What Ails the Quality of Journalism in Balochistan?

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Despite being rich in terms of its natural resources and significant due to its geostrategic location, Balochistan has remained the most backward of all Pakistani provinces. Hence, the province does not get sufficient attention in the national media whereas there is a tremendous need for building journalists’ capacity. Balochistan also lags behind in terms of standard of journalism practiced here. The poor quality of journalism in Balochistan is because of lack of proper training and exposure opportunities for the local journalists.

The key problem or the cause of backwardness of journalism in Balochistan is somewhat because of a lack of training and internship opportunities for reporters because mainstream Pakistani media organizations hardly provide such chances to journalism students from Balochistan. Students even cannot fully available an internship offer, if ever made, to them from outlets based in Karachi, Islamabd or Lahore because the host media organizations or the universities where the students are enrolled do not pay travel or lodging expenses to facilitate such rare learning opportunities.

 Meager financial resources also hinder the news gathering process in the province. Most social and political issues are not reported because the regional newspapers lack the funds to train their reporters about the idea of investigative journalism and encourage them to follow a career in this essential domain of journalism. Even a university degree in journalism does not necessarily lead to investigative journalism skills. The absence of trainings causes the poor standard of reporting. Journalists, who hold professional degrees cannot prove themselves as skilled journalist , because the degree holders work only on theory rather than practical work. No doubt, there has not been any productive output of journalist classes at the University of Balochistan because a large number of students prefer to go out of Balochistan and work in other provinces mainly in Karachi , the capital city of Sindh, to pursue a career in journalism.

 The backwardness of journalism in Balochistan is depicted in the deficient media. Most newspapers carry press releases from government offices, headquarters of political parties which they are sent to them via fax. They also suffice with calling their friends and getting news. Having done that, they publish then news which are in fact mere “desk stories”. In local press clubs, all journalists share the same news story and fax it to their news offices by only changing the bylines. What we learn from such practices is the deficiency of investigative work. Journalists get information from their colleagues instead of going out in the field to dig out stories themselves. Not surprisingly, the same news report gets published the next day in a number of local publications without even a single edit in the entire copy. This reflects not only weaknesses in the reporting section but also a sad state of affairs in the copy-editing department.

 Newsrooms often remain contended with press releases they receive from various sources via fax or stories they copy and paste from the internet or news agencies.

In most of the cities teacher and clerks work with newspapers published from Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan. Newspapers hardly pay the reports or journalist for their work, therefor; they can find teachers to report for their newspapers without paying them any compensation for their services. Fulltime commitment is extremely essential for high quality and this job cannot be performed by government school teachers in such exploitative circumstances.

 The unprofessional editors further contribute to the deplorable situation because the publishers and owners of the newspapers simultaneously also serve as the editors. They have little or no journalistic experience at all. The other owner-cum-editors are unskilled, untrained or compliant of government dictations because they want to receive advertisements from the government’s Ministry of Information.

 Apart from, above mentioned issues journalist face threats from sectarian , armed groups and allegedly intelligence agencies. Currently, journalists of Balochistan are witnessing the appalling murder of their professional colleagues on a regular basis. More than 12 journalist of Balochistan have either been shot dead or killed and dumped after being abducted.

 The local journalists are still unfamiliar with the concept and benefits of social media and internet. It has been observed that a large number of writers and journalist cannot use computer and they do not know how to use the internet to send their news reports by using email.

 There is a great need to create opportunities of exposure and trainings for journalist of Balochistan to know the required techniques of the time in journalism and become aware of the standard in journalism or media which has been applied in the developed countries.

 Although a number of national and international organizations have extensively worked in various major cities of Pakistan to develop the capacity of journalists and introduce them with modern tools and techniques, such initiatives have, unfortunately, not been taken on a large scale for the journalists of Balochistan. It is the time these organizations prioritized Balochistan in their media development projects considering the overwhelming need in this important area.

Courtesy : The Baloch Hal

Innovation Lab 2011 for Social Justice

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch 

A three-day Innovation Lab on innovation for social justice was held at Marriot Islamabad from 25th to 27th October. A large number of   media experts, journalists, bloggers, CSO leaders’ geeks and IT experts participated to showcase and experience digital tools and technologies.

The innovation Lab had been organized by Bytes for All (B4A) and Internews Network. Byte for all is a civil society organization and network of information and communication Technology (ICT) professionals and practitioners. The internews Network is an International media development organization, which empowers local media worldwide to give people the news and information and means to make their voices heard.
On the first day of Lab after the welcome and overview the participants were broken up into seven teams based on their skills and experiences. They were introduced to the new technologies. The Core of Innovation Lab Islamabad was to derive the problems in the locality, devise a solution for the problem and deliver the solution. Keeping in view, the teams identified specific problems that could be presented in the Lab. The teams developed project concepts having idea to utilize new technologies and shared their plannings to build during the rest of the Lab.

The second day all the teams commenced working on their projects and the teams’ spokespeople presented their progress. The second day of innovatio Lab remained a busy day all the teams were busy in sgaring ideas for development of their projects. An optional session of Night Cooding took place in which participants meet up with presenters, Who handed on installation/configuration/demonstration of their tech-tools.

The final day began with a much needed Digital Security session by Bobby Soriano. With more than 15 years of experience in working with privacy and security matters, Bobby showed participants some of the ways that they can use to make their internet usage more secure.

On the last day, teams finalized their projects, developed plan for marketing and presented their projects. The fallowing projects were presented on the final day:

Project 1: RYSe: “Reclaim your space”

“Reclaim your space” (RYSe) project is all about to get hold of the right to live a secure and dignified life! It is believed that sexual violence, primarily against women and transgendered people, is one of the most pressing problems in Pakistan today.  The project aims to raise voice against sexual harassment   because survivors suffer in silence and isolation and few victims speak about their experiences.

The aim of RYSe is to break this culture of silence that assists in the perpetuation of one of the most gross violations of basic rights in the country. The option of reporting incidents anonymously will encourage survivors to ‘open up’ and ‘talk’ about their experiences via platforms with which they will be comfortable. Moreover, the documentation of instances of violence will also enable other survivors and victims’ to see that they are not alone — as such, what happened was not their fault. In the reporting of sexual harassment Frontline SMS and Crowdmap are the primary technologies.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/RYSe.org

Project 2: “Mother Child Health – Karak”

Maternal Health Information Service – project was titled “Maternal Child Health Karak”. It aimed to set up an SMS number for women of childbearing age and their children. The idea was to find a way for women in remote areas to access health care. This SMS technology was meant to help health workers keep track of where pregnant women were located and provide a way to keep track of their health.

The technologies which are used in the project are Pringit for SMS and PHP and MySQL  for data storage .

Project 3: Mera Vote Meri Taqat:

Project “Mera Vote Meri Taqat” “My Vote my Power” Encouraging citizens to vote (including a research component to better understand why they don’t) (MVMP) is a public awareness campaign just to realize masses the power and value of their vote. FrontlineSMS  is the primary technology being used in the project. https://www.facebook.com/#!/MeraVoteMeriTaqat
Project 4: Khoon say zindagi:

Khoon se Zindagi is a local community blood bank system that aims to reduce outside dependency in conflict and violence affected areas.

The main purpose of the project is to set up a database of blood donors for small communities. The system will be independent and will not be connected to other communities or systems (this can be done at a future stage; the database will be setup to accommodate expansion).

The main tool being used here is FrontlineSMS. Volunteers for allocated areas will be provided cell phones (with FrontlineSMS forms installed) and will go door-to-door to take pledges and collect information.

In case blood is required, SMSs will be sent to the relevant blood group using FrontlineSMS asking them to donate blood at the local health centre or hospital.

Project 5: Bus Karo

Buss Karo !! is an e-inclusion portal to report domestic violence among women of Pakistan in neighborhood and connecting them with the sources of help like lawyers, media, medical, human rights activists, law enforcement agencies etc. through verification by volunteers and reporting violence, sending notifications and tracking the requests online, by email, SMS and by phone making sure its illiterate friendly and addresses the digital divide among computer savvy NGO’s and victims.

https://www.facebook.com/BussKaro

Project 6: Muhafizz

Mahafizz (Guardian) aims to map the challenges faced by Human Rights defenders in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa, Balochistan, and FATA.

Human Rights defenders are individuals, group of individuals, or organizations working for the promotion and protection of Human Rights at local, national, regional, or global level non-violently. Human Rights defenders throughout the world are doing tremendous work to promote and protect Human Rights and to stand up against the violations of the human rights, even if it entails putting their own lives in harm’s way.

The challenges they face include but are not limited to threats, abduction, and torture, and murder, physical and mental violence. It was therefore decided by team to develop a tool to map the attacks on Human Rights defenders exclusively in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa Province, FATA, and Balochistan.

The idea behind this decision was that once these challenges are mapped, it will help the Human Rights Organizations to use the data for amplifying the advocacy efforts for ensuring the protection of Human Rights defenders.

Report about an attack on human rights defender in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Balochistan can be by filling online report form on the site of Mahafizz. The attacks can be reported by sending SMS, tweet, and email. The primary technologies in the project are FrontlineSMS and crowdmap. Read More.

Project 7: Dysaster.org:

The Blue-Green group worked on a project titled SINC (Social Injustice Neutralization Controls). This is basically a solution which  incorporates various technologies such as Moonitin, Ushahidi, Twitter to allow for optimal means of communication  for natural disaster victims.  The first deployment of SINC is the Dysaster.org project which was demoed on the last day of the Islamabad Innovation Lab.

The platform will help to gather, manage and disseminate reports of natural Disasters.

Dysaster.org is powered by Moonitin’s worldwide toll-free Hypermostlinks–that are uncontested as “The fastest, easiest, cheapest, omnipresent, and universal means of communication in the World”

SINC has been the intellectual contribution of Group “Blue-Green” of the Islamabad Innovative Lab 2011, and Dysaster.org has been initially funded by a financial and technological grant from Moonitin.com. Read more.  

Yousaf  Ajab Baloch, a staff member,  represented The Baloch Hal in the Innovation Lab 2011 in Islamabad.

Floods in Kalat

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch
Most districts of Balochistan have not only experienced early onset rains but have also been affected during the arrival of monsoon in Balochistan. The continued rain and floods have caused heavy rain causing flash flooding in different parts of the province.

The current rainfall and flood have also hit the historic district Kalat. Kalat covers an area of 6,621 km while its estimated population is over 400,000. The district is governed from the city of Kalat. The current district consists of Tehsil Kalat,Tehsil Surab,Tehsil Mangocher and two Sub-Tehsils Gazg and Johan.

The Kalat has also been affected in the current rainfall. According to the reliable sources and the rapid Survey of Human Prosperity Organization (HPO), a district-based non-profit organization, the ongoing cycle of flood and rains have also affected the population of 53477 in Tehsil Kalat, 8200 in Tehsil Surab , 11734 Tehsil Magocher and 2416 at Sub Tehsil Gazg and Johan have a great effect including the fallowing villages of districts Kalat: Mauli, Gulak Umrani, Kesun Doon , U/C Nighar , Killi Rodeni ,Dasht Mughalzai, Giddar, Gazg Shesha Daghar ,Iskalkoo, Khail and Pus Sher have severely been influenced in the disaster in cluding the 145 villages , where the excessive rainfall resulted in water logging and flooding caused damages to human settlement, shelter, infrastructure, water and sanitation health and nutrition ,education ,agriculture and food security.

People’s daily life has been totally perturbed and many villages have been destroyed. People are suffering from heavy flood and their all facilities of life have been washed away .The Deputy Commission Kalat district has also declared a state of emergency in the District Kalat .

45% population of the district is struck where rains severely devastated 145 villages. The torrent rainfall did not only cause problems for the local population but they have also played havoc with livestock, agriculture, and infrastructure.

At least three people died and 17 were reported injured in the flooding in the area. Officials say thousands of the houses have been washed away or have collapsed. Apart from this, 1300 hectare farms of potato, 30000 hectare onion,26000 hectare tomato, 19000 hectare apple, and 2000 hectare of ther crops have been washed away.

Some reports in the media stated that more than 1000 goat and sheep had died or had been flooded.

Victims of heavy rains and flood are living in a very miserable condition in Kalat. Many of them are migrating to relatively safer places within the district because the victims have no shelters, living on grounds and facing problems of water and sanitation. Water and sanitation and food facilities are the most terrific issues.

Currently, the around 73,111 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are confronted with lack of food, health facilities, water and sanitation. The people are compelled to drink contaminated water and live without shelter. The cold weather and torrential rain does not let them live smoothly.

According to the available and initial reports the fallowing numbers of people have been affected by mentioned diseases: 130 Gastro, 180 skin disease, 93 Malaria, 70 Tified fever.

People are staying on the ground without shelter or in a poor shelter which increases the fear of insects’ attacks and Malaria. There is a great fear of skin diseases which particularly occurs after the flooding and rainfall. It can be accelerated if the hygienic practices are not done properly. In this situation, the government and relief organizations should at least make sure that the flood and rain victims do not live in a situation which makes them vulnerable to more diseases and hazards.

