Oppression in Balochistan and its struggle for freedom

Singh

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Needless accusations

‘Startled’ is the word used by this paper’s reporter to describe the reaction of senators on Wednesday when they were briefed on Balochistan by the PM’s interior adviser. Was Rehman Malik’s argument a throwback to the old days when it was easy for the state to justify the bulldozing of a movement after labelling it as pro-India or pro-Soviet or pro-Afghan? Conversely, we know that when the government is not using the ‘foreign agent’ excuse to browbeat an errant subject, it is applying the refrain to conceal its inability to overcome a problem. Either way, it spells trouble for Pakistan and Mr Malik could have avoided the situation.

His statement is hardly in keeping with the friendly messages President Asif Zardari has been sending to both New Delhi and Kabul. Also, the time is long gone when people would readily accept the state’s version about events in a ‘remote’ part of the country. Assertions without evidence can cause grave harm. The adviser should know since he had himself asked for an explanation after a Lahore police official linked India to two terrorist attacks in the city in recent weeks.

It is his turn to come up with proof now. He spoke of thousands of Baloch insurgents being trained in Afghanistan with the support of India. By doing so, he also exposed himself and indeed the state he represents to the anger of the Baloch who may view the statement as part of a smear campaign which insinuates that they are susceptible to inducement by Pakistan’s ‘enemies’. It is good that we have a forum in the media where the accused can respond with statements of their own, but that doesn’t in any way rule out other, more severe, reactions.

Let’s be under no illusions: others may well want to exploit situations inside our country to their advantage in the name of their own national interest. The world as it is today offers ample opportunity for such covert operations but we can only tackle these issues by first addressing the local realities behind them. As some senators maintained during the briefing, pointing fingers could further complicate relations with our neighbours.

The senators were absolutely right in calling on the adviser to be discreet with his words, insisting they would rather hear him out in-camera. If something concrete emerges from the in-camera session, it can be taken up with those deemed responsible.

DAWN.COM | Balochistan | Needless accusations
 

Yusuf

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India has to covertly support the Baloch movement. Right now the Pakistani claims are just that. RAW is not as potent as its made out to be. They are more of a tool used by the self serving politicians of India who want to spy on their political opponents. The RAW was good once upon a time during the time of IG when they succeeded in Bangladesh. The ISI is more efficient than RAW in engineering insurgencies, subversive activities. If RAW had done half the job ISI has done in Kashmir, Balochistan would have been an independent nation already.
 

Flint

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I'm not too sure if the Americans will appreciate India meddling in Balochistan while its their troops who are dying to provide the security.

I don't think India is up to anything significant in Balochistan either. Its just a collective panic attack that has struck the Pakistanis who see themselves surrounded by India on both sides.
 

ZOOM

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When I listen to Pakistan's Interior Minister's, He said there are some Hostile countries doing some wrong gesture by interfering into the affairs of Baluchistan and suddenly he quoted India to remaining away from Baluchistan and refraining from interfering anymore, it seems to me that he wasn't sure wheater to alledge India or not.

Certainly that particuler speech was directed towards the consumption of Pakistani Audiance who have been given pills of propoganda pertaining to RAW Hand in Baluch rather then accusing Pakistani Taliban which is spreading its influence on entire Pakistan including Baluch. region.
 

Daredevil

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No evidence India supporting terror in Pakistan: Holbrooke

No evidence India supporting terror in Pakistan: Holbrooke

* US special envoy says what happens in Pakistan affects situation in Afghanistan
* Says no tensions between Pakistan and US

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: There is no evidence that India is supporting violence in Pakistan, US Special Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said on Friday.

“If the Indians were supporting those miscreants in Pakistan that would be extraordinarily bad, really dangerous, but they are not doing so. There is no evidence that Indians are support miscreants in western parts of Pakistan or in Balochistan,” he said in an interview with a private TV channel.

He said India was the second largest country in the world and one of the most important. “If we are interested in helping Pakistan, we will have to talk to its neighbours, which include China, India and Afghanistan,” he added.

He said India had given about $1 billion assistance to Afghanistan, and it should not be a cause of concern for Pakistan. “Pakistan does not need to worry about India in Afghanistan, but it has to be worried about miscreants and militants in its western parts,” he added.

To question about the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan, he said his job was only related to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan affects: About the use of the term “Af-Pak”, Holbrooke said it emphasised that what happened in Afghanistan was affected by what happened in Pakistan.

The US special envoy denied there were tensions between Pakistan and the US, saying the US wanted to help Pakistan fight the common enemies.

“Pakistan, the US, Afghanistan and India have a common goal of defeating the militants, who were trying to destroy democracy in Pakistan,” he said, adding that US President Barack Obama was committed to supporting Pakistan. “The Obama government has asked the Congress for a big support for Pakistan, and I myself went around the world raising money for Pakistan and had a very successful conference in Tokyo that raised $5 billion for Pakistan,” he added.

