Category Archives: Balochistan
Pakistan urged to investigate murder and torture of Baloch activists
The Pakistani government must investigate the torture and killings of more than 40 Baloch leaders and political activists over the past four months, Amnesty International said ….
Read more : Amnesty International
Massive bombardment and operation conducted over Mashkay
All area is Blacked Out, No trespassing to any media or news bureau, large number of civilian causalities due to indiscriminate bombardment.
Mashkay: According to reports coming from the area, the town is under siege and massive bombardment and operation have been conducted over the civilian population, many causalities were also recorded. The report further stated the area being black out and no trespassers were allowed be it Media or News bureau, town is being swapped house by house and the belongings of people are been taking forcefully.
Kalabagh dam : Unable to understand why they see the world only with the eyes of Punjab?
Violation of oath
By Mohammad Khan Sial, Karachi
I was amazed to read the letter of — of Lahore (July 28) entitled: “Violation of oath…high treason” claiming that Prime Minister’s oath has been violated by saying: “Kalabagh dam has become victim of politics”.
I am unable to understand why people like — see the world only with the eyes of Punjab? Dr Bhatti must know who after taking oath compelled ‘majority’ of our population to get separation from ‘minority’? Who despite utilizing natural resources of Balochistan for 60 years, pushed the people of Balochistan to further backwardness and utilized their resources on the basis of un-justified population being sole criteria for distribution of natural resources, for the benefit of Punjab? Who did not allow to release at least 10MAF water downstream Kotri in Sindh after passing 19 years to signing on “Water Accord – 1991”?
Who was responsible for sea intrusion inundating 2.6 million acres of land in Sindh due to non-implementation of the said Accord? Who is responsible for untimely mass destruction of Indus delta? Who is compelling people of Sindh to live 80 per cent below the internationally recognised dateline of poverty despite Sindh is meeting 75% gas and 59% oil requirements but its people are still poor? want to tell Dr Bhatti, let us start from Balochistan and later Sindh to know who in the various governments discriminated the two provinces by violating the oath? Why people like Dr Bhatti are not worried about rest of Pakistan except Punjab. Perhaps such people think Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are not parts of Pakistan? Very sad.
Courtesy: THE FRONTIER POST, Saturday 31, 2010
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=le&nid=1855&ad=31-07-201
Pakistan: Kalabagh dam threatens livelihood of millions
by Ray Fulcher
… construction of a massive dam in 2016 on the Indus river at Kalabagh, near the border between the Punjab and North West Frontier provinces. Opponents of the World Bank-funded dam project see it as another grab for water by the Punjabi ruling elite, which dominates federal politics in Pakistan.
The government claims that the dam is necessary for Pakistan’s economic development, that it will provide 3600 megawatts of hydroelectric power and 35,000 jobs.
Musharraf has said that the dam project will proceed against any opposition and that the federal and Punjabi governments will topple any provincial government that opposes the project. Of Pakistan’s four provinces, three provincial parliaments — North West Frontier (NWFP), Sindh and Balochistan — have passed resolutions opposing the dam.
On December 31, four progressive parties in Punjab united to protest against the proposed dam. The rally, held in Lahore, was charged by police, and activists of the four parties — the National Workers Party, the Labour Party Pakistan (LPP), the Pakistan Mazdoor Mehaz and the Mazdoor Kissan Party — were beaten.
Farooq Tariq, an organiser of the rally and national secretary of the LPP told Green Left Weekly by phone: “The LPP opposes the dam because it will deny Sindh its share of water and turn it into a desert. We oppose the construction of big dams on environmental grounds. Furthermore, this dam will benefit the Punjab ruling class and will add to the exploitation of Sindh. All provinces except the Punjab have repeatedly opposed the construction of this dam. This democratic verdict should be taken as a referendum and the dam abandoned.
