Oppression in Balochistan and its struggle for freedom

[ajtr]

Six Baloch disappeared persons, aged between 19 to 32, killed for demanding independence​

Bodies of six Baloch victims of enforced disappearances all had brutal torture marks, according to an organization related to serving victims of enforced disappearances.
Nasrullah Baloch, president of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, called a government commission that is holding meetings on enforced disappearances in Quetta an eyewash. "The commission is helpless before the secret services," he added. "They are trying to hide the facts."
All six killed wanted independence of Balochistan. "They belonged to a coalition called the Baloch National Front," Nasrullah Baloch said on phone from Quetta. The front consists of political organizations, Balochistan Republican Party, Baloch National Movement, Anjuman Ittehad Marri, and related groups that are demanding independence for Texas-sized Balochistan.
"There were marks of drilling in the head. Some had their tooth and nails pulled out," Baloch added. He said all of them were kidnapped either by the Frontier Corp or secret service agents in plainclothes in the presence of eyewitnesses
He identified the victims as Majeed Langov, 19, Ashfaq Ahmed, 23, Farooq Mengal, 24, Nazeer Ahmed, 25, Faiz Mohammad Bangulzai, 26, and Bahar Khan Bangulzai, 32.
Nasrullah Baloch said there are as many as 1,101 Baloch missing persons, the term used for freedom and civil rights activists who are victims of enforced disappearances. These Balochistan activists have been abducted by Pakistan's Military Intelligence and Inter Services Intelligence.
"Not a day goes by without someone being abducted by the state secret services," Nasrullah Baloch said.
Nasrullah Baloch spoke on the mobile phone from outside the Quetta Press Club where families of 13 victims of enforced disappearances were squatting in three protest tents to demand the return of their loved ones.
The victims are Zakir Majeed, Sangat Sana, Jalil Reki, Deen Mohammad Baloch, Ghaffar Langov, Mir Wadood Raisani, Maqbool Zaffar Baloch, Chakar Marri, Majeed Qambrani, Mujeeb Baloch, Abdul Nasir Marri, Altaf Bugti and Asghar Bangulzai,
Nasrullah Baloch, 30, is a nephew of Asghar Bangulzai.
The killings of the six during the last two weeks enraged one of the main resistance leaders, London-based Hyrbyair Marri, who asked the Baloch to show unity to fight their own battles in stead of relying on international powers to come to their rescue. In an interview with Basque journalist Karlos Zurutuza, Marri said there is a single point to negotiate with Islamabad: withdrawal of Pakistan troops from Balochistan.
http://www.balochwarna.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2789
In its 2009 report, the U.N. Working Group on Involuntary and Enforced Disappearances based in Geneva identified barely three enforced disappearances -- Ehsan Arjemandi, Zakir Majeed and Dr. Deen Moahmmad Baloch -- while the numbers were at least ten times higher.
Nasrullah Baloch said paucity of resources was a major stumbling block in bringing the matter to the notice of the U.N. Working Group. "It is for this reason we are asking them to please set up a monitoring cell in Balochistan," he added.
The victims include women and children, a Quetta politician told the Union of Catholic Asian News.
"Among the missing from Balochistan province are the names of 168 children and 148 women. Media, columnists and political parties are silent on these abductions by secret agencies of state," Abdul Hakeem Lehri, a leader of the Baloch Republican Party told UCA News.

"We are not terrorists, our struggle is of a political nature and we demand the protection of our rights. Torture cells have claimed countless lives, and we don't know whether our people are alive or dead," he added.
http://www.ucanews.com/2010/03/22/68869/
Nasrullah Baloch said the reason he calls the commission an eyewash is that none of the members visited the victim families who suffered in the recent military operation in Balochistan.
Balochistan, which forms more than 40 percent of the land mass of Pakistan but less than eight percent of the population, was forcibly occupied by Pakistan in March 1948 and has repeatedly seen uprisings against this injustice.
The latest military operation to crush the Baloch uprising began more than five years ago and is still continuing.
As the state violence against Baloch freedom activists increase, there seems no solution in sight.
Shahzada Zulfikar, former president of the Balochistan Union of Journalists, said in a democratic polity the state is looked upon as if it was the head of a household. "But if the state itself goes and begins killing those in its custody, two, six or 50, or uses various outfits as death squads, violence will only spiral."
He said, "The chief executive of the province, Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, has clearly said if the federal government and quote unquote relevant quarters gave him the mandate he can help end violence."
Raisani has publicly said the men in uniform are not allowing him to play his role effectively.
Well-informed Balochistan sources say President Asif Ali Zardari, who also doubles as the head of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, was told from day one by army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani that the military will call the shots in Balochistan even if civilians rule the other three provinces.