Courtesy: www.thebalochhal.com

UN Attention to Balochistan Conflict

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Ultimately, the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has put an end to the silence on the human rights ill-treatment, abduction, killing and dumping of Baloch people.

This is the first time that the United Nations has formally urged Pakistani authorities to probe human rights violation in Balochistan.

This remarkable notice of UN came after the murder of Munir Shakir, the correspondent for Online News Network and Balochi TV Sabzbath. Shakir was gunned down on 14^th of August 2011, In Khuzdar city. After covering the ‘black day’ being observed in Balochistan on the call of Baloch National Front (BNF).

It is worth mentioning, Shakir was not the first media man killed in the hours  of duty but he was the fourth reporter in Khuzdar district and 11^th in Balochistan to get killed. His other colleagues have been killed or became victim of “Abduct, kill and dump” policy, said to be  applied by security forces in Balochistan.

Though the all journalists are in peril in Balochistan and being abducted or killed, Khuzdar is the most precarious situation, where journalists are suffering from extreme murder of their colleagues after being threatened by an underground armed organizations allegedly patronized by state.

The United Nations human rights office on Friday urged the Pakistan government to investigate a series of killing and disappearances of journalist, human rights defenders and political activist. The spokesperson for OHCHR, Rupert Colville’s statement is quoted

“We are very concerned that such incidents are not abating in Pakistan …and we call on all responsible parties to immediately stop such violation of human rights, and we urge the government to take immediate steps to independently investigate these cases”

In some extent, the attention of UN is high-appreciated, but on the other hand if we retrospect, human rights organizations, Baloch political parties have been demanding for UN notice, however, there has not been any attention of United Nations which has cast aspersion on UN charter for human rights in Balochistan.

Since the Baloch nation commenced protesting, thousands of Baloch have been disappeared and hundreds of Baloch extra-judicially killed up to now.

Though human rights organization : Human Rights Commission Of Pakistan ,Human Rights Watch, Asian Human Rights and Amnesty International ,have time and again urged state of Pakistan to probe into the target killing and murders in detention of the Baloch belonging to different walks of life, even the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in its recent report named “Balochistan, blinked side into chaos” discloses that security forces have made their own personal government; they are given freehand to whisk away and kill people in Balochistan, without clearing their guilt.

Unluckily, none of the reports of aforementioned human rights organization has been given attentiveness, and the state authorities blame that these reports are made to misguide people about Pakistan.

It is crystal clear; human rights abuse is on the rise in Balochistan, where most of the articles of human rights charter are being dishonored. According to the available facts, more than 11 journalists including 180 human rights activists, lawyers, teachers, political activists and leaders have been extra-judicially killed or target killed since June 2010. The organization Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) striving for the safe recovery of disappeared Baloch, claims the number of missing ones as high as 12000.

The notice of United Nations is being considered a moral support to the people of Balochistan, however UN ought not to suffice with a single notice because some more tangible measures have to be taken unless human rights violations are mitigated in Balochistan, all the disappeared Balochs are released and the perpetrators are brought to the book in international court. UN should also estimate over the allegations of the Baloch nationalists and intervene Baloch crisis for enduring solution and peace in region.

 source: www.thealochhal.com

A Rough Balochistan Policy

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

The recovery of bullet-riddled, decomposed, mutilated and tortured bodies of disappeared Balochs is no longer part of breaking news in Baloch local media. However, the human rights violations and the ‘Killing and dumping’ of missing Balochs is one of the most outstanding issues in Balochistan right now.

The Baloch nationalists call it a policy of Baloch ‘genocide,’ in which a larger number of journalists, doctors, teachers, professors, freelance writers, human rights defenders and political leaders and activists have been systematically murdered and target killed.

The relatives of disappeared Balochs allege that intelligence agencies of the state collaborate with Frontier Corps (FC) and whisk away their loved ones and subsequently kill them in detention. According to the relatives of extra-judicially killed people, the latter were first disappeared by personnel of Frontier Corps and intelligence agencies and later their bullet-riddled bodies showed up in deserted areas across Balochistan.

The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), an organization of relatives of missing Balochs striving for the safe recovery of the disappeared, claims to have gathered and submitted full data of 1,300 kidnapped Baloch among whom more than 170 have already been tortured to death. Apart from this, the number of disappeared is as high as 12,000. Various lists indicate that children, women and elderly citizens are also among the missing. The most known story is of Zarina Marri, a school teacher imprisoned by intelligence agencies whose story was disclosed by Munir Mengal who himself was a victim of disappearance and torture. Mengal claimed he had met the former in an underground cell during his imprisonment.

The family members of the missing Balochs are protesting by holding demonstrations and setting up hunger-strike camps to attract the judiciary and human rights organizations. But their efforts have failed to yield any success. They are in pain because of the continued recovery of tortured and bullet-riddled bodies of their loved ones. Missing persons, rather than being recovered safely, are being surfaced as dead. Many of the relatives of the missing Balochs left hunger-strike camps when the bodies of their loved ones were found in deserted areas in different parts of Balochistan.

Concerned about the human rights violations in Balochistan, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) recently issued a report, “Balochistan, blinked side into chaos.” In the report, HRCP has collected data of all those people who have been abducted and killed since June 2010. HRCP’s report says that human rights defenders and journalists are also being victimized. Killings of Naeem Sabir and Siddque Eidho, who were assisting HRCP in compiling the data of human rights abuses, are the fresh instances. Both paid a heavy price for their work. Sabir was target killed in Khuzdar, the second largest city of Balochistan, and Eidho was first disappeared and later his bullet-riddled body was found in Turbat.

HRCP report reveals an alarming and terrifying bloodshed in Balochistan. The report, to some extent, is a moral support to the people of Balochistan. However, many nationalists and political and human rights organizations differ with HRCP’s number of Balochs killed since July 2010. HRCP presents 140 murdered cases; however, Baloch National Voice, a Baloch nationalist political party, differs with the given number of extra-judicially killed Balochs. BNV in its recent report has given the number and names of 158 youths who had been ‘killed and dumped.’ The HRCP report discloses that security forces have made their own personal government. They are given free hand to whisk away and kill people in Balochistan, without clearing their guilt. In the report, HRCP has urged the government to bring the security forces and their intelligence network under the control of the civilian government and hold them accountable for their misconduct.

No day passes without disappearance, target killing and recovery of the bodies of Baloch missing persons. Human rights organization, such as Amnesty International, Asian Human Rights Commission, HRCP and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have time and again urged the state authorities to probe into the cases of Baloch missing persons and extra-judicial killings. Unfortunately, reports of various human rights organizations have been paid a deaf ear by the government authorities. This further validates the accusations about the authorities’ involvement into these killings.

It is shocking. The people, who are being killed, are not ordinary people but the cream of Baloch society, including prominent journalists, professors, human rights defenders, teachers, singers, political leaders and lawyers. They are the harbinger of change in Baloch society. Though the perpetrators are eliminating the cream of Baloch society in order to silence what the government calls “insurgency,” yet there is a rapid growth of hatred, enragement and sense of revenge in the Baloch society due to these killings.

Right now, Balochistan is confronting the fifth military operation .However, such a move what the Baloch nationalist call “Kill and dump,” has never been witnessed, though thousands of Baloch have been killed since the first military operation launched in 1948.

According to VBMP, 170 tortured bodies of missing Balochs have surfaced. More than 20 bodies, badly decomposed, could not be identified.  The recognition of the bodies is made easy by the perpetrators who keep pieces of the papers with written names of victims. Sometimes there’s a message like “Eid gift for Baloch nation”.

No doubt intellectuals, teachers, journalist and political leaders are said to be the eyes and voices of a nation, but the anguish of this nation becomes immeasurable, when the face of that nation being mutilated by picking out eyes and cutting tongues. At the moment, there are hundreds of examples which provoke people or enrage students to throw pen to pick up guns. Killings of Professor Saba Dashtiyari, Ghulam Muhammad Baloch, Ali Sher Kurd and Agha Abid Shah and of more than 10 journalists force the people to take action against the elements that kill the cream of the Baloch society.

Undoubtedly, the dismal situation in Balochistan is not reported in mainstream media of Pakistan and international media as well. If the journalist and human right defenders raise voices against human rights violations, they are disappeared and tortured to death. Thus, Balochistan has become a battlefield for journalists and human rights defenders as well.

This upsurge in human rights abuses has not only worried affected families of Balochs missing persons, but also the international organizations working against human rights violations. The institutions look underdog in front of the perpetrators. Neither judiciary nor media has done any extraordinary achievement to pressurize involved elements to halt the deteriorating situation .The Balochistan High Court (BHC) has hundreds of pending petitions filed by the families of the dead and missing Balochs, but it seems either indifferent or utterly helpless in coaxing the spymasters to release the missing persons.

Silence of Pakitstani media and human rights defenders over the killings of missing Balochs has further angered the Baloch. They allege that former are equally responsible partners in the  bloody policy of ‘kill and dump’ in Balochistan.

Yousaf Ajab Baloch is a frequent contributor to The Baloch HalRead his previous articles, please click here

A Daughter’s Struggle for Her Father’s Safe Recovery

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Restlessness, worries and agony of a little girl become beyond measure when she loses her doll or another thing that she loves to spend time with, playing and amusing herself. But one fails to translate the sentiments of a little girl who has lost her father at an age when she should be playing and studying. Instead, she finds herself striving to get him recovered. Mahlab Baloch is the daughter who finds herself amid a seemingly unending struggle for her father.

Mahlab, 9, is the daughter of Din Muhammad, a medical doctor by profession. Muhammad was allegedly picked up by the personnel of Pakistani security forces on June 28, 2009 in Ornach, a tehsil in Khuzdar district, while performing his duties in a local hospital. Since the abduction of Muhammad, his daughter has been toiling for his safe recovery from the platform of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), an organization that relatives of Baloch missing persons have formed to compile the data of disappeared Baloch doctors, lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders and political activists and to protest for their recovery.

Recently, Mahlab held a news conference at a hunger-strike camp set up by VBMP. She shared updates of her struggle for the release of her father. She said that no measures had been taken to recover Dr. Din Muhammad though statements have been recorded before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Balochistan High Court and Judicial Commission and Investigation Committee. She appealed to humanitarian organizations to intervene into the matter and perform their expected role for the release of her father.

Nine years old Mahlab is a student of fourth class but since she started the struggle for the recovery of her father, she quit her studies. She has been to protests and hunger strikes inKarachi,Islamabadand in several districts of Balochistan with other relatives of Baloch missing persons.

At an age when she is supposed to be at home busy with her dolls and books, she is on roads, in biting cold or scorching heat, for the retrieval of disappeared Balochs. She has not been home for a long time. Not only the life of Mahlab Baloch has totally become disturbed but also her whole family is suffering from anguish when they hear of mutilated bodies of abducted Baloch being found on daily bases in different parts of Balochistan.

In a recent interview with a Balochi English Magazine Bolan Voice, Mahlab said that she has a brother and a sister. Her brother is a student of 10th class. In the morning, she said, he goes to study and then labors second time to earn for their family’s sustenance. Her elder sister is in 6th class. In the interview she disclosed that she had suspended her educational career, but she said she would continue striving and protesting. She would not go back until the release of her father.

Family members of missing persons are in pain because of the continued recovery of tortured and bullet-riddled bodies of their loved ones. Many of the relatives of the missing Balochs had to leave the hunger-strike camp when the bodies of their loved ones were found in deserted areas in different parts of Balochistan. Unfortunately, efforts of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons have not yielded any remarkable success. Missing persons, rather than being recovered safely, have surfaced as dead.

Gradually, Baloch movement is gaining strength. There was a time when 79-year-old Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Nawab Nauroz Khan and other old-aged Baloch were part of the movement. But, now we can see youth, particularly Baloch women and children, are playing an important part. The contributions of Banuk Karima Baloch of Baloch Students Organization-Azad, Shakar Bibi of Baloch Women Panel and the daughter of Wahid Qambar have been remarkable.

The role of Mahlab Baloch has encouraged Baloch women and children to join the movement and play their due role to pressurize the judiciary and other elements involved to surface the whisked-away Balochs. They have also been able to get the attention of international media, human rights organizations and the international community.

There are thousands of Mahlab Balochs who await their fathers and brothers, but they have been threatened to become silent. For them the stable struggle of Mahlab is a good source of encouragement to amplify the voice of affected families and that of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons. Most of the families, whether are scared or waiting for a miracle to happen, are still looking an extraordinary move.

Yousaf Ajab Baloch is a frequent contributor to The Baloch Hal. To read his other write-ups on The Baloch Hal, click here.

 

Why Saleem Shehzad’s Murder Outweighs Killing of 10 Baloch Journalists

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Saleem Shehzad, 40, bureau chief of Asia Times Online (Hong Kong) and Italian news agency Adnkronos, was abducted on May 29, 2011 in Islamabad and later, his bullet-riddled body was found after three days on May 31 in a river in Jehlam. Shehzad’s body bore marks of extreme torture, similar to that of more than 180 of Baloch journalists, freelance writers, lawyers, human rights defenders and political activists who were first abducted, tortured and subsequently killed. The journalist and human rights organizations allege secret agencies of the state for the murder of Shehzad.