Continue reading Pakistan: Kalabagh dam threatens livelihood of millions
Remembering Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo
Karachi – Sindh: The Bloch leader, Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo’s anniversary shall be observed on 22nd September,2010, at 4 PM, in press club Karachi, Sindh. Those who live in Karachi should come to pay tribute to him, he who had made the movement of Balochs to unite with the movement of all downtrodden people of this region. He had vision and he knew the importance of democracy and he was great integrator of his time to make oppressed nations & democratic forces to sit together to struggle for the rights of oppressed nations and classes of South Asia and the world.
To read more about him, Click here
DISAPPEARANCES IN BALOCHISTAN
A Statement of Concern By the Committee of Progressive Pakistani-Canadians
The fundamental human and civil rights of the people of Balochistan have been violated since the creation of the state of Pakistan. Beginning in 1948 the Pakistan Army has conducted five major repressive campaigns in that province. Under the latest of these ‘operations’ which started with the military takeover of General Parvez Musharraf and continues to date, there has been introduced a new tool of repression, forced disappearances, a practice which has been declared a crime against humanity by the International Court of Criminal Justice.
The question of Balochistan
By: Urooj Zia
If you see the flag of Pakistan in Balochistan, you are either on the Balochistan University campus in Quetta or at the provincial assembly – or, more alarmingly, within metres of a checkpost manned by the Frontier Corps (FC), the paramilitary force that controls the province. Nowhere else in this, the country’s largest province by area, will you see the national flag. On the contrary, flags of Azad Balochistan are a dime a dozen, adorning shops, houses, streetlights and random poles. Schools in the province – even those administered by the government – start their day not with ‘Pak ser zameen’ (the national anthem), but with ‘Ma chukki Balochani’, the anthem of Azad Balochistan. Here, the Pakistani state, army and paramilitary forces are figures of hate, while the sarmachar (Baloch ‘freedom fighters’) are considered heroes.
Read more >>- HIMAL
Suicide attack in Quetta kills 55
QUETTA: A suicide attack on an Al-Quds day procession of the Imamia Student Organisation (ISO) at Meezan Chowk in Quetta on Friday killed 55 people and injured over 100 others.
The casualty figure is expected to rise due to the intensity of the explosion as around 2,500 people were present in the rally. ..
Read more >> PakistanNewsBlog
Nawab Bugti Remembered by the Baloch and Sindhis in the UK
London : Press Release – A remembrance meeting in London paid high tribute to Nawab Akber Bugti on his 4th martyrdom anniversary. The function was organized by the Baloch Human Rights Council (UK) and World Sindhi Congress in the London University Union Building on Sunday 29th August 2010. The meeting was presided over by the Baloch intellectual & writer and the Coordinator of Sindhi Baloch forum Dr. Naseer Dashti and was attended by a large number of Baloch, Sindhis and other human rights activists in the UK. Samad Baloch General Secretary BHRC (UK) conducted the proceedings of the meeting.
One minute silence was observed to pay respect to Nawab Bugti. A number of speakers paid tributes to Nawab Akber Bugti for his services to the Baloch and for sacrificing his life for the salvation of his nation.
Prominent among those who paid rich homage to the legendary Baloch leader included Dr. Lakhu Luhana, Mrs. Stella, Mir Aslam Buledi, Jamshed Amiri, Rahim Bandovi, Abdulla Baloch, Walid Garboni, Hashim Baloch, Mehrab Sarjovi, Ghulam Raza Hosseinbor, Dr. Haleem Bahtti, Mir Ghulam Hussain , Ms Suriya Makhdooom and Qadir Jatoi. The speakers urged the Baloch and Sindhi people to follow the legendary leader’s actions as the two nations are facing the most critical moment in their national history.
Continue reading Nawab Bugti Remembered by the Baloch and Sindhis in the UK
Nawab Akbar Bugti – 4th death anniversary
The word terrorism does not even exist in Sindhi and Seraiki, the languages of the majority of the people who have been rendered homeless”
Pakistan flood victims ‘have no concept of terrorism’
By Mohammed Hanif
…These areas are of no strategic interest to anyone because they have neither exported terrorism nor do they have the ambition to join a fight against it.