Son of Misri Khan, a victim of enforced disappearance, talking about the family's travail.

 

[ajtr]

Misri Khan Marri was Principal of Government Elementary Collage Kalat when he was kidnapped by Punjabi Army and intelligence agencies. In this video His son is giving the views of what is the condition of his Family when the head of the Family is Missing for years

 

[ajtr]

Rocket attacks turn Balochistan tense​

QUETTA: The security situation in Balochistan is threatening to spiral out of control as three rocket attacks in Quetta, and blasts in Khuzdar, Gwadar, Mastung and some other areas of Balochistan spread panic amongst the people of the province on Friday.

The first rocket landed on Masoom Shah Street close to the residence of Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Hussein Durrani next to the Chief Minister's Secretariat. A constable identified as Lal Mohammad and a six-year-old passerby Mohammad Umer suffered splinter wounds. Durrani remained unhurt in the attack.

The second rocket hit a house owned by Haji Majeed, situated on Prince Road. The structure was partially damaged in the blast.

The third rocket landed at the Jaffria Imambarghah situated on McCanghey Road. However, the rocket failed to explode and no injuries were reported.

Separately, two explosions took place in Gwadar where the offices of the deputy commissioner and Radio Pakistan were partially damaged. No casualties were reported in the attacks. In Khuzdar, unidentified militants planted an explosive device near the Government Model High School and another explosion took place outside the deputy commissioner's office in Awaran. However, no causalities were reported in both blasts. Also, unknown miscreants hurled a hand grenade at the residence of Dr Noorul Haq in Mastung. However, no casualties were reported.

In Khuzdar, unidentified militants hurled a hand grenade at a power grid station in Sorab area. According to police, no casualties were reported. mohammad zafar

 

[ajtr]

7 murdered in Quetta​

Staff Report

QUETTA: As many as seven men, including three policemen and a Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were killed in separate incidents in the provincial metropolis on Friday.

According to official sources, three police personnel were killed when unidentified men opened fire on them at a checkpost near Chaki Shawani area of Saryab. The deceased were identified as Abdul Saleem, Ghulam Sarwar and Nasruddin.

Separately, according to sources, Atif Lehri – a local transporter – along with his companion Mohammad Akram, were travelling on Saryab Road when unidentified militants opened fire at them near the Quetta Degree College. Consequently, Lehri, Akram and a passerby – Haji Wahid – received multiple injuries. Lehri and Wajid were pronounced dead at the hospital. In yet another incident, unidentified armed militants opened fire at a barbershop in Ghousabad area of Satellite Town, killing the barber Mohammad Rafiq on the spot.

Also, unidentified militants attacked a checkpost near the Rakshan River in Panjgur, killing an FC subedar instantly.

 

[ajtr]

Jamali demands Suo moto notice over diversion of flood water towards Balochistan​

Submitted 18 hrs 58 mins ago
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Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Jamali on Monday demanded Chief Justice of Pakistan to take Suo Motto notice over diversion of flood water towards Balochistan by creating breach in Tori Bandh to save Sindh and Jacobabad.
While talking to host of journalists outside Parliament House on Monday, Jan Jamali strongly lambasted some of the sitting rulers who in order to trying to save Sindh and Jacobabad have diverted the flow of flood water towards Balochistan.
He said that serious differences have occurred between people of Balochistan and Sindh due to the injustice urging for impartial investigations into the grave matter.
Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Jamali demanded Chief Justice of Pakistan to take Suo Motto notice on the matter urging Balochistan is in tatters with crops, agriculture destroyed due to diversion of flow of flood water towards Balochistan.