He denied the US drone attacks were killing innocent people and proving counter productive. Asked if there was a secret agreement between Pakistan and the US for drone attacks, he said the previous US administration could answer the question.

He denied the US wanted to carry out drone attacks in Quetta.

He rebuffed the news that the ISI chief had refused to meet him during his recent visit to Pakistan. He said General Pasha and army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani were great military leaders.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
 

Yusuf

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I'm not too sure if the Americans will appreciate India meddling in Balochistan while its their troops who are dying to provide the security.

I don't think India is up to anything significant in Balochistan either. Its just a collective panic attack that has struck the Pakistanis who see themselves surrounded by India on both sides.
Americans are not dying in Balochistan. In fact if India puts oil in the secession fire in Balochistan, they will fight the very terrorists that are holed up out there as they are not any friends with the Taliban. The Taliban are the creations of the very Pakistan state that they are trying to cede from. If it becomes independent, that area will be one less for the Americans and India to worry about on our western border.
 

Flint

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Americans are not dying in Balochistan.
Yes I know that. They are dying in Afghanistan and providing Indians the space to operate safely.

In fact if India puts oil in the secession fire in Balochistan, they will fight the very terrorists that are holed up out there as they are not any friends with the Taliban. The Taliban are the creations of the very Pakistan state that they are trying to cede from. If it becomes independent, that area will be one less for the Americans and India to worry about on our western border.
I don't think you've thought this through mate. The US is not interested in breaking up Pakistan, and if India tries to fan insurgencies we will quickly find that Indian presence is no longer welcome in Afghanistan.

Any attempts by the US to help Baloch nationalists will strike the fatal blow to US-Pak relations, and consequently the entire effort to make the PA take on the Taliban.
Without the PA to challenge them, there is no other force capable of stopping them from taking over the whole region. :bye:
 

Yusuf

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I don't think you've thought this through mate. The US is not interested in breaking up Pakistan, and if India tries to fan insurgencies we will quickly find that Indian presence is no longer welcome in Afghanistan.

Any attempts by the US to help Baloch nationalists will strike the fatal blow to US-Pak relations, and consequently the entire effort to make the PA take on the Taliban.
Without the PA to challenge them, there is no other force capable of stopping them from taking over the whole region. :bye:
The way things are going, there will not be a Pakistan for the US to deal with. If Balochistan is out of Pakistan, they will surely protect their country against the Taliban so that will be one less area for the US to deal with. The Baloch will not allow the Taliban a safe haven in their land. Anyways the US is not getting involved in this process. It just has to look the other way.
 

Rage

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My word! Are we seeing another Independence agitation in the making? Interesting. Thank you for sharing nitesh bhai. I've always imagined the Baloch people had very little to do with Pakistan, being of ethnic Iranian descent themselves and of a culture unique to their own. There've been several instances before of Balochis hoisting the Indian national flag during protests against the Pakistani state amidst appeals to the Indian government for intervention. Time we get the better of our apathy and leverage this situation to our advantage.

Rage
 

Rage

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Significant: Marked Departure in position

The following news report as of April 29, 2009 marks a noteworthy departure from a previous position published in early April 2009 re the probability of US drone strikes in Baluchestan:


US appears split over Balochistan


* Experts and officials say Washington may have less leverage in Balochistan than in FATA

Thursday, April 30, 2009


WASHINGTON: The Obama administration appears divided over whether CIA missile strikes should be used against ‘Taliban safe havens’ across the border in Balochistan.

Officials claim that Balochistan and its provincial capital, Quetta, provide a safe haven for terrorists intent on carrying out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. “You find the same sort of leadership, medical support, logistics, personnel, recruitment, training,” said a senior defence official, one of half a dozen US officials who spoke to Reuters. But while FATA is home to Al Qaeda and other militant groups, Balochistan is a base for Afghan Taliban leaders. The province is also an entry point for FATA-bound foreign fighters, according to Pakistani security officials.

What to do about Balochistan is a question facing US policymakers now that President Barack Obama has opted to more than double the number of US forces in Afghanistan. Experts and officials say the administration may have less leverage in Balochistan than in FATA. Unlike Al Qaeda and other FATA-based groups, they say, Pakistan does not recognise the Afghan Taliban as a security threat and may fear that action against them would stir trouble with Baloch separatists who have long opposed Islamabad. The question has also sown division over the tactic of using CIA missile strikes to degrade the Taliban leadership, officials say, with newer Obama appointees taking a hard look at the potential ramifications for Balochistan. Some Pentagon officials are also reluctant to embrace the idea. Some in the administration favour attacking Taliban leaders with CIA drones. But others fear missile attacks in Balochistan could cause a destabilising backlash for Pakistan’s civilian government.