Their only export to the world outside is onions, tomatoes, sugar cane, wheat and mangoes.
The word terrorism does not even exist in Seraiki and Sindhi, the languages of the majority of the people who have been rendered homeless.
They belong to that forgotten part of humanity that has quietly tilled the land for centuries, the small farmers, the peasants, the farmhands, generations of people who are born and work and die on the same small piece of land.
Appeal to Ban Ki-moon
I am a senior citizen and writer from Pakistan – an active member of United Nations and hereby appeal to your honour drawing your immediate personal attention towards an important matter meant to safeguard a vital part suffering from environmental & human disaster which is imminent in the shape of untimely sad demise of Indus delta – once the sixth largest in the world.
Unfortunately, our elected President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani in addition to previous army dictator and racist General (r) Musharraf and previous elected Prime Minister M. Nawaz Sharif all were obviously not interested to save the Indus delta from unnatural death. Nevertheless, the former Prime Minister Ms Benazir Bhutto had announced decision of her govt for proposed Port at Keti Bunder to save the delta but her government’s successor M. Nawaz not only abandoned the project but shifted the money of Project, for construction of the Motor Highway (Lahore-Rawalpindi) in his native province, Punjab.
The United Nations and all international Commissions on Human Rights are fully aware about the environmental and human disaster throughout the world and striving hard to safeguard affected areas. On the contrary, our rulers are bent upon to destroy the delta by neglecting its basic requirements of survival in order to retain their political gains in Punjab. Sorry to say they have, obviously, no concern to the unnatural sad demise of Indus delta and its extensive formidable affects on the people of Sindh.
No regular release of fresh water for several years despite at least 10MAF downstream Kotri guaranteed in “Water Accord – 1991” to save the delta, with pending survey to determine exact amount of water for release, were not allowed to implement even after 19 years the Accord was signed, resulting in mass migration of one million people from the delta, tremendous increase in poverty and unemployment, ruination of eco-system including flora and fauna, degradation of land, formidable sea intrusion resulting in inundating of 2.6 million acres of land, considerable reduction in export of sea food and much more.
After a long period of 15 years signing the Accord, the federal government conducted a study in 2005 through International Panel of Experts (IPEs) that recommended 25MAF for the released annually downstream Kotri whereas IUCN – an international reputed organisation, separately conducted survey which recommended 35MAF water release downstream Kotri but nothing implemented yet.
The Sindh Government in its official briefing to the visiting Senate Committee on Water headed by Senator Lashkari Raisani a few months ago said: “If the situation remained unchanged, centuries-old historical city of Thatta and Badin in Sindh would disappear within next 20 years whereas sea intrusion is inundating 80 acres of land per day.”
Nevertheless, Punjab still wants to build controversial Kalabagh dam despite three out of four provincial assemblies have already passed about 10 resolutions against its construction. The dam is bound to turn Sindh into desert despite the fact about 1500 dams have been decommissioned through out world, to protect the environment. As per new definition of the Indus delta, 80 per cent of present of Sindh covered as delta area, therefore, the ruination of the delta would also ruin the whole Sindh.
It is requested to your honour and also all Commissions on Human Rights to immediately intervene and concentrate their efforts to save Indus delta from man-made environmental & human disaster for which our present and future generations would not forgive us for centuries to come.
Mohammad Khan Sial,
Karachi, Sindh
Courtesy:>> Statesmam , 21-08-2010
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More on Kalabagh dam >> BBC urdu
Turmoil in Panjgur, Balochistan
Editorial: Turmoil in Panjgur
The political and security situation in Panjgur, a district located on the Iranian border, has turned very hostile and tense after the Frontier Corps (FC) shot dead Hussain Baloch, a young political activist belonging to Katagri area. Hussain was among hundreds of male and female protestors who demonstrated against the recent arrest of three Baloch leaders Dr. Abid Shah, Safeer Baloch and Abdul Sattar Paromi. …
Read more >> TheBalochhal
Balochistan legend rejects talks with Pakistan
by Ahmar Mustikhan
SINDH- KARACHI: The father of the Balochistan liberation movement has said the Baloch people have been pushed to the wall and there is no way out for them but to fight back against the Pakistani occupation of their homeland.
Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, 81 – a legend in his lifetime – in an interview said the Baloch have been left with no choice but to pick up arms in self defense.
He said he would ask each and every Baloch to live like a common man during daylight, “but after dusk turn into a lightening thunder against the enemy.”
The veteran leader said announcement of packages by Islamabad can no longer solve the burning issue of Balochistan as the struggle of the Baloch people have advanced far beyond any such eyewash by Islamabad.
Read more >> NowPublic
Super high floods in Pakistan brings disaster
At least 500 killed, over 400,000 affected by floods
By Zulfiqar Ali
PESHAWAR: As raging floods wreaked havoc across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some Fata regions, inundating large parts of Nowshera, Charsadda and Swat, the people of Dera Ismail Khan were warned on Friday of a similar disaster after 400,000 to 500,000 cusecs of water discharged from the overflowing Tarbela reservoir threatened all natural and man-made protective barriers in the district.
Read more >> DAWN
The human rights situation in Pakistan is getting worse
Baloch, Sindhi expatriates protest before UK PM’s residence
London, July 26 (ANI): Baloch and Sindhi expatriates living in London protested in front of 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister on Sunday to seek international intervention in the killing of innocent people in Balochistan.
Read more >> Thaindian
Balochs March On Towards Freedom
Tyranny is tyranny…
– DR MOHAMMAD MATARO HINGORJO, Jamshoro
The assassination of Senator Habib Jalib Baloch has not only shaken Balochistan but a wave of grief and anger has gripped entire Sindh. The conscientious people everywhere are condemning this act of atrocity. We are all of the view that certain elements within the Pakistani state itself are gnawing at its vitals from inside in an attempt to make Aborigines out of whole populations of Sindh and Balochistan. They are organised, armed and well-supported within the country’s establishment and have the potential to undertake massacre and mass murder at a very large scale without any qualms or fears of retribution. They can splatter whole cities in blood in the blink of an eye. The murder of Habib Jalib Baloch is a continuity of the murderous spree that has been going on for years in Sindh.
Sindh and Balochistan, though, are very fertile in the intellect and valour that stands up to such a tyranny, sheds his/her life but leaves a legacy of courage for the offspring of his/her nation. The vicious cycle of cruelty and intimidation is not stopping but neither are our sacrifices because we understand they are a necessity of the historical process through which nations free the lands occupied by usurpers. The murderers never learn from history to ever stop murdering, nor do the fighters ever stop sacrificing their lives. Sindh and Balochistan have kept their originality and separate identity intact …
Read more >> The Nation
Target killing of Balochs
Protest rally against the target killing of Baloch politician in London
Baloch Human Rights Council and World Sindhi Congress are jointly holding a peaceful protest rally in front of British prime minister official residence at 10 Downing Street, London on Sunday 25 July 2010 at 2 .00 to 4.00 pm against the Target Killing of prominent Baloch politician Habib Jalib by … proxy death squad. .. and … are committing heinous crimes against humanity in Balochistan. …
July 22, 2010
A sad note on the brutal assassination of Habib Jalib Baloch
Knight, not pawn: Habib Jalib Baloch —Dr Mohammad Taqi
More striking than Habib Jalib’s flowing long hair was his political maturity that was certainly beyond his years. This transition from a student politician to a statesman is rather rare in our part of the world
“Aiy haak ki may nagrin qawm e jis o gor int,
Aiy haak a pa maa taah e jatag shaklein zinday” — Mir Gul Khan Nasir.
“This soil has been our home, after death it has been our grave,
So, for evermore, I am this soil’s slave.”