 

[ajtr]

Unheard in Balochistan​

QUETTA: Ironically, many in Balochistan are more familiar with the reporters and anchors of BBC Urdu radio and All India Radio than Pakistan Radio. They know their names and when to tune in for which programme. Even those who don't understand Urdu or Hindi listen to these two stations, relying on people in their family or villages to translate.
For the overwhelming majority of people living in Balochistan's far-flung areas, radio is the sole source of information. Unfortunately, the reach of this medium has shrunk somewhat over the last few days.
Two of the province's most backward districts, Awaran and Washuk, do not have power supply, while in other districts electricity is restricted to the main cities. As for newspapers, most people either have no access due to the poor road network or they can't read. In this scenario, radio is the natural option for news and entertainment. Or at least it was till its infrastructure became so old and outdated that people stopped catching signals in the more remote regions.
Things have changed for the worse since 1956 when the Quetta station of Radio Pakistan was established, says Rashid Baloch, a producer and broadcaster. In those days, "everybody remained glued to the radio," says Baloch.
And in 1961, the government installed the short wave transmitter extending transmission throughout the province. "The transmission could be received in some Gulf countries as well," says Rashid.
Until three years ago, Radio Pakistan Quetta had a short-wave transmitter which covered the entire province and received a good response from the listeners. When the short waves were removed and just the medium wave transmitters were retained, radio signals became too weak to be heard in remote places. The transmitters have completed their life and even the companies which developed them have closed down.
"The transmitters merely cover Quetta now," says Rashid, who has to work as producer in several programmes owing to the lack of manpower at the radio station. Though representatives of the radio are present in every tehsil, they cannot create awareness until strong transmitters are installed, he points out.
Meanwhile, the listeners send letters asking for the resumption of radio channels. "A few years back, we used to receive around 30,000 letters about our programmes," says Rashid, adding that now they cannot even inform villagers about any expected natural disaster.
A producer of Brahvi language, Akhtar Baloch says there used to be three radio channels, two of which were closed down. And the only remaining channel is functioning with a very weak signal. The Quetta station was also the first to present news bulletins in six languages, Balochi, Urdu, Persian, Brahvi, Pashtu and Hazargi, says Akhtar.
Even till 2007, when floods lashed the Makran region, the radio was a good source of information. It was the same when Ziarat and adjoining areas were hit by an earthquake in 2008. Due to proximity to Quetta, in spite of weak signals, Rashid says "we informed the affected people where relief camps would be established and where they could go to get help.
Now, listeners like Nabi Bakhsh, who lives in Kharan district, are deprived of their sole source of information and entertainment. "I used to listen to the radio, because there were some interesting and informative programmes in Balochi but now the signals are too weak. For the past three years, I haven't even been able to tune in to the news," Baksh tells The Express Tribune.
Rashid points out that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani addresses the nation weekly via radio but in Balochistan, due to weak transmitters, his voice cannot cross the boundaries of Quetta.
A Quetta-based senior journalist Mohammad Kazim feels that while the medium is still very effective, as is "evident from the BBC, Radio Pakistan has lost credibility because it is no longer a national institution but has become a tool for the promotion of the interests of the rulers." In addition, he points out, the infrastructure has become old and faulty.
Kazim suggests that steps should be taken to restore radio's credibility and update its technology.

 

[ajtr]

Bugti evokes strong emotions​

ANITA JOSHUA
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Major parts of Balochistan observed a shutter-down strike on Thursday to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti during the regime of the former President, Pervez Musharraf.

As has been the case, most political parties of the restive province observed the day as "Black Day" to condemn the murder of the former Governor and Chief Minister of Balochistan.

The strike call was given by Jamhoori Watan Party run by the assassinated leader's son, Talal Bugti, and the Balochistan Republican Party. Reports from the province suggested that there was complete shut down in not just the provincial capital of Quetta but also other important towns including Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Gwadar and Turbat.

"August 26 is one such day on which all people of Balochistan, irrespective of their ethnic affiliations and conflicting political views, mourn collectively. Every citizen of the country's poorest province recalls the arrogant assault on an old ailing man who fought for the democratic rights of the people of Balochistan," said the editorial of the first online Baloch newspaper, The Baloch Hal.