Private TV channels, newspapers and magazines have fully focused the case and are demanding a probe into the extra judicial killing of the murdered journalist. For that purpose, Pakistan Union of Journalists (PFUJ) held a protest demonstration for two days in Islamabad, demanding tangible measures for the Saleem Shehzad’s murder case .In the protest, all the media men and some politicians participated and condemned the murder and demanded that a judicial commission be constituted to probe the killing of the slain journalist.

The stimulus role of mainstream media in Pakistan in general and massive  attention of international media, journalist organizations and human rights organizations in particular  astonished and once again increased despair among Baloch people, particularly the Baloch journalist. They have lost hope in international media as their colleagues have been systematically killed in “Kill and dump” policy of the state and in other target killing incidents in Balochistan.

It is surprising as why the international media or the champions of the balanced media in Pakistan have adopted a tacit role on the target killings of Baloch journalists, political workers and leaders, human rights activists, including common citizens. If we have a look at the case of Saleem Shehzad, and then observe disappearances of more than 8000 Baloch youth and recovery of more than 180 decomposed, mutilated, and bullet-riddled bodies from different districts of Balochistan, then the role of international media and journalist organizations becomes objectionable. Because, these bodies found in different parts of Balochistan also include journalists and writers.

Though Baloch people have been receiving bodies of their loved ones, whether they are target killed or have become victims of “Kill and dump” policy, it is the need of the hour to examine the role or reaction of media on international level or the role of the proponents of defending journalists’ rights and fair journalism in Pakistan. The world has become known what happened with Saleem Shehzad, but let me share how the Baloch Journalists and freelance writers were victimized.

Journalists and writers killed in Balochistan in the past one year

Mr.Ali Sher Kurd was abducted on 21^st September 2010 from Quetta, three days later his tortured and bullet riddled body was found in Khuzdar. Ali Sher Kurd was brutally tortured .His body had visible marks of torture. Mr.Ali Sher Kurd was a regular contributor to daily Ustaman and he also served as Sub-Editor of Monthly Nawa-e-Bolan.

Journalists in Khuzdar claim that all members of the press club face threats from militant groups, mainly the state agencies and their patronized anti-Baloch armed groups. Two journalists have lost their life so far. Faiz Muhammad Sasoli 27, a former member of Khuzdar press club and reporter for Daily Aaj Kal, was murdered on 27 June 2010 in Khuzdar. Similarly, Muhammad Khan Sasoli, 36, was killed on December 12, 2010. He worked for Royal TV and the INP news agency in Khuzdar. He was the president of Khuzdar Press Club. An anti-nationalist group claimed responsibility for his killing.

Hameed Hayatan Baloch, a young Baloch journalist, was kidnapped in Gawadar, Balochistan on October 25, 2010.Three months later, his bullet-riddled body was recovered in a deserted area .A piece of paper found from his pocket stated: “Eid gift for Baloch Nation.” Hayatan Baloch was a correspondent for the most quoted Baloch newspaper, Daily Tawar. Another reporter of the same newspaper from Mach city Rehmatullah Shaheen’s mutilated and bullet-riddled body was found at Espelinji Balochistn on April 1. He had been whisked away by personnel of Pakistani security agencies on March 5 at Dhadar Balochistan. Whereabouts of four of his friends, Abdulfatah, Abdul Rasool, Amanullah and Abdul Nabi, are still unknown.

Earlier, Muhammad Ilyas Nazar, 26, a Baloch journalist affiliated with Balochi language magazine Dhorant was reportedly picked up by the Government agencies after dragging him out of a passenger bus in the coastal area of Ormara when he was on his way from Quetta to Turbat on December 22, 2010. His body was found along with the body of Baloch students’ leader Qamabr Chakar on 5^th January 2011. He had received bullets in head and had severe marks of torture on his body

Abdost Rind, a reporter with Urdu language newspaper Daily Eagle, was shot dead on February 18, 2011.The secret agencies were alleged for his murder.

On April 25, 2011, bullet-riddled body of Zareef Faraz, a poet and editor of a Balochi magazine – The Shabjoo – was found on a road in Turbat, Balochistan. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, Faraz was whisked away a week before he was killed, extra-judicially. His family members blame intelligence agencies of the state for disappearance, torturing and subsequent murder.

On April 28, 2011, the body of Baloch journalist and human rights activist, Siddque Eido, was found along with the body of Yousaf Nazar, an activist of BSO-Azad in Ormara, Balochistan. Both the victims were disappeared on December 21 last year.

Apart from target killings and murders in detention, three more journalists lost their lives in violence that ensued after a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a rally in Quetta, and suicide bombing at a local hospital. The suicide bombing targeted a Shiite demonstration. The following media men lost their lives in the mentioned incidents:

Malik Arif, Samaa TV – April 16, 2010
Mohammad Sarwar, Aaj TV - September 3, 2010
Ejaz Raisani, Sama TV - September 6, 2010

Now, can anyone read the questions in the eyes of Baloch journalists and Baloch people? Why the world has applied silence on the killings of Baloch journalists, including other Balochs who were killed as part of the “Kill and dump” policy of the state. On the one hand, if one journalist is killed in any other part of Pakistan, the world takes attention. On the other hand, more than ten journalists were killed in Balochistan, but no one knows about them. I believe, this all is because of the hypocritical media in Balochistan and in the state of Pakistan and lack of interest on the part of world community and international media in unfolding humanitarian crisis in Balochistan.

This is the time world community and international organizations working for human rights and journalists took notice of the extra-judicial murders of the Baloch journalists. Their silence means they are hiding their heads in sand on the subject of Baloch genocide. Doesn’t that make them stand with the perpetrators?

More Articles by Yousaf Ajab Baloch at www.thebalochhal.com

No Saba, No Problem

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Intellectuals, teachers, journalist and political people are said to be the eyes and voices of the nation’s .But how the anguish of this nation will be measured to be described or inscribed, when the nation’s face is being mutilated by picking out eyes, cutting tongues, and suffocating the voices of the mentioned characters. Believe it: Baloch is the nation which is suffering from this terrible loss.

Though the abductions of Baloch political workers, leaders, lawyers, writers, Journalists and people from diverse walks of life ,is continued, another initiative in this “slow-motion genocide” is currently the target killing of high profiled Baloch teachers, or those who can be the good source of raising  political maturity ,they are being extra- judicially  killed.

The assassination of Professor Saba Dashteyari is one of the terrible moves. Baloch nationalist allege intelligence agencies of state for target killing of professor Saba Dashtiyari. Professor Saba Dashtiyari was prominent Baloch linguist, writer, poet and Baloch nationalist. He was target killed on 1st of June 2011, inSanjrani StreetQuetta, the capital city ofBalochistan.

Professor Saba Dashtiyari belonged to oppressed Baloch nation in Leyari Karachi. He is said to be the author of two dozen books on Balochi literature, history, poetry and translations. He held Master degrees in Islamic studies and philosophy. He was Professor of Islamic studies at the University of Balochistan and was respected as a top Balochi language writer and intellectual. “Islam and Philosophy “is his first book .He founded the Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi reference library. The library houses more than 150,000 books in various languages on Balochi literature.

Prof. Saba Dashtyari always remained respectable not only in his teaching field but also his efforts for promoting Balochi language, particularly, over the past few years; he reportedly backed the call for resorting to arms for an independent Balochistan,his this participation in Baloch national movement for libration of Balochistan remarked him a Baloch nationalist. Therefore, on the assassination of him the Baloch National Front (BNF) declared him with the title of (the Teacher of National Freedom). (BNF) is a coalition of Baloch nationalist parties, who are politically struggling for freedom of Baluchistan. And Baloch Libration Army (BLA) declared him the title of (Qandeel Baloch) an under ground organization struggling for libration of Baloch freedom.

Amnesty International has also condemned the extra-judicial murder of Baloch scholar. In the report Amnesty International has reminded the state of Pakistan to its legal obligation under international law to respect the right to life in all circumstances. The former Organization has urged the authorities to ensure an independent, impartial, transparent and thorough investigation into the incident and to bring all those suspected of involvement in his killing.

The thing which remarked Mr. Dashteyari’s personality or enraged state against him, was, definitely, returning of presidential award, which was given to him in his excellent services in Balochi literature. Which he returned after the  murder of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a  former Governor of Balochistan  and  federal minister , assassinated in  military operation in Kohlu, about 150 miles east of Quetta Balochistan in the fifth military operation launched in notorious regime of General Pervez Musharraf.

Since the martyrdom of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti Professor Saba Dashtyari had become very active nationalist, and started rising political maturity in Balochistan for the movement what the Baloch nationalist call it “freedom movement”. The Baloch political organizations those are striving for the independence of Balochistan welcomed participation of Professor Saba Dashtyari in protests and seminars, even he had become a need for such occasions.

Interaction of Professor Saba Dashtyari with the activists of BSO-Aazad was more than other political parties. He could always be seen with them holding protest, seminars, and strikes including daily based circles at the University of Balochistan. He would look professor less but BSO activist more. Baloch students considered him not less than an institution, where they would learn nationalism, value of Baloch land and political responsibility. He was not more than an institution for freedom seekers. His efforts remained effective because he was a teacher at the university and continued raising awareness among the Baloch students for the political and educational purpose.

Undoubtedly, teacher is the symbol of revolution. The guidance of teacher plays a vital role in any movement. Because not only his guidance and teaching changes the minds but the effects remain stable and such a teacher who ,Baloch youth consider teacher of national freedom and state authorities think it a dangerous source for insurgency or rebelling. Then there comes a time the opposed groups take a decisive decision to eliminate such people who make minds, Such as Saba.

What was the need to eliminate Professor Saba Dashtiyari? He had brought a tremendous change in the atmosphere of Balochistan University for the Baloch student and followers of Nawab Khair Bux Marri and Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch. After the disappearance of Baloch leaders of  BSO-Azad ,such as Zakir Majeed, Qambar Chakar Baloch, Ilyas Nazar, and many others and some of them were extra-judicially killed .BSO Azad needed man to guide  and encourage the students as a leader or teacher and here  Saba played a vital role.

His active participation and motivation had made hundreds of staid and committed Saba Dashtyari .Who  all in future can  be freedom fighters or political activist to continue the struggle of Baloch rights or what the Baloch call it independence movement. It is no need to discuss who killed Saba Dashtyari because it is the act of those perpetrators who assassinated Nawab Akbar khan Bugti ,Waja Ghulam Muhammad , Advocate Ali Sher Kurd and  continue Kill and Dump or disappeared  more than ten thousands Baloch .

Balochistan is the land where rulers and occupiers always faced resistance. A famous saying of British Military commander” More Marri more problem, less Marri less problem and no Marri no problem” .This saying shows the resistance of one of the Baloch tribes. The perpetrators might have kept in their mind. “No Saba, No problem”. Since Saba had not remained single any more. He had become guider and spiritual father of Baloch students and became successful to make hundreds of committed men like him.

The birth of such people like Saba Dashtyari was becoming a burning issue. Therefore, it was perceived by perpetrators “More Saba more problem, less Saba less problem and no Sabano problem”, and then a heinous practice of killing Mr. Saba took place. I think this is one of the failed practices taking place in Balochistan by the state. Which can not be pronounced “No Saba No problem” but “No Saba more Problems”

Also Read: The Baloch Noam Chomaski Is Dead

Obituary: The Martyred

More Articles by Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Baloch Press Review: The “Kill and Dump”

Baloch Press Review: The “Kill and Dump”

Human rights violation is rapidly increasing in Balochistan. The “Kill and dump”of Baloch youth is one of the most outstanding issues confronting the province at the moment. No week passes without the abduction of Baloch political activists or peaceful citizens, or the recovery of their bullet- riddled dead bodies.

The victims belong to diverse walks of life. Federal intelligence agencies and Frontier Corps (F.C) are alleged to commit such crimes with utter immunity.

Reports of various human rights organizations, highlighting the murders of Baloch political workers, journalists, human rights activists, have been paid a deaf ear by the government authorities. This further validates the accusations about authorities’ complicity.

According to the relatives of the missing persons and the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), more than 150 dead bodies of Baloch missing persons have been recovered since July 2010 to April 2011.

These people were firstly abducted by intelligence agencies and later on their bullet-riddled dead bodies were found from deserted areas of Balochistan. Besides this, according to the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), more than eight thousand are still missing. Unfortunately, because ofBaluchistan’s hypocritical media, the world community hardly knows anything about the unfolding humanitarian  crisis in Balochistan.

Some Baloch newspapers and websites are the only sources which highlight this, what Baloch nationalists call a “genocide” and human rights violation.

Last month, the loss of human rights activists, political workers and journalist echoed in the Baloch press.

The Bolan Voice

The Bolan Voice, an English language magazine published fromBaluchistan’s Bolan District, reported in its March edition all the murdered Baloch, who had either been abducted or later on killed or allegedly target killed by intelligence agencies. The report “Previous Month Has gone with decomposed dead Bodies of Baloch” discusses kidnapping, extra judicial killing of disappeared Balochs and assassination of political workers and pro-nationalist Balochs.