In the parlance of nationalist movements in Pakistan, the motherland (watan) has often been described as the place where one’s home and grave are (kor and gor, respectively in Pashto, for example). The Baloch revolutionary poet Gul Khan Nasir’s above verse, however, took the concept to a new height. And in his death, on July 15, 2010, Comrade Habib Jalib Baloch immortalised the verse, the concept and the struggle that is befitting of this ideal.
Read more >> Daily Times
One more Balouch Leader Liaqat Mengal Shot Dead in Qalat
BNP leader Liaquat Mengal shot dead
QUETTA: Liaquat Mengal, a senior leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), was shot dead in Kalat District on Tuesday. Three unknown assailants riding a motorbike attacked Mengal when he was on his way to Kalat city, police sources said. Mengal died on the spot.
Read more >>- DAWN
“No, No, We Killed Jalib”: Al-Ansar-ul-Islam
QUETTA: The investigation in Habib Jalib murder case has taken a dramatic twist after two underground and unknown armed groups have simultaneously claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s killing of top Baloch nationalist leader. Both the groups accuse each other of “taking credit away from us” for the killing.
While a spokesman for Baloch Musla Defai Tanzeem, Mir Jhang Khan, had called Noshki Press Clubs hours after the killing of senior Baloch leader to accept responsibility for the killing, another organization, Al-Ansar-ul-Islam, which is the least known but the newest outfit to join the rank of ever-increasing mysterious armed groups operating in Balochistan, said it had killed Mr. Jalib.
Abu Hamza, the self-proclaimed spokesman of the organization which seems to have Islamic inclination, contradicted the claim of Baloch Musla Defai Tanzeem and said it had killed Jalib because he was a socialist who did not believe in Islam.
“We have ample evidence that Jalib spoke against Allah and Rasool (Prophet Mohammad P.B.U.H). He was punished for his blasphemous remarks about Islam. We will provide all evidence of his anti-Islam remarks on our website,” said the spokesman, warning that anybody who spoke against Allah (God) and his Rasool (Prophet P.B.U.H) would meet a fate similar to Habib Jalib.
Read more >> The Baloch Hal News
WSC Condemns and condoles the Assasination of Habib Jalib Baloch
London, UK,(PR): Terming it as a great tragedy and loss of Balochistan, World Sindhi Congress (WSC) has expressed its deep shock and sadness on the murder of another great Baloch leader, Habib Jalib Baloch. In a press release issued today, WSC strongly condemned the heinous crime of target killing of this great son of Balochistan. …
July 14, 2010
BNP-M leader Habib Jalib Baloch Assassinated
BNP-M leader Habib Jalib Baloch shot dead
Moscow-educated Jalib was a prominent Baloch intellectual and a former chairman of the Baloch Students Organisation.
QUETTA: Central Secretary-General of the Balochistan National Party – Mengal (BNP – M) and former senator Habib Jalib Baloch was shot dead in Quetta on Wednesday.
Jalib, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, was on his way to the court when he was killed by three unknown assailants riding a motorbike in Quetta’s Musa Colony area.
Read more >> DAWN
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Read more >> BBC urdu
Attitude of Punjab towards other units of Pakistan
Do not hate me for who I am! —Shahid Ilyas
We are taking too long to understand that Pakistan does not mean Punjab only. It consists of several nationalities, which have very distinct and old languages, cultures and histories. All of them have as much a share in the state of Pakistan as any other
Going by the rhetoric that one comes across from a host of media, including e-mails, the internet, TV shows, blogs and personal conversations, it is very disturbing to see the level of hatred which the youth in Punjab (is it only the youth?) — exceptions notwithstanding — harbour against personalities like President Zardari, President Karzai, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Mahmud Khan Achakzai. On the other hand, a soft corner in their attitudes is discernible for Qazi Hussein Ahmad, Nawaz Sharif, Zaid Hamid, Hamid Gul and Pervez Musharraf — people who subscribe to, some explicitly, others implicitly, the narrative which states that the international forces in Afghanistan are ‘occupying’ forces (do we have any business with who occupies what?), the Taliban are fighting to ‘free’ their country from a foreign occupation while India is an irreconcilable enemy, and so on and so forth. Can a country like Pakistan see stability with the configuration of love and hate on the above patterns?