Balochis believe that Nawab Bugti was murdered by the then federal government and a major grouse is that no enquiry was ordered into his assassination. He is the father of Bramdagh Bugti whose Indian passport has become a sore point in relations between India and Pakistan. The matter had come up for discussion at the Foreign Minister level engagement last month as Pakistan remains convinced about India's role in the ongoing strife in the province.

 

[F-14]

come on we are just providing " Moral" support to our baluch brothers and sisters

 

[dineshchaturvedi]

There is nothing wrong if India is doing this, Pakistan keeps poking it's nose in Kashmir. It also openly shelters hijackers of Kandhar plane hijacking and the likes of Dawood.

There are not many countries who can openly shelter a plane hijacker, UN declared terrorist etc. You have to have some kind of morals(besharmi) to do such great acts.

 

[ajtr]

Baloch lawyer and cousin found dead with severe torture marks after being arrested by the Pakistani Frontier Corp​

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) says that it has received information that the bodies of a lawyer Zaman Marri and his cousin from Balochistan province have been found. The bodies bore marks of severe torture. Both had been allegedly arrested by the dreaded Frontier Corp (FC), the Pakistani paramilitary force. As per AHRC, one more lawyer and four other Balochs have disappeared after being arrested by FC. The Pakistani police are refusing lodge a cases of their disappearances. AHRC has also reported increase in the abductions of students and activists by plain cloth persons.

On 5 September, Zaman Marri's bullet-riddled body was found in the Ghuncha Dhori area of Mastung city, 40 kilometers away from Quetta city. His body was so badly mutilated it could not be identified. The officials of the Levy force, a provincial law enforcement agency, shifted the body to Bolan Medical Hospital, Quetta, for identification. The next day Zaman's brother recognized his body. The cause of death was thought to be a bullet to his head. But the hospital authorities confirmed that the body bore marks of severe torture on his face and chest. There were also bruising and lacerations on his wrists and ankles indicating that he had been shackled at some point.

Zaman Marri had been representing many Baloch political detainees and disappeared persons without charge. He had been receiving threats from unknown callers not to follow up the cases of disappearances in the High Courts.

Mr. Zaman Marri was also pursuing a case on behalf of his cousin, Mr. Ali Ahmed Marri alias Alliya Marri, who was arrested by plain clothed persons on 7 April along with his three friends, Kamal Khan Marri, Lala Marri and Lal Mohammd Marri.


As per Balochistan High Court Bar Association, FC allegedly arrested another Baloch lawyer, Muneer Mirwani in July in the presence of another lawyer, Salam Baloch. His whereabouts are not known after he was picked up at 7pm as he was going from his law chamber to his home. There are no rules of law in the province and people are caught between paramilitary forces and militants says Balochistan High Court Bar Association. They also blamed the administration is not cooperating for the recovery of the disappeared lawyer and the Bar Association fears that he would be killed during his detention.

 

[hit&run]

kashmir hunnn.......how about whole south pakistan below rahim yaar khan.

 

[ajtr]

Balochistan needs wikileaks: Mehran Baluch tells UN body​

Appealing to UN on the dire Human Rights violation by Pakistani forces, Mehran Baluch, who is a noted activist for Balochistan said "I come from a God-forsaken part of the world where neither the CNN nor the Al-Jazeerah TV networks have a full bureau. I am from Balochistan, which means the land of the Baloch, in southwest Asia. To be honest, Balochistan needs Wikileaks."

He was addressing the U.N Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Special Rapporteur on Torture, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders and Special Rapporteur on Racism. He appealed the august body to send a fact-finding mission to Balochistan.

He quoted the Article One that States Parties shall promote the realization of the right of a people to decide their own future, and shall respect that right, in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

As per Article 1 of I.C.C.P.R. states, In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence. Mehran Baluch says that "the irony is when natural floods wreaked havoc on Pakistan in recent weeks, Balochistan was ravaged by military-made floods. There is a humanitarian crisis in Balochistan because of this deliberate flooding that was meant to save F-16 fighter jets at an airbase."

He also accused the Pakistani Army, the Military Intelligence, Inter Services Intelligence, the paramilitary Frontier Corps of throwing the the Geneva conventions to the wind. He said that in the last one month alone, Pakistani establishment threw the badly tortured bodies of 20 victims of enforced and involuntary disappearances out in the open killing fields of Balochistan.