The report says “In March the series of throwing decomposed bodies continued, this month, many Balochs from different walks of life lost their lives, they belonged to fields of Journalism, government service, education, politics.” The former report discusses the assassination of Agha Mehmood Khan.Ahmadzai, one of pro nationalist and supporter of the Baloch independence movement. Besides this, abduction and extra-judicial murder of following have been discussed: Shahzaman Kurd 22, an activist of the Baloch Student Organization (BSO-Azad), Yasir Baloch, Nazir and Nuroz Khan Baloch; Deen Muhammad Marri ,Arif Noor and Muhammad Nawaz Marri; Farfeed Baloch, Sale Muhammad including the killing of  Hameed Shaheen, a founding member of the BSO and Baloch journalist-cum poet Rahmatullah Shaheen.The month concluded with the recovery of six more dead bodies of missing persons who were all missing for a long time. Four of them belonged to the Baloch Republican Party (BRP), and two more bodies  even could not be identified.”

Tawar

On April 30, leading newspaper of Balochistan Daily Tawar writes in the editorial “Missing Siddque Eido and Yousaf Nazar Turned into Dead Bodies”. The editor argues: “increasing human rights violation is creating human tragedies. Due to this not only there is mourning situation but also it seems to raise fire of hatred and revenge. In this scene of  fire   and blood the mutilated and decomposed dead bodies of missing can be seen every where ,which is not only the ruthlessness of the murderers of Baloch missing persons. However, it is also disclosing the absence of empathy of champions of human rights, peace and justice defenders. Concerned to this matter Baloch nation is hopeless to get any attention from former organization. Because such organizations make mountain out of molehill but they are silent when alive Baloch are turned into the dead bodies.”

The editorial further highlights, “One of the fresh incidents is the recovery of the dead bodies of missing Siddque Eido the prominent human rights defender, member of HRCP (the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) and  Mr.Yousaf Nazar  an activist of the Baloch Students Organization (BSO-Azad).The guilt of these human rights activists, journalists and political activists is said to be reporting of human rights violation, which they could not bear and according to their level in journalism, literature and in social field raised voice against cruelties to Baloch nation. Such contribution and view point of Siddque Eido and  Yousaf Nazar was not  acceptable by those powers who consider the Baloch struggle for rights and ownership of land fatal  to their interests.”

The Balochistan Express Quetta

On April 27, Daily Balochistan Express published a one-column report on its  front page reporting a complete shutter down called by the Baloch National Front (BNF) and Baloch Republican Party (BRP)  in Khuzdar, Turbat, Panjgur and other adjoining areas condemning the recovery of  five bullet-riddled  bodies of Baloch missing persons: Zareef Baloch, Shahmeem Baloch, Murtaza Zehri, Muhammad Ayoub,and Muhammad Hafeez.The newspaper quoted statement of protesters,

“The state is violating the human rights in Balochistan.The protesters from the United Nations to take serious note of extra- judicial killing of Baloch in the hands of state functionaries.”

Azadi Quetta

On April 27, Daily Azadi, Quetta, quoted a BBC report on its front page in three columns in which some families ,whose loved ones had been disappeared and  later killed, had been interviewed. The interviewed family members alleged that intelligence were responsible for “kill and dump” in Balochistan. They said their near and dear ones had been tortured to death.

The report concludes with the statements of victim families about the Balochistan Package, “The (Balochistan Package) is fraud, drama, and it is only for those who are appeasing the State. We reject package, those who are supporting it, they are venal. Our fault is that we are Balochs and demand our rights. The Balochistan Package is mere rhetoric.  In reality, it has no existence and we reject it.”

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Census: A conspiracy to Blackmail Baloch

Census: A conspiracy to Blackmail Baloch

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Census has commenced and all thirty districts of Balochistan have been scheduled to be included. According to the population census department, there are 193 blocks across Balochistan and each block has 275 to 200 housing units. The teams have initiated the field work .Despite existence of huge reservations in Balochistan by Baloch political parties, Baloch armed forces which have opposed the census and urged the people of Balochistan not to participate in the exercise.

The census has become a great challenge for twenty one districts of Baloch, with huge reservations. The main issue is of Afghan refugees in Balochistan who have been planed to be counted in the current census. Undoubtedly, Afghan refugees are being considered a great challenge for Baloch nation and Baloch nationalist because the inclusion of Afghan refugees in census can not only affect the Baloch society but also it can harm Baloch demography .On the other hand, Pashtun nationalist have always favored and assisted Afghan refugees, so as to increase their vote bank for political reason .

No doubt, more than 40, 00000  Afghan immigrants are currently living in different districts of Balochistan .Particularly; they have already made entry inBaloch –dominated districts of Noshki , Dalbandin ,Quettaand  all eight  Pashtun districts. With the support of Pashtun nationalists, they have been provided local domicile and national identity cards. Simultaneously, they have national identity cards and passports of bothAfghanistanandPakistan. According to a survey, twenty percent population ofAfghanistanis living as immigrant inPakistanand major part of them is in Balochistan which have dominated significant part of the local economy, depriving baloch population of the same opportunities to gain.

It goes without saying the presence of Afghan refugees has worsened law and order situation in Balochistan, including influx of drugs and weapons is caused due to them. Baloch nationalist allege the government deliberately does not repatriate these refugees who have become an economic and social burden on Balochistan. The calculation of Afghan immigrants in population of Balochistan is unaffordable. Settled Afghan refugee populations are a cause of unrest in Balochistan.

The current census is not in favor of Baloch nation because if on the one hand there is excessive burden of Afghan refuges then, on the other hand, a large number of Baloch Marri and Bugti populations had been displaced due to the military operation launched by General Musharraf’s regime. Currently, they are living in different parts of Balochistan and Sindh andPunjab.

The recent flood and death tool also created uncertain situation and extremely affected four  districts: Dera Allah Yar , Naseerabad , Usta Muhammad  and Gawadar of Balochistan. The chief parts of population in these three districts of Balochistan have been displaced. In case of calculation in the census the great part of population will be missing. Military operations in different parts of Balochistan such as Mashki district Awaran and Turbat have also terrified Baloch populations to flee from their home town.

Baloch political parties such as National Party, Balochistan National Party (M) are playing quite strange role. In the very beginning both political parties asked the people of Balochistan, especially in their own strongholds, to take part in the ongoing census. Now,  they have termed the whole process as a”conspiracy by establishment” against Baloch nation.  A BNP statement revealed that the census divided Balochs and Brahvi as “deep conspiracy” but establishment should  have kept in its mind that it would  fail to create divisions among Blaochs in the name of language.

In the presence of Afghan refugees National Party has asked to cancel the on going house counting and census.

Baloch armed groups such as the Baloch Libration Army, (BLA) Baloch Libration Front (BLF), Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and the Baloch nationalist parties supportive of the armed groups and the idea of Baloch freedom, have named the current census a conspiracy. These groups have threatened the people not to participate in the house counting census .The armed groups and Baloch National Front, a coalition of Baloch nationalist parties that support the Baloch liberation, is considering the census a phony exercise. According to the (BLF ), the census is only  meant  to please  the pro-parliament  political parties and Baloch should relinquish their  support  to any such  move  that encourages parliamentary  politics  against  baloch libration .

In the bleeding and burring Balochistan, the census is adding fuel to the fire. At the moment, Balochistan is not in any position to hold census. The role of Pashtun nationalist in supporting census is that of blackmailing the Balochs. It has been observed that for a long time Pashtun nationalist groups, mainly Pashtunkhawa Milli Awami Party, has been claiming fifty percent representation in Balochistan, despite having one-sided population in a few districts .This  is not only unfair but also beyond the common sense .Therefore, to increase Pashtun population illegally, they historically backed Afghan refuges in both the phases of their coming to  Balochistan. Religious parties, with a pro-Taliban stance, had also  supported the Afghan refugees to provide them a safe haven and launching pad for operations from Balochistan.

The current census, I believe, is a great conspiracy against the Baloch nation .The participation of Balochs in this census will utterly throw them in minority. Because it has already been planed to blackmail Baloch through this census. When the Afghan immigrants are being counted and a great part of Baloch population  is displaced due to military operations and recent floods the ongoing census is being measured systematic conspiracy against Baloch nation and this will be surely useless, unless there is the interest and will of the Baloch nation.

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Baloch Press Review: State ofEducationin Balochistan

Baloch Press Review: State ofEducationin Balochistan

Yousaf Ajab Baloch

It is not wrong to say that universities, colleges and schools in Balochistan are named for Baloch people but the beneficiaries are not necessarily Baloch. Baloch students are ignored on ethnic bases. The other ethnics have monopolized over the Baloch resources. Deliberately, always efforts are made to keep backward the Baloch nation. Because educated Balochistan or Baloch are considered a great obstacle on the path of the people, engaged in the looting of the Baloch resources and if the Baloch become well educated and committed to the nation, which will be the symbol of a revolution.

Though now there are Baloch in bureaucracy  and government but their deeds and anti-Baloch actions have made their character dubious and objectionable. Though the government and bureaucracy always claim and show Balochistan as an educated province. However, the condition can be seen and perceived through the news, reports and statements of the students, teachers and the people, dominate the local newspapers in Balochistan. The educational problems also validate the struggles continued in Balochistan for attainment of rights and ownership of their land that Baloch are on right to choose the way for struggle.

Daily Azadi Quetta

Related to this particular matter Daily Azadi Quetta published a two column statements on March 8 on its 8^th page. The newspaper quoted that “Ali Ahmad Mengal, President of Balochistan Schools Teachers’ Association Kalat district and Eid Muhammad Mulazai President Government Teachers Association, have condemned the delay in supply of curriculum books to the schools in Balochistan and Kalat district .They censured that they had already demanded for books to be reached till 5^th of March but still there were no books to teach students at schools. The situation has confused teachers and students, least the academic year of students should be wasted.”

Daily Intekhab Quetta

A report, by correspondent of Daily Intekhab Tehsil Jaho Mr.Iqbal Salal was published on March 8, highlighting the social particularly, educational problems in Tehisl Jaho. He writes “Education is said to be the basic right of a child, and better education a need. The teachers and institutions play a prime role to accomplish the mentioned quality and right. The people of Tehsil Jaho, however, are confused and are in a state of uncertainty for the future of their children and their academic career. Due to the lack of authentic monitoring in education and trained teachers in former Tehsil, most of the school buildings are very old and damaged, and lacking facilities: water, furniture, and carpet. Students are compelled to get still on the ground under sky inside their schools because of lack of ample facilities.”

He further includes: “Though, NGOs and some international organizations such as USAID, Edlinks, NRSP, and NCHD are working in the area to assist education department but all this is an eye wash and paperwork. Education department enjoys millions of the rupees allocated by International organizations and Government for education purpose, but the department has not been able to make an ideal School in Tehsil Jaho.”

He concludes that “There are four boys’ High Schools, two middle schools and sixty one primary schools in Tehsil Jaho, lacking all the fallowing facilities: School boundaries, furniture,  and water and sanitation facilities. According to a Tehsil based survey sixty percent of the students give up their education before reaching the middle and high sections due to poverty. ”

Daily Tawar

On  March 12^th Baluchistan’s leading news paper Daily Tawar reported in a two- column news on page 8 .The newspaper quoted the meeting of delegation of the  Baloch students  Action committee, with Higher Education Commission (HEC) high officials . “The BSAC submitted a report to the HEC comprising of the educational system policies in Balochistan against Baloch nation. The delegation of Baloch Students Action Committee astonished the HEC officials that none of the VCs of universities in Balochistan are Baloch and a special lobby do not bear Baloch nation to be educated in universities of Balochistan .The Baloch students are ignored in scholarship, admission including other policies .”

“The HEC officials became known that VCs of the universities in Baloch are not Baloch and they were considering them Baloch. The delegation of Baloch Students’ Action Committee discussed the corruption in Balochistan and illegal marking of the students inBalochistanUniversity.”

Daily Balochistan express

On March 12^th ,Daily Balochistan Express published a one-column statement of  Abdul Ghaffar Kadezai,Dad Jan Baloch and Khan Ali Bughti,  leaders of Balochistan Teachers’ Association regreting that no text books were provided to district headquarters  despite  opening  of schools  after winter  vacations . They also  demanded  posting  of the  senior  officers on the  posts  in department  instead of  posting junior  officials  on senior  posts.

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The Redefined Dimensions of Baloch Nationalist Movement

The Redefined Dimensions of Baloch Nationalist Movement

By yousaf Ajab Baloch

This review is based on the recently released book  “The Redefined Dimensions of Baloch Nationalist Movement”, written by Malik Siraj Akbar, the founder and editor-in-chief of Baluchistan’s first online English language newspaper The Baloch Hal. The 346-page book has been published in the United States of America and is now available on Amazon.com and several other online bookstores. The book is the mirror of current environment of exploited and bleeding Balochistan.

The author, Malik Siraj Akbar, is the most quoted journalist about Balochistan crisis in the national and international media. Currently, he is a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow atArizonaStateUniversity’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.

