DERA Morr in Kashmore was crowded and chaotic like a cattle market, where man and livestock jostle for space and people eat their food, right next to the hay dumped around for the animals’ repast.

But it was cold. Even at two in the afternoon, visibility was affected by the heavy fog enveloping the area and the cold wind had a bite to it.

But apart from the harsh welcome provided by nature, the people present also didn’t encourage visitors.

The narrow bridge that led to Dera Morr was partially blocked by stones and planks of wood and a group of men were on guard. Sticking their heads into the cars and rickshaws that passed them, they grilled the passengers to confirm their identity and the reason why they wanted to enter the area.

A junction of borders connecting Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab, Dera Morr has turned into the temporary resting place for the Bugti tribesmen for the past one week, as they have been denied entry into Dera Bugti, only a two-hour drive away. Led by Shahzain Bugti, a grandson of Akbar Bugti, they had tried returning to their homes in Dera Bugti.

The Bugtis have been living in exile for the past nine years, since they were displaced by General Pervez Musharraf’s regime. Musharraf also encouraged the Kalpars (a rival clan) to move to Dera Bugti after the army operation in 2006, which further weakened the position of the Bugti tribesmen in the district.

Having negotiated the permission to enter the Morr, the visitor is faced with a bleak picture.

An old man sat beside a wooden casket — inside was a day-old body of a woman. An ambulance carrying another body was also parked there. Nearby, children sat around a small fire where a woman was cooking rotis to feed them; the small fire provided the only warmth in the open area.

The place reeked of burnt wood and urine.

But amid the death were also signs of joy. An infant, born the night before, was being passed from one family member to another as the anxious mother looked on.

In an open space outside a restaurant was a long line of Mazda trucks housing half of the 180,000 migrating Bugti tribesmen. When the caravan was stopped by the Frontier Constabulary on Jan 17, many people shifted to the houses of friends or relatives living nearby. The rest, mostly poor labourers from Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Multan, Lahore and smaller districts and tehsils had no choice but to continue living in the trucks, along with the cattle they had brought.

A heavily guarded, white land cruiser with tinted windows provided a stark contrast to the surroundings. It was owned by Jamhoori Watan Party leader, Shahzain Bugti.

The tribesmen were nonetheless hopeful and insisted that a ‘compromise’ had been reached between Shahzain and the Kalpar tribe chieftain, Jalal Khan Kalpar. But the “government and the agencies” were not letting them through.

Members of a stranded family at Dera Morr wait for their meal to be cooked as children look on. — Photo by Fahim Siddiqi/ White Star

Noor Mohammad Bugti, a lanky man, who heads a thirty-member family, said, “We have to make it to Dera Bugti, our ancestors’ graves are there; our lives are there.” A short man with a shawl wrapped around his shoulders, Dholoo Ram, said that Shahzain’s brother Guhram Bugti had already taken 5,000 people back to Dera Bugti and that they would be the next group. “We gathered whatever little we had, arranged for our travel to Kashmore and now we are stranded. We were told that our expenses will be taken care of by the authorities, but they have not even provided us a glass of water.”

As the tribesmen were speaking, a man with a bushy beard and a Kalashnikov hanging on his shoulder appeared, saying that “Nawab sahib is now ready to speak.”

Guards and clan members formed a protective circle around Shahzain’s white vehicle, as he came out, holding his daughter. “Chief Minister Balochistan, Malik Baloch, promised a safe passage to us. We also have the Supreme Court’s orders. What is stopping them from letting us through?”

When asked about the rift between him and Mir Aali Bugti, the present chieftain of the Bugti tribe, who observers say is not allowing Shahzain in, Shahzain smirked. “What conflict can I possibly have with a government-backed sardar?”

The afternoon still had not passed when PPP leader Khursheed Shah turned up. After his chat with Shahzain, the blockades were removed and the traffic began moving. But the Bugti caravan did not move — just two hours short of home.

• Video filmed and edited by Muhammad Umar