Mehran Baluch is the youngest son of legendary Baloch leader Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri. On June 14, he told the conference organized by the Interfaith International that "as I speak before you, Pakistan military is busy conducting a military operation in Balochistan in the name of Islam to hoodwink the member states of the Organization of Islamic Conference."

The latest victims include Baloch lawyers. Noted lawyer Zaman Marri's tortured body,with three bullet holes to his head was recovered on September 5. Earlier, Munir Ahmed Mirwani, who is the secretary general of the Jhalawan Bar Association, was kidnapped at gunpoint in Khuzdar on June 17, 2010.He is among the more than 1,100 documented victims of enforced disappearances in Balochistan who are still missing. Habib Jalib, a senior lawyer, was gunned down by the Muslah Diffah Tanzim on July 14. Mehran Baluch said that "in all these cases, the common denominator is the same force who created and are still nurturing the Taliban in Afghanistan."

Evan as Mehran Baluch finished speaking in the world body, Pakistani forces abducted two members of Baloch Republican Party from Khuzdar, Balochistan. Nasrullah Baloch and Anayatullah Baloch were travelling on motorcycle when the pakistani millitary intelligence personnels driving a government registered vehicle intercepted them and arrested them at gunpoint. The Pakistani official abductor also opened fire to disperse the crowd of the people who had tried to save the BRP members.

Anayatullah is a resident of Bolan Colony where as Nasrullah lives at Zaidi region of Khuzdar. Their whereabouts remained unknown until the filing of this report.It should be noted that about 8,000 Baloch political,student,human right activists abducted by Pakistani millitary in last eight years.

by Frontier India

 

[ajtr]