Articles in the book discuss political, economical, and social problems of Balochistan. The book also includes interviews of top Baloch political leaders. Malik reveals burning issues, such as the “enforced disappearance” of hundreds of Baloch political workers, teachers, human rights activist, writers.

In his “foreword” of the book, renowned intellectual and a former guerrilla fighter Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur, who writes, “This book contains a wealth of material on contemporary Baloch history and records the personalities, events, emotions and sentiments of the Baloch and of the Baloch related struggle. This book will prove to be a very good reference book for dates of events and moreover of the critical junctures which brought about a sea-change in the thinking and attitudes of the Baloch towards the State of Pakistan. This book will be a good guide to the uninitiated and wealth of information and a diary of events for that Involved in the political and armed struggle in Balochistan.”

I found this book very well written and highlighting the major problems, mainly the problems facing Balochistan. Malik has analyzed issue according to his point of view, and comes up with a solution too. There are possibilities one may differ from his conclusions in some of the articles. A great predilection of Malik in salvation of Baloch crisis has tempted him to focus on problems the Balochs are facing today.

After the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bughti, 79, a significant change occurred in the Baloch politics. The enraged Khan of Kalat, Mir Suleman Dawood, held a historic Jirga of Baloch tribal and political chiefs in September 2006 to collectively decide to file a case against the State of Pakistan against what they termed as the “forced annexation” of the defunctKalatStateinto the fledglingcountyofPakistan. Ironically, most Baloch tribal chiefs who backed the Kalat Jirga and staunchly condemned the killing of Nawab Bugti are all a part and parcel of the current government, including Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi and Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Asam Raisani. Thus, Malik calls it as “Dressed with nowhere to go”.

‘While some view the [Kalat] jirga session as a major development, others see it only as a political gimmick by the Khan. “The fact that these 85 Baloch Sardars were able to gather at the same platform is a big development considering that they are usually always engaged in internal, personal vendettas,” said Shahzada Zulfiqar, president of the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ). “The presence of some supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League at the jirga also sends a clear message to the Centre that it will lose more allies if it doesn’t review its aggressive policies,” he added. However, the jirga’s road map to move the ICJ is ambiguous; it was not made clear when the ICJ would be approached and how. Also, legal experts point out that while the Court adjudges cases between two sovereign states, Kalat, today, is no longer a sovereign state’.

He goes on: “That Nawab Khair Baksh Marri, the Baloch leader believed to be leading the armed struggle in the province, was missing from the Jirga session also takes away from its importance and potential impact. Sources close to Marri say he has rejected the Jirga as unimportant and believes it was convened by the Khan of Kalat simply to earn political points. The Marri and Bugti sardars play a pivotal role in Balochistan”

Malik also writes about Balochistan’s crisis of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): “The government of Pervez Musharraf not only created an IDP (internally displaced persons) crisis in Balochistan, it also very dexterously kept the whole country in oblivion about it. Limited and restricted information was leaked about the fate of around 100,000 Baloch IDPs who were driven out of their homes during the military operation carried out in Marri and Bugti tribal areas. The dictator-sponsored humanitarian catastrophe was deplorable but officially denying accesses to national and international humanitarian groups to grapple with the IDP crisis in Balochistan was criminal.” Malik recalls.

The book also reveals the hardships journalists face in Balochistan during the reporting of the conflict. There have been several attacks not only on Baloch media but also on Baloch journalists. As the government forcefully shut down a vocal Urdu-language newspaper, Daily Asaap, Malik wrote    “The end of Asaap is in fact the closure of a school of journalism. The newspaper continued its journey very proudly and confidently. It raised the voice of the Baloch people without any fear and favor even during the gruesome martial law days of General Pervez Musharraf. The turning point for Asaap was the publication of the list of missing persons issued by Baloch Liberation United Front (BLUF) which demanded the release of missing Baloch political workers in return of UNHCR official John Solecki. This remarkably irritated the government authorities”.

On the cold-blooded murder of Baloch journalists Muhammad Khan Sasoli and expresses the hardships of the journalists, Malik says: “As the Balochistan conflict worsens, truth becomes the first causality. All stakeholders perceive journalists as a threat and do whatever it takes to kill the potential messengers. In the backdrop of turmoil that has engulfed Balochistan, media watchdogs must pay attention to the plight of journalists working in the conflict-stricken province. While some organizations should initiate training programs on conflict reporting, the employers must at least back their reporters in the (battle) field. It is our moral responsibility to provide financial assistance to the families of those gallant journalists who were killed while upholding the true voice”

The Redefined Dimensions is a very brave effort by Malik Siraj Akbar given the fact that even reporting from the battle field of Balochistan today is not free of personal and professional risks. He has, on the top of it, decided to write a full book. Currently, Baloch journalists are being abducted, killed and dumped, whereas a large number of them, such as the journalist from Pasni, Siddiq Eidho, are still missing. Thus, being professional journalist during such a crucial time is an admirable job.

Courtesy: http://www.viewpointonline.net

Will (VBMP) succeed to yield in Islamabad?

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

The case of Baloch missing persons is deteriorating day by day .There is not a single day, passes with out kill and dump of Baloch disappeared ones.  The staid protests of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), a sister organization of International Voice For Baloch Missing Persons (IVBMP),   has not been able to   get recovered the disappeared Balochs. Despite striving for safe recovery of abducted Baloch students, doctors, political workers, journalists, human rights activists, their decomposed and mutilated dead bodies are being found.

Though, Voice for Baloch missing persons and its sister organization yield to draw  the attention of Amnesty International  and Asian Human Rights commission on the  continued   policy of “Kill and Dump”  of Baloch Missing  youth  by state secrete agencies  collaborated  with Frontier Corps (F.C) . There has not been any remarkable success in the shape of safe recovery of the missing Baloch, to be quoted.

Amnesty International   and Asian Human Rights Commission have failed to pressurize Pakistan for worsening human rights violation in Balochistan. In twice issued reports, they urged Pakistan to vindicate her position against the allegations of Baloch student Organizations ,Baloch nationalist parties   and the lawyers organization , but  the state  authorities  rather than  clearing  their position  even  they called  the reports  fake and  anti Pakistan moves .

Family members of the Baloch missing persons   on the platform of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) have been on strike and demanding for their safe recovery and if they are guilty they should be brought before the court. They have held myriad demonstration and protests, in Quetta and Karachi, including more than twenty districts of Balochistan .In 2010 ,March 11 to 18, they had been to  Islamabad, indented to have protests and hunger strikes in Islamabad but ominous  behavior  and direct treating  of the  involved  elements  in “Kill and Dump” of  Baloch missing persons, they were not let to  hold  any activity  in Islamabad .

Once again after carrying a train march from Quetta to Islamabad, the family members and relatives of Baloch missing persons have established  camp  in front of  the National Press  Club Islamabad .According  to the  chairman (VBMP) Nasrullah  Baloch ,they  will carry out  protests  and  hold  rallies  in front of   the National Assembly , Senate, Supreme Court and other offices of the world, including UN .They are holding hunger strike  in front of  the  National  Press Club  to draw  the concentration of International Human Rights  Commission  and the other  human  rights  organizations  of the  world  about  cases of missing  persons  and recovery  of bullet-riddled  bodies.

It has been in practice , notwithstanding very  long hunger strike  and protests for recovery  of Baloch missing persons,  they have  not been  able to draw  attention of judiciary  and even the  concentration of main stream media .  The responsible  authorities  such as  judiciary  and federal minister  Rahman Malik  made fun of  the protests ,Saying, that  most of  the missing persons  had gone  to Afghanistan .The Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court,   Qazi Faez Essa ,quoted  release of  some criminals ,pertaining   them  with  the case of Baloch missing persons .Obviously , the print and electronic media has always ignored genocide taking place in Balochistan . Since June 2010 till now more than 130 dead bodies of Baloch missing persons have been found in deserted areas of Balochistan .Those all were abducted first and later their bullet-riddled , mutilated and decomposed dead bodies were found .The witnesses allege F.C and intelligence agencies for the kill and dump of Baloch political workers. Unfortunately, the champion of democracy, the government; the judiciary and the media who claims to be imbalanced in Pakistan never covered the incidents.

It is tangible turn of the Voice For Baloch Missing Persons that parliamentarian committee has been established to investigate the matter and report it .Ironically, many committees have been formed so far, for different issues of Balochistan to overcome or tackle them but they all have been proved so-called. One of The great failures of the committees in Balochistan was committee of Mushid Hussain to make the way of negotiation with Nawab Akbar Khan Bughti but till the martyrdom of  Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti the committee could not do any thing. According to the VBMP there is already a formed commission about missing persons with tacit role in Balochistan .Which is hearing the cases. Voice for Baloch Missing Persons has already boycotted the hearing of inquiry commission by saying that it is unauthorized commission and just wastage of time.

The former commission is said to be the second commission setup by Supreme Court and the commission which was setup earlier had not produced its report. Therefore, the current one has no courage to be trusted. The leaders of (VBMP) say “It is an old tactic when the state is not interested to solve any problem they make commissions or committees so as to prolong it.

The media has always ignored Balochistan .Mainly, the issue of Baloch missing persons and their “Kill and Dump” but this time the atmosphere is changed.  The encamped family members of Baloch missing persons outside the National Press Club in Islamabad are fully being given coverage by some private T.V channels. But it is salient and obvious fact, no change can occur unless the elements who run the Pakistan agree to the solution.

Among the large number of national and international offices in Islamabad, mainstream Media, different protests have been scheduled to be held in order to record the protests for safe release of abducted Balochs and recovery of bullet-riddled dead bodies. Keeping in view all the efforts of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, there has not been any remarkable success in the issue. However, once again it is being observed that the camp and protests in Islamabad can be fruitful or not, or can VBMP succeed in Islamabad in its objectives?

Yousaf Ajab is a staff member at The Baloch Hal. To read his past articles, please click here

Baloch Press Review: Load shedding: A Vexing Question

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Load shedding has always been a burning issue in Balochistan. Being an agriculture-based province, Balochistan largely hinges on water and rain. The electricity is the chief source to make productive agriculture in Balochistan in terms of tube-wells. The second and last source is rain and water harvesting in Balochistan but the long drought of more than a decade has tremendously affected agriculture including food shortage in Balochistan .Energy source is the last option for Baloch growers to survive in the agriculture domain.

Farmers in Balochistan, however, have to bear the brunt of  load-shedding caused because of attacks on transmission lines and some times due to technical faults.

The load shedding prolongs with a great loss of agriculture and trade in Balochistan. The pretexts of Quetta Electricity Supply Company (QUESO) and government for security clearance, what the growers of Balochistan call as the “fraud and excuses of QESCO” continues for weeks.

Currently, Balochistan is facing a great shortage of power .It may be mentioned that around 3 high  power  transmission lines were blew up  by unknown persons but more than  a week  has passed , they have not been repaired yet. Thus, Quetta Electric Supply Company is currently carrying out 16-hour load shedding in the provincial capital city, Quetta, while power is unavailable for 20 to 22 hours every day in at least 15 districts of the province.

Growers and the people belonging to all the walks of life always stage sit in against insufficient supply of power in Balochistan. This intensifies the sense of deprivation and continued loot and plundering of Baloch rights .The lack of power or load shedding brings multiple difficulties  in daily life of the people .It disturbs all the walks of life .

News reports concerning the irritating load-shedding dominated the Baloch print media this week. Let’s analyze how the issue was covered in the Baloch print media.

The Balochistan Express, Quetta

The Balochistan Express, widely respected English language newspaper printed from Quetta, published one column report on March 24th page eight, covering a protest against load shedding and statement of Zamindar Action Committee, which is the largest organization of the local farmers. The paper reported, “A shutter-down strike was observed in Naushki district  to protest  against the suspension of power supply to the district .The strike call was given by growers and traders.”

The news paper quoted statement of Zamindar Action Committee, “Electricity is being  supplied  to Naushki  merely for  two hours  a day  which has  severely  affected  the traders  and growers. They warned that  if quick  steps  were not  taken  to ensure uninterrupted supply of power supply, farmers and traders would jointly intensify thier anti-government protests .”

Daily Talar Naushki

Daily Talar, a Brahvi and Urdu language newspaper, reported on March 21 in two column report  on its fourth page about farmers’ strikes. The news paper reported, “enraged growers blocked the National Highway in Mastung and raised slogans against QESCO and demanded  supply  of electricity. They said that power was completely cut in 15  districts of Balochistan, which had even caused lack of drinking water. Protesters vowed to continue their protest until the complete restoration of power.”

Daily Intekhab ,Quetta

On 25^th March,  Daily Intekhab, which is simultaneously published from Quetta, Hub and Karachi, quoted  in a two-column story about the president of the National Party Senator bdul Malik Baloch on page four.  The  paper quoted a telephonic conversation of Dr Abdul Malik Baloch with the president of Zamindar Action committee  Mir Afzal Khan  Mengal in Naushki saying that   “Electricity is  the basic  right  of  public  of Balochistan. Agriculture  is the 75% source of  income  of Balochistan. The current load shedding of electricity is a great   conspiracy against growers. QESCO officials  should  give up  negative   moves which create  tension  and difficulties for the people of Balochistan .They should restore  power because  the suspension of electricity is financial assassination of  growers.”