Officials say the main concern is that Taliban leaders are believed living in populated areas among an estimated 120,000 Afghans. “The Taliban’s Quetta shura are believed to be in the refugee camps outside the city. If you target the refugee camps, you wind up killing a lot of refugees and that’s a real human rights controversy,” said David Kilcullen, a State Department expert on counterinsurgency under the Bush administration. reuters




Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

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In stark contrast to previous reports on the issue. So much for Zardari's promises, eh?:


US promised not to extend drone attacks in Balochistan : Zardari

April 9th, 2009 - 12:29 pm ICT by ANI


Lahore, Apr.9 (ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the United States has promised not to extend the drone strikes to Balochistan.

In an interview with The Daily Times, Zardari said the Pakistan government has communicated its discontent over Washington’s plan to carry out missile strikes against terror hideouts in Balochistan, replying to which the US had assured that it would not target the new region.

Zardari hoped that Balochistan’s problem would be solved by the year end.

Zardari said the number of ‘missing people’in Balochistan were neither in the thousands nor in the hundreds.

“There are a few people, and they would be released after the due process of law,” he added.

Commenting on the heightened tension between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack, Zardari blamed New Delhi for replying negatively to Islamabad’s bold peace proposals.

He expressed hope that the stalled peace talks between the two countries would resume after general elections in India.

Zardari also expressed concern over the thirty percent increase in the Indian defence budget. (ANI)




US promised not to extend drone attacks in Balochistan : Zardari
 

Yusuf

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India plays saint every where. Be it in SL, or Pakistan. For India to be counted in the league of Big Nations, it has to learn and play the games Big Nations play.
If we can get the Bolchistan what they want, then imagine the amount of strategic depth India will get after pocketing Afghanistan.
We can then thank the Chinese for building the Gwadar port and use it as our own. America too should be happy it will get the trouble free supply route it has been looking for.
 

johnee

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India plays saint every where. Be it in SL, or Pakistan. For India to be counted in the league of Big Nations, it has to learn and play the games Big Nations play.
If we can get the Bolchistan what they want, then imagine the amount of strategic depth India will get after pocketing Afghanistan.
We can then thank the Chinese for building the Gwadar port and use it as our own. America too should be happy it will get the trouble free supply route it has been looking for.
but YUSUF, wouldnt US be the biggest roadblock to achieve it? would US allow us to get influential in resource rich balochistan? and how would we counter US, if it does not allow us to spread our influence there?
most of us agree with your point that india needs to play the BIG GAME, now lets discuss the action plan, the potential roadblocks and their counters........
 

Ray

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Strategic depth is a term that equates to the distances between the front lines and the industrial core areas, capital cities, heartlands, and other key centres of population or military production. In other words, in the event of a war, centres that affect production, the economy and the morale are out of reach of the adversary. However, the moot point is that with an arsenal of Ballistic missiles, what would really constitute strategic depth and if that is indeed relevant in today's context.

In its true sense, Balochistan does not give India any strategic depth.

However, if Balochistan is aligned to India, it gives India strategic options.

It is the underbelly of Pakistan as also it can be used to neutralise the only worthwhile port of Pakistan i.e. Karachi. It also would ensure that the Chinese are evicted from Gwadar and with Chabahar in Iran (India is building it and the highway into Afghanistan and is near completion), it is a formidable threat to Pakistan and the Taliban.

It is in the US' interest to oust the Chinese from Gwadar as also 'box' the Taliban in and finish them off.and clear the route from the oilfields of Central Asian Republic to Gwadar and onto the markets of the developing economies like India and China and thus, shore up her economy! It is also the way for the US to box in Iran, having got the western side in its pocket i.e. Iraq. Ideally, in case Iran does not cooperate, the US could start a Greater Balochi movement since the area in Iran contiguous is of Balochis!

The only problem for the US, is that it is scraping the barrel bottom for troops.

India is their only salvation!
 

Yusuf

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but YUSUF, wouldnt US be the biggest roadblock to achieve it? would US allow us to get influential in resource rich balochistan? and how would we counter US, if it does not allow us to spread our influence there?
most of us agree with your point that india needs to play the BIG GAME, now lets discuss the action plan, the potential roadblocks and their counters........
Partnership can be the answer. India is friends with Balochi, but the Balochis are not necessarily friends of the US. India is friends with Iran as well. So it would suite the US to play along with India. In any case India is the market for all the oil and gas that can be extracted from Central asia and got via Afghanistan to Balochistan. The US will be more than happy to give India a stake in any pipeline work that comes about.
 

Ray

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Yusuf,

A penny for your thoughts!
 

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