The Baloch Agony in Pakistan​

No doubt Pakistan's humanitarian crisis has deservedly received a great deal of international attention over the past few months. However, Pakistan's sizeable ethnic and religious minorities have suffered without any international outcry.
Over the past 10 years, the Pakistan's powerful establishment has launched a systematic and widespread campaign to subjugate the ethnic Baloch population. Thousands of cases of killings, torture, enforced disappearance and forced displacement have been documented by Amnesty International, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Human Rights Watch, Asian Human Rights Commission and International Crisis Group.
An official policy of impunity has empowered soldiers, agents and officials to torture, enforce disappearance, kill, and extract Balochistan's natural wealth illegally. There are more than 1,100 documented cases of enforced disappearances, including women and children, who are still missing, while upwards of 8,000 were forcibly disappeared at some point during the last five years in the Baloch intifada against Islamabad's oppressive policies. The extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances bordering on genocide that the Baloch are faced with demand urgent international action.
According to one account, on January 3, 2005, Dr Shazia Khalid, an employee of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), was awoken by somebody pulling her hair. She was then strangled with a cord, threatened, blindfolded, pistol-whipped, beaten and repeatedly raped by a masked intruder, allegedly an army officer, at Sui, Dera Bugti, in the heavily-guarded, government-owned natural gas plant. Dr Shazia Khalid's story is covered in Terence McKenna's documentary about sexual violence in Pakistan, 'Land, Gold and Women'. On February 28, 2006, in an interview with McKenna, Shazia was quoted as saying, "I did not get justice and I will regret that for the rest of my life."
It is clear that the crimes against humanity will continue unabatedly against ethnic minorities of Pakistan, particularly against the Baloch people, who inhabit a Texas-sized land with plenty of natural wealth and strategic importance. It is equally evident that the country's domestic legal system will not punish those perpetrating crimes against ethnic and religious minorities.
The lack of legal and institutional capacity and willingness to try dictators and corrupt civil-military bureaucrats has resulted in an endless crisis of governance and trust in Pakistan. Deliberate turning of a blind eye by the legal and state institutions have benefited human rights violators, corrupt and criminal prime ministers, presidents, and miscreant dictators to escape justice, to live in cosy retirement, often with wealth dishonestly accumulated.
In the last six decades, a significant number of so-called state leaders have been prosecuted and brought before various domestic and international courts and tribunals for their official and unofficial crimes against humanity and genocide. Unfortunately, the most unpopular state leaders have enjoyed lifetime immunity in domestic and foreign courts for their sanctioned and unsanctioned crimes. Many of them enjoyed personal immunity that lasts during their tenure for all unofficial acts such as looting state coffers or murdering political rivals.
After creating political and economic disarray and committing atrocities, the majority of detested world leaders moved to different countries that offered them protection and pleasure. But a great number of the world's reviled state heads have remained in their countries, benefiting from their institutional connections, an incapable judicial system and the state's lack of will to try former and sitting rulers for unlawful and inhuman acts.
But internationally a positive change of approach has been experienced to try rogue leaders for their crimes. Consensus also has been developed among the legal community around the world that all those involved in crimes against humanity must be prosecuted domestically and internationally, because some of these crimes are so disgraceful, they can never be considered a part of any leader's official duties. The statutes of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international tribunals specifically declare that an official capacity or rank by itself is no defence against prosecution.
There is general consensus among Pakistani citizens that the Musharraf era was marked with state highhandedness against citizens. Undermining the constitution, bombing Balochistan, killing and persecuting Baloch veteran leaders, kidnapping political activists, sacking judges, killing lawyers, promoting Centre-province confrontation and corruption are enough to prosecute Mr Musharraf in domestic and international courts.
However, there is little hope among the marginalised people and victims of Musharraf's rule that the former military dictator will be persecuted for looting, treason and grave human rights violations. No doubt, ethnically dominant and superior leaders in Pakistan are above any law and protected against prosecution for their human rights crimes.
In the recent past, a number of the world's errant leaders have been brought before the domestic and international courts for human rights abuses. Some have been convicted, others are on trial.
Internationally, there is a growing trend to make all leaders accountable and prosecute rogue rulers. Radovan Karadzic was arrested and shifted to the ICC at The Hague to face criminal charges. Sudan's president Omar Al-Bashir has also been summoned by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for his human rights crimes and genocide in Darfur.
The international community has mounting challenges and responsibilities to put pressure on concerned countries and regimes to take necessary measures in order to insert the Convention against Genocide and the other Geneva Conventions into the internal order.
Foreign countries have a moral responsibility and legal obligation not to allow and not to provide support or protection to perpetrators of crimes against humanity. The international community, donors and financial institutions should take notice of discriminatory political and economic policies that have accentuated inequalities and intensified conflicts.
It is time for the UN to take the logical step: the UN Human Rights Commission and Security Council must establish commissions of inquiry into crimes against humanity, and impunity in Pakistan. The UN Security Council took similar steps with regard to Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. The situation in Balochistan, Pakistan, is equally critical.
Creating a commission of inquiry will accomplish three important goals: first, it will make the over-confident regime and security forces accountable for their crimes with a potential indictment by the ICC. Second, it will address the widespread culture of impunity in Pakistan. Third, it has the potential to deter future crimes against humanity against marginalised communities and groups. (Courtesy: Daily Times, Lahore)
(This paper was presented in the 15th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva)
The writer is a former senator. He can be reached at [email protected]

 

[ajtr]

BNP-M leader gunned down in Balochistan​

QUETTA: A central leader of the BNP-M, Mir Noor-ud-din Mengal, was gunned down by unknown armed men in the Kalat town on Wednesday.

Mengal was a member of the central executive committee of his party.

Sources said that Mengal was on his way home when unknown armed men riding a motorcycle opened indiscriminate fire at him.

He succumbed to his injuries on his way to a hospital in Quetta. After firing both the assailants managed to escape from the scene.