Daily Azadi Quetta

On March 25^th, Daily Azadi published a two-column news on page eight about  the strike and talks of the Assistant commissioner  Surab Mr. Abdul Qadir Pirkani. The paper reported: “ Hundreds of the citizens gathered in front of QESCO Office Surab against prolonged load shedding in Surab. Leaders of the protest said that govt and QESCO were able to provide them power just for a few hours but issued bills worth several thousands of rupees. They charge that they were always cheated under varying pretexts such as citing faults and damaged transmission lines as the reason for the interruption of power. They criticized that for cricket mach electricity was available but for the farmers’ genuine needs it was not available. The Assistant Commissioner Mr. Abdul Qadir Pirkani reached there and held dialogue with the protestors and ensured the restoration and supply of electricity to the all feeders in Surab.”

Daily Tawar Mastung

Balochistan‘s most quoted Urdu news paper Daily Tawar published a two-column news on page six on 25^th March covering the strike of growers against the prolonged load shedding, “The growers blocked Quetta-Karachi and Quetta-Tafatan Road  for ten hours at area of Sorgaz. They said the shortage of power  had greatly affected Balochistan’s agriculture sector. Besides this, people are  also facing difficulties because of  prolonged load shedding which caused shortage of water in their respective areas and people were bringing water from far flung areas, and due to prolong load shedding ready crops have been devastated.”

Yousaf Ajab is a staff member at The Baloch Hal. To read his past articles, please click here

Baloch Press Review: Abductions in Balochistan

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Abductions of the people has become a common practice and serious issue in Balochistan. Civilians, belonging to different walks of life are being whisked away. Kidnapping of the political workers, Baloch lawyers, intellectuals has always been an outstanding issue. The abduction of traders and members of the minority communities for ransom by professional kidnappers is yet another area that worries the people.  Apart from this, the latest wave of violence includes the kidnapping of judges and lawyers from the restive province.

Lawyers from Balochistan are being kidnapped. Two lawyers, Ali Shir Kurd and Zaman MArri, who had been abducted. Later on, their decomposed and mutilated bodies were found from Khuzdar and Mastung districts respectively. As many as four lawyers, Munir Ahmad Mirwani, Agha Zahir Shah, Saleem Akhtar  and Tahir Ali are still missing. It is alleged that they were whisked away by intelligence agencies who subsequently killed Ali Shir Kurd and Zaman Marri .

Syed Saleem Akhtar and Tahir Ali were reported missing on Thursday, 23rd of February near Dhadar when they were returning to Quetta after hearing of their cases in Sibi Wednesday evening. They went missing and their vehicle was found near Leghari Goth near Dhadar. It is apprehended they had been abducted by unknown persons.

In the first piece of  the Baloch Press Review, we will analyze how the local press in Balochistan is covering these issues.

Daily Intekhab, Quetta

On the 28^th of February, Baluchistan’s leading daily Intekhab reported in a five-columns front page story: “Session Judge Sibi Jan Muhammad Gohar and Senior Civil Judge Muhammad Ali went missing along with their driver and body guard from Usta Muhammad area of Jafarabad district, Balochistan on 27^th of February .who had gone to Usta Muhammad to attend a marriage party and went missing night near the middle area of Police station Derah Allah Yar and capital-form on their way back to Sibi”

News concerning the kidnapping of judges and lawyers continued to dominate the front page stories of most news papers of Balochistan

Daily Azadi, Quetta

On February 28th, Daily Azadi (Quetta) published on front page ,two-column statement of former president of theh National Party and veteran Baloch nationalist leader Dr Abdul Hai Baloch saying that the law of jungle prevailed all over Balochistan. Kidnappings for ransom, “gifts” of mutilated dead bodies, violation of Baloch culture, has become very common, he said. The senior Baloch leader was quoted as condemning the abduction of lawyers and judges and demanded the safe recovery of abducted judges and missing Baloch Persons and stoppage of military operation in Balochistan.

The Balochistan Express, Quetta

The Balochistan Express, a widely respected English language newspaper printed from Quetta,  reported on March 5th about a rally of lawyers demanding the safe recovery of their fellow judges and lawyers. The rally was, the newspaper reported, led by Balochistan Bar Association chief Baz Mohammad Kakar and others. Addressing the protester, Baz Mohammad Kakar said ,“ the government and its functionaries have failed to protect property and life of the citizens. He warned if the judges and lawyer were not released immediately and safely, they would intensify their protest all over the country and we will continue our protest continuously on daily bases. He said that the advocate Saleem Akhter’s mother had died because of severe shock.”

Daily Azadi, Quetta

On February 28^th, Daily Azadi published a four-column statement of former chief Minster of Balochistan and president of Balochistan National Party Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal.

“The abduction of lawyers and judges is a move to paralyze the system of judiciary,” Mengal was quoted by Azadi, “Because the perpetrators try their level best to make judiciary just a watching institution ”

He condemned the abduction of lawyers and judges and said, “There is no existence of government in Balochistan”.

Deliberately, the political culture of Balochistan is being pushed towards deterioration, he observed.

“Previously, extra-judicial abduction and murder of Baloch political workers took place and now the abduction of lawyers and judges is an other attack,” said Mengal. He concluded that the present government had failed to make batter the situation but the political situation is being worsened day by day.

Daily Tawar, Mastung

Daily Tawar, the most quoted Urdu online newspaper of Balochistan, publish a two-columns interview of the chairman of Voice for Baloch missing Persons, Nasruallah Baloch,  on 6^th of March. Nasrullah Baloch and Qadeer Bloch, the nephew of missing Ali Asghar Bungalzai and BRP activist Jalil Reki respectively who have been protesting and have establish a camp for the safe recovery of Baloch missing persons.

Nasrullah Baloch was reported as saying:  “ Advocate Agha Zahir Shah, who had been working on the case of Baloch missing persons voluntarily, was abducted. This move is a slap on the face of the judiciary.  If government and judiciary can not provide us justice, at least lawyer for Baloch missing persons must be recovered”.

The Baloch Hal

Balochistan’s first online English language newspaper,  The Baloch Hal commented editorially on 2^nd March (J for Justice J. For Judges) that “Lawyers and judges in Balochistan are justified in their anguish. They are boycotting the courts and marching on the roads. They feel insecure and helpless as well. They feel almost betrayed because the lawyers’ community in rest of Pakistan is not forthcoming to join them in the movement. Lawyers have been kidnapped, so have the judges.

The Baloch Hal editor concluded:

“While we wish the kidnapped lawyers and judges a safe and immediate recovery,  it is anticipated that the government will get out of its “denial mode” and deal with all outstanding matters with a more professional and pragmatic approach.”

www.thebalochhal.com

A “Heavy Price” for Defending Human Rights

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

A prominent human rights defender Naeem Sabir has paid a heavy price, defending human rights in Balochistan. When the scenario is, of a battlefield, definitely, performing  such a crucial duty in such a situation is a bravery and commitment with one’s profession. It is  perplexing why people  working  for  human rights, peace  and harmony are being target killed in cold blood and deprived of their own professional rights. Why are the perpetrators  not  brought to the book? Mainly, why don’t the human rights organizations, whose own members are killed, take any significant action? They only suffice with uttering a few words of condemnation.

No doubt, human rights violation, murder and abduction of human rights activists is increasing in Balochistan day by day. According to a report of  the  Human Rights  Watch  for 2010, the increased attacks on human  rights defenders, organizations  and institutions brings under spotlight the rights violation. Those  who  defend  human rights  face extreme  abuse, harassment , imprisonment,  intense  intimidation and even death. Pakistan ranks high in the index of countries that are  accused of  human rights violation in the world whereas the circumstances for human rights activists in Balochistan  are far worse.

Naeem Sabir, who was the district  coordinator  of the Human Rights  Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and a leading  social worker was killed  due to the  objective reporting of the violation of human rights in Khuzdar, which remains one of the sensitive parts of the volatile Balochistan province. There was a great a great contribution of Naeem Sabir with the HRCP in terms of documenting  cases of disappearance and extrajudicial killings of political workers for legal process.

Mr.Sabir performed his duty well and helped  the HRCP  but one wonders what the HRCP did in return to defend the former and hundreds of other activists who have been voluntarily assisting the human rights watchdog. I believe mere expression of anguish, issuance of a media statement does not compensate  the colossal loss of an extraordinary man like Naeem Sabir.  This tragic incident manifests the fact that lives of all human rights activists working in Balochistan are at risk .

Besides this, an other senior activist of the HRCP has already been abducted. According to a press release of the HRCP Balochistan chapter “government agents” abducted human rights activist Siddque Eido from Pasni. In the press release HRCP Chairman Dr Medi Hassan said that they had “serious concerns”  and personal  would  subject  him  to severe  torture  and his life was in danger.

Unfortunately, this was only a single effort HRCP made for the release of Siddque Eido and similarly a press release  has been issued  on the  murder of  Naeem Sabir . This is significant to note that the role of the HRCP as a leading organization is objectionable vis a vis Balochistan.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC),  in a strongly-worded  statement on the murder of Mr.Naeem Sabir,  has urged  the government  to establish  a judicial commission  to probe theses  incidents and bring perpetrators to the justice and the murder case of  Mr.Naeem Sabir must be properly investigated  and justice provided  to his family and loved ones .

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has also disclosed that Mr.Sabir had reveled with (AHRC) that he had been receiving continuous death threats for several months from persons believed to be from intelligence agencies.

Unquestionably, the human rights activists, journalists and political activists are in a miserable and uncertain situation. Security forces and their supporters are a great threat to the them. None of them can perform their duty freely and smoothly. Political activists are at risk because of the abductions and persuaded “kill and dump”. This has become a burning issue among the human rights organizations.

Recently, the Amnesty International issued a statement and  expressed reservations on the continued human rights violations and extrajudicial murders of journalist, human rights defenders and political activists in Balochistan. In addition, the Asian Human Rights Commission also expressed similar concerns.

This is the irony of the fate that the government of Balochistan also rejects the human rights organizations and negates incidents taking place in Balochistan. Human rights activists and journalists are the only ones who are balanced and equally report the human rights violation in Balochistan but the government of Balochistan connives at the activities taking place in Balochistan against Baloch youth.

According to my point of view, the government and those elements involved in killing and dumping of the Baloch people, consider the human rights activist a great obstacle on their path because human rights activist are the sources to provide reports to foreign organizations such as the Amnesty International, the Asian Human Rights Commission, which later on pressurize Pakistan to vindicate her position. Therefore, human rights activists are kidnapped or killed to get rid of them which disturb the continued process. So, these champions of the human rights are compelled to pay a heavy price for defending the rights of the marginalized sections of the society.

www.thebalochhal.com

A great decision: AIM to Baloch National Voice

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

The Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Marri has been renamed as Baloch National Voice. It was decided by taking the central leadership and leaders of all zones in confidence; the decision is being lauded by Baloch political leaders and nationalists parties. The Baloch National Voice has been endorsed in Balochistan and on international level as a great feat of the leadership. After facing long period criticisms, the decision has been made on an appropriate time, because the concept of “Tribal Ittehad” covers a small realm, which never has been in the favour of Baloch National Voice or National struggle.

Different political parties and student’s organization are toiling for the attainment of Baloch rights and owner ship of the Baloch land; with considerably differing ideologies from each other. Balochistan National Party Mengal including its student wing BSO (M) claims that they are striving for the self determination of Balochiatan, National Party with its pocket Student organization BSO (Pijar) believes in provincial autonomy, democracy and followers of Bizenjo’s thoughts (Fikere Bizenjove).

In contrast with these all the Baloch National Movement, Baloch Republican Party, Baloch Students Organization (Azad) and Baloch National Voice, including their coalition BNF Baloch Nation Front consider Freedom only solution to the plight of Baloch Nation and they support the idea of an independent Balochistan. They are also thought to be the political back up the armed movement and they perceive Nawab Khair Baksh Marri as Baloch national leader because of visionary source of inspiration and guidance.

No doubt BNM, BSO-Azad, BRP and Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Marri have been sacrificing in a large number the human resource behest of their organizations for Baloch cause. The AIM (Anjuman-e-Itehad – e – Marri has always been criticised by some as because of their name. The critics were of the view that AIM claims to support the idea of an Independent Baluchistan yet they are using a “Tribe name) which the critics believed was a possible hurdle in the way of Unity (Baloch Unity).

The adverse groups of the Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Marri included those tribal organizations, which took birth after establishment of the “Ealum Ittehad” (The Brothers Coalition), but the Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Marri existed prior to establishment of said itehad.

