out between his tribal militia and Pakistan troops since 2005.
* Killed in a major military operation on his hideout on the confluence of Dera Bugti-Kohlu border. He was 79 at the time of his death.