 

[ajtr]

 

[Sridhar]

Pakistani Army continues to pound Mashkay in Balochistan, civilian properties set ablaze

By Frontier India | October 15th, 2010 | Category: Asia, Latest | No Comments »
Pakistan Army continues to bombard area of Mashkay in what the locals say "Pakistani Occupied Balochistan." This offensive is being carried out with the help of gunship helicopters. Sources around Mashkay report properties of the local people, who have resisted against the looting or kidnappings, were set on fire. Several people were kidnapped by the army and were taken to undisclosed locations.
According to the reports received Bashir Ahmed Baloch, a tailor by profession and his two sons of age 9 and 13 were abducted from Wahejo, a small town in Mashkay. Bashir Ahmed's shop was set ablaze and his family members were severely beaten at the time when three of them were being kidnapped. It is said that the personal's repeatedly said that he was the only tailor in the area therefore he must be the one who stitches the flags of Independent Balochistan.
Meanwhile in Moee, the town where Baloch leader Dr. Allah Nizar was born, a school teacher named as Raza Muhammed Baloch, his relative Adam Baloch, a shepherd named Abdul Latif Baloch and a brother of Dr. Alla Nizar, Ibrahim Baloch were kidnapped and were taken to undisclosed location. Dr. Alla Nizar's house was raided as well, and his family and neighbors were humiliated and their belongings were taken away. On the other hand in Kandali, a place near Mashkay Cantonment, Dr. Haneef Baloch's house was raided by Pakistan army, and his house, along with the houses of six of his neighbors, were burnt to ashes. By burning the houses of the people who are already living a miserable life and live below the poverty line in their mineral rich motherland, the army officer present at the scene celebrated victory and warned other residents of the area that they would all be slaughtered and that they were all working for India and America (the infidels as Pakistan Army calls them).
In the main market of Mashkay which was observing a shutter down strike against the army offensive, 18 shops were set on fire and people were forcefully asked to keep their shops open if they wished to save their properties from burning. Houses of Fida Baloch, Zahor Baloch, Haroon Baloch, Mustafa Baloch and Gul Hassan Baloch were also burnt for the sole reason of being members B.S.O. (Azaad). Their family members were forcefully taken out of the houses and children and women were said to be humiliated and beaten on the roads of Mashkay.
In a separate incident, two members of Baloch Student Organization (Azad)Gwadar zone Sameer Baloch So Abdul Rasheed & Yasir Baloch, son of Haji Nasir Baloch were whisked away by unknown abductors from ''Surbandar'' area of Gwadar.



http://frontierindia.net/wa/pakista...ochistan-civilian-properties-set-ablaze/2040/

 

[ajtr]

Five killed in Balochistan​

Five people, including a member of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema Islam (JUI), were killed in three different incidents of violence, on Monday, in Balochistan.
In Zhob, undentified gunmen shot the ameer of JUI, Sheikh Muhammad Ayub Mandokhel and managed to escape from the scene. Mandokhel was taken to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Meanwhile, in Kohlu, assailants opened fire on labourers near a levies check post. As a result three labourers died on the spot, while three others were injured.
A clerk in the office of the Deputy Commissioner was also killed in Mastung town of the province.

 

[ajtr]

PAKISTAN URGED TO INVESTIGATE MURDER AND TORTURE OF BALOCH ACTIVISTS​

26 October 2010
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 today.

Activists, politicians and student leaders are among those who have been targeted in enforced disappearances, abductions, arbitrary arrests and cases of torture and other ill-treatment.

The violence takes place against a backdrop of increasing political unrest and Pakistan army operations in Balochistan, south western Pakistan.

"The Pakistani government must act immediately to provide justice for the growing list of atrocities in Balochistan," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director.

"Baloch political leaders and activists are clearly being targeted and the government must do much more to end this alarming trend."

Among the latest victims of the ongoing violence are Faqir Mohammad Baloch and Zahoor Baloch, whose bodies were discovered in the district of Mastung on 21 October 2010. Faqir Mohammad Baloch, a poet and member of the Voice of Missing Baloch Missing Persons, was abducted on 23 September.

Zahoor Baloch, a member of the Baloch Student Organization-Azad was abducted on 23 August. According to media reports, both received a single bullet wound to the head at point blank range and showed signs of being tortured.

The discovery of the two men's bodies is part of a growing trend of "kill and dump" operations. Bullet-ridden bodies of those who have been abducted, many showing signs of torture, are increasingly being found across Balochistan. Previously, the bodies of missing persons were rarely recovered.

Other recent victims of the violence include Mir Nooruddin Mengal, a member of the Balochistan National Party's (BNP-M) Central Executive Committee was shot dead by unidentified men near his home in Gharebabad, near Kalat Bazar on 13 October.