To begin with, let’s ask what can be the possible reasons for the widespread hostility towards the person of President Zardari? Is it the NRO? But Zardari is not the only person to benefit from it or to allegedly be corrupt. The problem seems much deeper. It has partly to do with the anti-Zardari propaganda on pro-establishment news media. But it has also to do with where he comes from and what he stands for. The continuous and decades-long domination of political power in Pakistan by an overwhelmingly Punjab-based establishment makes it so difficult for them to accept the presence of a non-Punjabi and non-obliging personage in the presidency of the Islamic republic. It is simply too much for them to see the president talk about such ‘irritating’ issues as the rights for the Baloch and Pashtuns, and civilian supremacy over the armed forces. Indeed they have enjoyed so much power and for so long, that they started to take the same for granted.
We are taking too long to understand that Pakistan does not mean Punjab only. It consists of several nationalities, which have very distinct and old languages, cultures and histories. All of them have as much a share in the state of Pakistan as any other. All of them have to be given a chance to reach to the highest slots including the presidency and the prime minister house. Their languages and cultures are as important as any other, and the same has to be granted as much importance — on official level — as the languages of Punjab and Muhajirs. Asif Ali Zardari’s presence in the presidency is not the result of a favour from anyone. He is the president of the Islamic republic because he is duly elected and he represents a group of people, which has equal ownership of the country.
Read more >>- Daily Times
Link – http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20106\30\story_30-6-2010_pg3_4
Baloch leader meets Vice President Joe Biden, draw his attention to the Balochistan’s situation.
WASHINGTON, DC: (June 25, 2010) On the eve of United Nation’s International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the president of Baloch Society of North America (BSO-NA), Dr. Wahid Baloch, met with Vice-President Joe Biden to draw his attention to the gross human right violations, ongoing military operation and enforced involuntary disappearances in Pakistani and Iranian Balochistan. …
Baloch lawyers protest Chief Justice Supreme Court’s Quetta visit
To read full news at BBC urdu, CLICK HERE or click the following link;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2010/06/100611_national_judicial_policy.shtml
Baloch Human Rights Commission (Canada) issues Statement on Human Rights violations in Makaran
Toronto, June 1, 2010 – Baloch Human Rights Council (Canada) expressed its deepest concerns over the new wave of gross human rights violations committed by the security forces in the Makaran region of Balochistan. BHRC has learnt through local sources and press statements of Baloch National Movement (BNM) central leadership that within the last couple of days there has been a significant movement of troops in the area of district Gwadar and Dasht. A heavy contingent of forces including 80 trucks carrying soldiers, 40 armoured vehicles, artillery, 8 gunship helicopters, and 20 water supplying tankers are reportedly part of the first wave of troop deployment in the region.
On Baluch resistance
The Scylla of violence – Dr Mohammad Taqi
“This is a political war and it calls for discrimination in killing.” — John Paul Vann, US adviser in Vietnam
Courtesy: The News
The recent killing of Professor Nazima Talib in Quetta has once again called into question the logic of indiscriminate violence against the non-combatant, non-Baloch settlers in the province. It has turned the focus of attention not only to the Baloch guerrilla fighters but has simultaneously put those, who support a non-violent Baloch struggle, on the spot.
Female University professor shot dead in Quetta
QUETTA: Unidentified assailants riding a bake gunned down a University of Baluchistan assistant professor of media and journalism. Nazima Talib was shot thrice from behind on Saryab road as she was traveling in a rickshaw to Radio Pakistan for participation in a programme. Police described the attack as a target killing.
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