The “Ealum Ittehad”, established on dictation of Khan of Kalat Mir Suleman Daud and his brother Agha Umar Jan Ahmad Zai. however, later on the interests of the Khan of Kalat vanished. It is also alleged that Elum Itehad was formed in collaboration with former governor of Balochistan Owais Ahmed Ghani in a bid to create obstacles in the way of Baloch National struggle and isolate Baloch tribes from the National Movement. The birth of “Ealum Ittehad” was not only an attempt to bring stumbling block in Baloch Movement but also became a trend among the other tribes to establish such small groups or Itehads such as : Shahwani Ittehad, Mengal Ittehad, and Muhammad Hassani Ittehad and so on. Apart from Marri Itehad other Itehads were seen a protective plate form for social criminals”.

The establishment of Ittehads of different Baloch Tribes is another drawback of Baloch nation. They are formed with slogan of Baloch unity and settlement of tribal disputes but behind the scene the founder of these Itehad (Tribal unities) are supported by state and enjoy incentives for their anti-Baloch activities. The creation of such Tribal groups on one had is Isolating Baloch from the main struggle whereas on the other hand is being used as a loggerhead to the Baluch. In these perspectives Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Marri was counted among them though in reality the AIM was not like them at all as it had broader vision and ideology.

The Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Marri had been criticized in the past by different self-proclaimed Baloch nationalist parties who alleged that their name showed they’re loyal to a single tribe rather than representing all Baloch living worldwide. However, the decision to change to their name to Baloch National Voice (BNV) is being appreciated by all Baloch freedom loving parties. The important step has been taken in order to stop the criticism of others at this very critical juncture when Balochistan is suffering from the extreme murder of Political and students activists.

We dedicated our lives

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

English translation by: Nausheen Qambrani

We dedicated our lives on the name of LIFE

So that we may know the value of LIFE

…and then a secret revealed to us

That LIFE stands for Struggle and an ending conflict between the prayers of our Mothers and Destiny.

And those who cant fly with time OR stay back

LIFE becomes punishment for them.

If you remain silent in front of Tyranny for the time being

Then in the long run you would live pathetically.

Yousuf got a lesson by the sacrifices

That LIFE is the Beginning of WAR for having Eternal LIFE.

You Cover My Face, I Cover Yours

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

The Chief justice of Balochistan, Mr. Justice Qazi Faez Essa, in his recent media talk during a visit to the border town of Chaman to inaugurate  a court building, said that most of the missing persons  had been recovered  and he himself had concluded  some sixty cases of the missing persons, released through the  law  and there are  few charged with crimes.

The statement of the Chief Justice of Balochistan is not only strange but also baffling that more the sixty missing persons have been “released” but the affected families do not know the whereabouts of their loved ones and they insist that none of these missing persons has returned home yet. It is crystal clear  that apart from seven to eight  missing persons,  no one else has been brought before  the court. According to the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VMBP), 12000 Baloch youth, political workers, journalists and people from different walks of life are currently missing. The organization alleges that intelligence agencies have whisked them away with the collaboration of the F.C.

The revelation of  Balochistan’s Chief Justice seems beyond common sense. Because according to the international media, human rights organizations, and the statements of Voice for Missing Baloch Perseons since June 2010 till now around one hundred decomposed and mutilated dead bodies have been found from different areas of the province of Balochistan.  All of these victims were firstly abducted and subsequently  killed in a similar inhuman fashion and none of them had been brought before the court to face the charges they faced due to which they were detained.

Cases that the Chief Justice of Balochistan is talking about may be the ones pertaining to the criminals who were in the custody of police and charged with some crimes. But they do not seem to include the missing persons or in simple words the Chief Justice is deliberately attempting to confuse the criminals with those  Balochs who were directly abducted by F.C and then illegally handed over to the intelligence agencies.  The worsening situation of missing persons  and recovery of their bullet -riddled dead bodies has indeed remarkably embarrassed our judiciary which has totally failed to act  in support of the missing persons. Worst still, some of the victims of enforced disappearances were none other than lawyers but the judiciary even did not take tangible measures for those affiliated with the legal profession.

It is no skeleton in the cupboard that government functionaries abducted the president of Baloch National Movement  (BNM) Waja Ghulam Muhammad ,Lala Munir Baloch ,Shir Muhammad Baloch  from the legal chamber of  former Leader of the Opposition in the Baluchistan Assembly. Immediately, their tortured and decomposed  dead bodies were found at Murghab  in Turbat .Mr. Kachkool Ali was the only eyewitness  to come before the court and record his statement against intelligence agencies and F.C other than he was threatened to the extent that he had to flee the country in order to avoid meeting a similar fate.

Suo moto action taken by the Balochistan High court became ineffective and until today the High Court has failed to properly debunk the horrific murders and bring the culprits to justice.

Furthermore, the abduction of lawyer and writer Zaman Marri and Waja Ali Shir Kurd was another affront to the  judiciary. As luck would have it, the judiciary remained silent and helpless after the recovery of the brutally tortured dead bodies of the two Baloch lawyers.

No doubt, the judiciary has not only failed to provide justice to its own affected professionals and lawyers but has also drastically failed to mitigate the anguish of the missing persons’ families.  The inordinate delay in provision of justice to the people of Balochistan validates the fact that the  State is run by elements disrespectful of the judiciary, government, human rights organizations and the media.

Stark silence of the so-called democratic  institutions, social organizations, media and the democratic   government on the “kill and dump policy” of Baloch nation is obvious and as if according to their will but now the tacit role of judiciary also implies that they all are unanimous to the situation against the Baloch nation.

If the judiciary is interested in providing justice to the victim families of Baloch missing families or murdered ones then the process of dispensing justice should commence from releasing the initial missing persons  such as Ghulam Mustafa Shahwani and Ali Asghar BangulZai and some others.

It has been experienced over the years that institutions in Pakistan deliberately hide their heads in the sand  on the subject of  Baloch missing persons, especially the judiciary has never earnestly endeavored to summon the perpetrators of  the kill and dump policy. Why are they above the law? What has made their secrete state so powerful? Ironically, these perpetrators, who apparently remain beyond the reach of the judiciary, are also pleased to the role of the judges, the Pakistani media as well as some segments of the human rights organization. The recent statement of  the Chief Justice of Balochistan about Baloch missing persons is seemingly an implicit message of assurance and endorsement to the  intelligence agencies and the F.C that “you cover my face I cover your face”.

www.thebalochhal.com

A Battlefield for Journalists

By  Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Currently Balochistan is suffering from extreme murders of Baloch journalists, human rights activists, political workers and intellectuals.  In the last four months more than 70 people have been abducted, tortured and murdered during illegal detention. This has become an alarming situation for journalists and human rights activists.

Disappearance of Baloch youth, allegedly by intelligence agencies in collaboration with the Frontier Corps (FC) is an obvious  issue. According  to available facts  and witnesses, all  abducted  ones  who were later on tortured and killed  systematically were firstly whisked away  by intelligence agencies .

The human rights crisis  in Balochistan is deepening. Certainly, many of these cases are even not reported in the mainstream national media. On the other hand, local journalists who are reporting  these issues in the local  media  face hardships while reporting. Moreover, human rights activists affiliated  with  the human rights  organizations  reporting murders  ,disappearances  of innocent Baloch  people  are paying  much of their performance in the form of their being whisked away and killed .

The recent murder of Muhammad khan Sasoli president Khuzdar press club  and correspondent of DawanNews  Tv  is not  only  series of  the  moves against  Baloch journalists but  the  succession of threats to journalists working in Balochistan and believe in professionalism.

Khuzdar Press Club had already  been threatened in April 2010 by an organization called the Baloch Musallah Difa Tanzeem  in which its spokesman Mir Jang  Baloch  warned  the local reporters not to cover  events  related to nationalists  or organized by national  parties and factions of the Baloch Students  Organizations. This threat was issued when Muhammad Khan Sasoli was president of Khuzdar Press Club. However, no group has still claimed responsibility for Sasoli’s murder.

Consequently, some eight months ago the voice president of Khuzdar Press Club Faiz Muhammad Din was also killed. Lala Hameed Baloch correspondent of  Daily Tawar was whisked away  by intelligence agencies  on 25 October along with his  friend from Kawaat  area. Later on, their  mutilated dead bodies were found on Eid occasion  on 18 November. A piece of paper was also found from Lala Hameed Baloch’s pocket which stated “Eid gift for Baloch” .

Similarly, disappearance and forced abduction of Baloch writers and journalists is deteriorating too. The arrest of Rahmatullah Shahin, a member of Much Press Club, who was tortured for eight months and a fresh raid on the house of Qazi Dad Muhammad Rehan, secretary general of Gwadar Press Club  by security forces; the arrest of Wazir Khan Raki, president of the Mashkil Press Club are calculated plans. Threats to the young journalist Abid Mir and writer’s own (Yousaf Ajab Baloch) arrest by F.C for couple of hours are meant to suppress the voice of the media in Balochistan.

Meanwhile, the copy editor of Balochi language magazine Dhorant and Baloch journalist Muhammad Ilyas Nazar has been whisked away by security forces .This is another new incident and the whereabouts of the young copy editor are still unknown.

Human rights activists working in Balochistan are facing the similar circumstances. They have been disturbed and terrified by state authorities hostile to their reporting  of human rights violation and atrocities. According to a press release issued by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Balochistan chapter, “government agents” abducted human rights activist Siddique Eido from Pasni . HRCP Chairman Dr Mehdi Hassan said in his press release that HRCP had “serious concerns” that the personnel would subject them to severe torture, and that their lives were in danger. The HRCP chairman demanded their safe and immediate release but to no avail so far.

The murder of Baloch intellectuals, journalists and human rights activists is a inordinate loss for Balochistan which can never be compensated. It is hard for journalists and activists of civil liberties to practice their responsibilities in Balochistan without any fear .It is first time that  HRCP has taken notice of the disappearance of any human rights activist. Regrettably, the mainstream media of Pakistan pretends to be blind about the murders of political activists. There are no reports about the cold blood murders of Baloch journalists and human rights activists as their silence translates into endorsement of these undemocratic actions. The muzzled role of Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), based in Quetta with a heavy influence of non-Baloch journalists on the organization, is equally perturbing.  The organization took no significant stand over the killing of two Baloch journalists Lala Hameed and Muhammad Khan Sasoli including the abduction of other Baloch journalist and writers.

Balochistan has been transformed into a battlefield for Baloch journalist and human rights activists in order to prevent them from covering unabated human rights violation in the province. No doubt, the coldblood murder of Baloch journalists is perpetrated by intelligence agencies in collaboration of the F.C and their subordinate groups, as it has been alleged.

Delay in probing the murder cases of journalist in Balochistan proves that authorities of government are unable to take any action against the perpetrators.

In my point of view, Baloh journalist are being deliberately targeted and this phenomenon will continue until organizations like Reporters Without Borders and International Federation of Journalists intervene. They should urge responsible authorities to let journalist and human rights activists perform their professional  responsibilities without any obstructions. Impartial investigation into the murder of journalists must be initiated with representation offered to international media watchdogs in such investigation commissions.

The end

www.thebalochhal.com

 

Blunders from Bengal to Balochistan, but no lesson

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Though religion  of Islam  was a major pretext  to make Pakistan  yet the  partition of Bangladesh  proved,    nations and  countries  can not be  subjected   to extent they may be religious.  The  freedom  of Bangladesh  on 16 December  1971, on every 16^th of  December   makes me think   that  wise   people and  nations  learn  from  history  and mistakes  if not  then  commit blunders turn by turn  .Aforementioned imply to the nature of Pakistani rulers.

Suppressing and depriving the people of their rights and forcing them to be in federation being a nation, is a usual move of the Pakistani heads of state. Whether dictators or champions of the democracy. It is obvious  Pakistan is a multi national country; instead of having sense of one nation every one is proud of   his own nation  they are proud to be called Baloch ,Sindhi  ,Pakhton etc, rather than to be Pakistani. No one is ready to bulldoze is  culture and history of thousands years for the sixty years of Pakistan .Neither they can be restricted  forcefully   to be one nation just on the name of Islam or by force to  prevent  them from struggle for rights ,practically that was done in Bangal and now continued in Balochistan .

Bengalis having rich land, economic and geographical importance, were ignored extremely .The conflicts caused between Pakistan   and Bangladesh were  the language issue on Urdu and Bengali, confiscation  of  political  and economic rights  and    adoption of diverting  policies from constitution . The steps of the dictators and elected rulers of Pakistan intensified the situation by imbalanced behavior and use of power to create strong  Islamabad. Pursuing the theory of strong  and stable  federation   the rulers of  Pakistan  always  dominate  the  rich but  subjected  and oppressed  nations to control    people  in Pakistan .The  9 months struggle of  Bengalis  and having  sense of deprivation of 26 years ,including shallow policies and discrimination resulted  the separate country

The use of  extreme  power to dominate  failed ,therefore;  the  Guinness book of  the record lists  the Bengal  atrocities  as one of the top 5 genocide  in  20^th century .

Since the creation of Pakistan    Bangladesh  suffered from much discrimination and deprivation, available facts   clear  Bengalis   were  not  being  treated  equally  ,since   1947-48 and 1959 -60 . The  total  government  expenses  in  developing and  non developing  sector   was 2750  million  in East Pakistan  whereas  in West Pakistan  the total  expenditure  was 8017million  rupee in private sector only .20% of the total  development expenditure  were made in East Pakistan  The higher civil officers were posted at the key posts in Bangladesh  from West Pakistan. This prejudice resulted into the realization for toile of rights against being ruled by West Pakistan.