Yasin Baloch, a member of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons and brother of Mujeeb Baloch, senior member of BSO-Azad, who had also been abducted, was shot by unidentified gunmen near Roshare Kalat on 10 October.

The victims' relatives and activists often accuse the Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies of carrying out these violations. A previously unknown organization, Sipah-e Shuhada-e Balochistan, has also claimed responsibility for some of the killings.

"The Pakistan government's ongoing failure to prevent abuses has emboldened the perpetrators behind these atrocities," said Sam Zarifi.

"The Pakistani government must show that it can and will investigate the Pakistani military and Frontier Corps, as well as intelligence agencies, who are widely accused of playing a role in these incidents."

Amnesty International warned that the rise in enforced disappearances and kill and dump incidents has aggravated political tensions in Baluchistan and led to reprisal killings by Baloch armed groups.

On 14 August 2010, 17 people from Punjab province were killed in Quetta. The Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility, saying that the killings were in response to the killings of Baloch missing persons.

Amnesty International urges all sides in the conflict to respect human rights and stop all torture, enforced disappearances, abductions, targeted killings and indiscriminate attacks.

In November 2009, the Pakistani government announced a package of proposed policy and legislation reforms for Balochistan, and promised to resolve the cases of enforced disappearances, but it has so far failed to do so.

Other prominent killings of Baloch activists since July include:
On 11 July, Maula Baksh Dashti, a key figure in the Balochistan National Party and a former district Nazim (Chief Official) of Kech (Turbat) District was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in his native district.
On 14 July, former Senator Habib Jalib Baloch, Secretary General of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) was assassinated in the Parkaniabad area of Quetta, by three gunmen on a motorbike. He received seven bullets in the neck and chest and had been receiving threats.
On 20 July, a leading member of the BNP-M, Liaqat Mengal, was shot dead on by three gunmen on a motorbike near his house in the Kalat district of Balochistan.
On 26 July, the bullet riddled bodies of two cousins, student Ashfaq Ahmed Mullahzai and Muhmmad Farooq Mengal, were recovered in Quetta, in the Kili Qambrani area. Their relatives claim they had been abducted in May 2010.
On 6 September, the body of Baloch lawyer Zaman Marri was found in Mastung. He had received a single bullet to his forehead and his body showed torture marks. The lawyer was reportedly abducted by intelligence agents near his place of work in Quetta on 18 August.
On 23 September, the bullet riddled body of missing Baloch lawyer Ali Sher Kurd was found in Khuzdar district. Kurd was reportedly abducted by Pakistani intelligent agents three days before. His neck was broken and he showed marks of torture.
Balochistan has a history of insurgency with local groups advocating greater autonomy. Four waves of violent unrest took place in 1948, 1958-59, 1962-63 and 1973-77.

Local people in Balochistan are demanding a bigger share of the revenue generated by the province's natural resources, principally natural gas, which they believe now disproportionately benefit other provinces.

Some Baloch groups have resorted to violence, while others are campaigning peacefully. The Pakistani national government has attempted to suppress this opposition by increasing the military presence in the region.

Many people have died at the hands of the security forces in extrajudicial executions and deaths in custody, and thousands of people are reported to have been subjected to enforced disappearance. The confrontation between Baloch nationalists and the state is characterised by human rights abuses committed by all sides.

 

[ajtr]

4 killed, 7 injured in an attack in Kohlu: BLA claimed​

October 25, 2010
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At least four pole-erecting workers have been killed while seven other severely injured in an attack carried out by Baluch Liberation Army (BLA) a banned militant wing in Kohlu area of Balochistan on Monday, BLA spokesperson, Azad Baluch claimed.
Azad Baluch while talking from satellite phone from some unidentified place accepted the responsibility of the attack and said that (BLA) would continue to kill the people who found involve in giving asylum to state people. He further said that (BLA) would continue such attacks till the independence.

 

[maomao]

AMAZING





Hahhahahaha beggar pakistan (Failed State) wants kashmir, these fools cannot even control and will surely loose Balochistan, Sindh, Gilgit, Pakhtoonkwa.....leave that even south punjab is running out of their control but these fools would want kashmir ....wait a sec even Azad kashmiris are asking for azadi