Since the initial days  Pakistani rulers  ,Ghulam Muhammad ,  Skiander Mirza  and Ayub Khan   just  made shallow policies  and kept looting  Bengal .The economic  and demographical  weight  of the  East  had been fully neglected  .Government  and establishment  were  dominated by  the upper  classes  from  the West Pakistan. . Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman’s Awami League emerged as the political voice of oppressed Bangladesh and agitated for autonomy in the 1960 s.  this struggle for autonomy caused the arrest of Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman  in 1960.The anger against  Islamabad  of Bangladesh  increased  and turned in to the hatred  when Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman   whose Awami League  won  a majority  in parliament  in 1971  election  but was blocked to take office .

President of Pakistan Yahya Khan  arrested  Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman   after  having   compromise talks  with him  on 26^th of march 1971 and launched  military operation  searchlight ,a bloody method of  Yahyah Khan ,killing up  3 million people .It resulted  murder of  civilians ,intellectuals  and Hindus including widespread violation of   human rights and notorious acts of  tortures and rapes of women . About ten million refugees fled to India.

Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman   formally declared the independence of Bangladesh, before being arrested and asked the Bengalis to fight till the eviction of last Pakistani   Soldier from the East Pakistan .Awami league leaders set up a government in –exile in Calcutta.

The Bengalis libration war lasted for nine months .The Bangladesh force formed within 11 sectors led by M.A.G Osmani consisting of Bengali regulars and Mukti Bahini conducted a massive guerrilla war against the Pakistani forces with all support from the Indian armed forces .In the long run the Bengali movement achieved decisive victory over Pakistan on 16 December 1971, with Indian armed forces taking over 90000 prisoners of war.

The partition of Bangladesh rather than being a bitter experience and learning lesson for the misruling and use of power to control people, it is even not quoted as a blunder and still India and Bengalis are blamed for the reason .The similar violence and genocide is taking place now in Balochistan. The all done decisions and manners of cruelty are being imitated since 1948 in Balochistan.  Military operations, disappearance, murder of intellectuals, assassination of political leaders,   are perpetuated as perpetrated in Bangladesh. It is natural phenomena revolution makes it own way .The 25 years injustice cased the partition of East Pakistan but six decades discrimination and bloodshed of Baloch nation will be more dangerous because there has been no lesson of blunders from the Bengal to Balochistan.

www.balochistanpoint.com

Human rights violation in Balochistan, UN ought to take notice

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Before dilating  on the  subject  we  have to cite  human rights  ,and  the  human rights declarations . Definitely,  human rights  imply  to the rights   relevant  to the  life  ,liberty  ,equality  and dignity of  the  individuals  .10 December  takes us   back the  day  when  United Nations   general assembly  adopted  the universal  declaration  of human rights  on 10^th December 1948. The general assembly called upon the member states to guarantee and promote the recognition   of the rights and freedoms set in the human rights declaration.

The United Nations  charter  emphasize  equality of human beings ,dignity  ,rights  and it entitles  to the  all rights  and  freedoms  set    in the declaration of race ,sex,  languages  ,religion ,  political national  or  other  opinion  ,including  right to the  social  security  .The civil  and  political  rights on which  human beings  are at liberty,  have  been  outlined in the articles 3-21 and 22-27 of the declaration .

The aforementioned paragraphs are essential to be discussed when ever we refer to rights of any oppressed and subjected state or a nation .Explaining human rights crisis in Balochistan we have to mention above discussed. Because human right crisis have been a major issue in balochistan dated back the annexation of Balochistan with Pakistan; But currently it is much worsened.

The human rights violation   can be defined as the violation of fundamental human rights such as   education, food, employment, and ownership of land, resources and others known as the tools for development in underdeveloped countries.

In the 21st century Baloch nation and Balochistan lack even clean drinking water, health facilities and suffering from the extreme poverty; despite having  the precious land replete with expensive natural resources. Rests of the population is affected by very commom disease and die due to lacking hospitals and health facilities.

The most terrifying and act is violation of human rights declaration adopted against torture and illegal disappearance. The forth declaration is to remind United Nations authorities the violation of articles and declarations set for human rights. Mainly,   the declaration of rights against torture adopted in 1975, The  general  assembly  adopted  declaration  on the protection  of  all persons  from  being subjected  to torture ,inhuman degrading treatment  and violation  of basic human rights .The 1948’s convention  makes torture  a crime  and  commands upon  the  member countries  to  prosecute  and  punish those found guilty of it .

Regrettably, the all efforts and declarations of United Nations go in vain in Balochistan claimed and made for human prosperity and protections including development. No doubt 10^th December is observed as human rights day and the organizations working against human rights violation conduct programs; present their case studies and achievements. But it is questioned, is the human rights charter followed? And United Nations pay attention to the provision of human rights.

Now Baloch political activists, writer and journalists are facing the toughest torture, More than 12000 cases of forced disappearances have been reported, alleged that these have been abducted by intelligence agencies of Pakistani state. Neither they are brought in any court nor their whereabouts known. Political assassinations are also the part of baloch genocide. Freedom of expression is banned and local and foreign media is not allowed to report and focus the human rights crisis.

Declaration adopted against torture is being violated plainly in balochistan. The baloch political leaders and other people belong to different walks of life; they are kidnapped with out any charges. Baloch journalists are being killed ruthlessly. The people of balochistan are being treated in very inhuman and degrading manner. In indiscriminate bombardments not only youth and old aged people are killed but also children, women and minorities are put to the death. Up to now more than 75 decomposed ,mutilated  and built-riddled dead bodies of baloch students, political workers and journalists have been found; those were kidnapped by intelligence  agencies with the collaboration  of F.C  and   intensive torture ,electric  shocks , caused their death,

Though United Nations and human rights organizations are alive to the atrocities taking place in balochistan against baloch nation but their tacit role can be criticized. Because baloch nation has been against the inhuman and degrading tactics of Islamabad which increase   restiveness among Baloch people and currently baloch nation is facing the fifth military operation. This is the position that now baloch youth have joined guerrilla warfare to have defensive position and fight for their freedom.

In my point of view, the silence of UN and human rights organizations on Baloch genocide is quite astonishing. Though baloch people have been protesting against these cruelties, even the all articles and declarations adopted for human dignity are being violated in balochistan. The imbalanced and neglecting role of UN is unsatisfactorily .If UN is unable to urge any member state to stop atrocities and violation of human rights then they have no right to claim to be human rights provider and have no right to commemorate human rights day .It is time, UN ought to take notice of torture and gifts of the decomposed and mutilated dead bodies including illegal disappearance of Baloch students and youth in order to provide protection to the humanity.

www.balochistanpoint.com

The Guilt of Baloch Hal

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

The exploitation  of Baloch and Balochistan is not new  as the oppressed  Baloch nation is exploited and deprived  in all walks of life . Underprivileged nations can never get attention of the world  or international  community  unless they have command over education  and  have their own media .Unfortunately,  when we  talk of the  media  and education, Baloch have never been facilitated in spite of being one of the richest parts  of Asia in terms of natural resources.

Media plays  a prime role  to represent a  backward area  or the nation. The absence of sincere Baloch committed media is felt constantly in Balochistan. Though more  than  115  daily news papers are published from Balochistan, except Daily Tawar, Daily Intekhab,  Daily  Azadi, Daily Ustaman and Dalily Balochistan Express, all other newspapers can be counted as nominal representative of the province. Most news papers, their editors and publishers even do not belong to Balochistan. On the contrary, Baloch news papers, which are managed by professional editors who are fully acquainted with the local culture and history,   are ignored and always  face stoppage of advertisements. They are subjected to anti-Baloch  behavior. This was proved  when  the government  banned  Baloch newspaper Daily Asaap last year and besieged the  offices  of Daily  Azadi and Balochistan Express in Quetta.

Because the  Baloch newspapers, a mirror image of the Balochistan  scenario is presented to represent what actually is happening in Balochistan. These newspapers are straightforward in terms of articulating the deprivation and dispossession of  Baloch people.  Due to this candid stance, these professional newspapers are pressurized financially.

When we glance at the Baloch electronic media, it s  experiential that websites  are striving to highlight  the Baloch question  and  atrocities taking place inside the province. As a result, they are banned. Such moves are indeed a clear violation of people’s right to expression.

Now another  attack  on Baloch  media  has been reported by banning  of  first  online  Baloch English newspaper, The Baloch Hal. According to Dawn News, the government of Pakistan  has  decided to ban  online English newspaper  The Baloch Hal,on the advice  of sensitive  government department. It is obvious that The Baloch Hal, being the  first online Baloch newspaper, has been playing a neutral  role in the media but was still opposed by Baluchistan government. Yet, the newspaper has been forced to pay a price for following  the true values of good press and journalistic norms  and expressing  facts  as they exist. The Baloch Hal has been blocked for presenting the real face of Balochistan.

It is not important to know who banned The Baloch Hal but the question is what crime the newspaper committed for which it should face blockade as a punishment. All charges made by the PTA for the reason of banning The Baloch Hal have not been officially substantiated yet.

The blocking of The Baloch Hal without any reason by a government that claims to be democratic and champion of free press is uncanny. Not only is this development a complete violation of rights to free press but also violation of  human rights. The ban on The Baloch Hal can be considered one of the conspiracies in opposition to Baloch nation and it is an act to suffocate the poor voice of Balochistan in electronic media because The Baloch Hal and some other websites are very frequently visited and quoted across the world regarding Balochistan.  The ban is meant to keep the the international community in darkness about Balochistan crisis or prevent the Balochs from being represented  in international and national media .

In my views, the guilt of the Baloch Hal can be the  fair and balanced  passion of its  reporting. Though the Balochistan government opposed this newspaper too, it still continued  reporting  official functions and providing space to the official news. The Baloch Hal must be complimented for upholding the sanctity  of news merit. It reported Mashky operation and reports human rights violation in Balochistan  including the social problems,geopolitical issues.  The Baloch Hal is also known to be a progressive, believable and a Baloch liberal online newspaper that is repeated writtten against sectarian killings and advocated women’s rights. The biggest guilt of this newspaper is that it belongs to Balochistan, it presents Baloch nation and the team comprises of young Baloch professionals.

The Baloch Hal      www.thebalochhal.com

Intervention Inevitable.

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Balochistan’s missing persons belong to different walks of life. According to the Voice for Missing Baloch Persons (VMBP), more than 12,000 Baloch political activists, students, teachers, lawyers, and farmers have been whisked away from different parts of Balochistan. It is alleged that the Frontier Corps (FC) collaborated with the intelligence agencies to ‘abduct’ these people.

Missing Persons’ issue dates back even before Perveze Musharaf’s regime. According to one list,  Ghulam Mustafa Shahwani is the firs Missing person in the mentioned list , the elder brother of Faqeer Muhammad Ajiz Baloch, the Mastung coordinator of VMBP who was killed on October 21, the number of disappeared is as high as 12, 000, was the first Baloch to go missing. Mustafa is still missing. The exact number of whisked persons is disputed.

Various lists indicate that the missing persons consist children, women and elderly citizens. The most known story is of Zarina Marri, a school teacher imprisoned by intelligence agencies whose story was disclosed by Munir Mengal, another victim of torture and disappearance, who met the former in an underground cell during his imprisonment.

Though the family members of the missing Balochs are protesting in different ways such as by holding demonstrations, hunger strikes and all other political ways to attract the superior judiciary and human rights organizations, their efforts have failed to yield any success.

For the purpose of bringing the families of the missing persons together, the Voice for Missing Baloch Persons was established on October 27, 2009. The organization began the search for families in different parts of Balochistan whose loved ones had been picked up and subjected to enforced disappearance.

The organization provides legal assistance to the families of the missing persons by helping them to register cases and lodging petitions at the courts. Furthermore, another body called the International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (IVBMP) has also been established which is highlighting the matter.

In fact, all articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are currently being violated in Balochistan. Let me, for instance, cite articles 9 and 10 which are relevant to the missing persons of Balochistan.
Article nine states, ” No one shall be subjected to arrest, detention or exile.”

Article ten says, “everyone is entitled, in full equality, to fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligation and of any criminal charge against him.”

Pakistan’s Constitution strictly prohibits “enforced disappearance”. Article ten of the Constitution says that every detainee would have the right to be informed of the charges against him; to hire a lawyer of his choice to defend all charges and be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest.

Regrettably, the above international and national human rights declarations have not been respected. Several years have passed since thousands of Balochs went missing. No information has been shared about their whereabouts and the charges leveled against them.

The recent phenomenon of recovery of dead bodies of Baloch missing persons is in fact terrifying. These people are killed and dumped in an inhuman manner. Since June 2010, more than 50 Baloch political activists, lawyers, shopkeepers, and writers had been kidnapped, tortured, and mutilated in a similar manner and their built- riddled bodies were thrown in wilderness. Though the atrocities had begun with Ghulam Muhammad Baloch, Lala Munir Baloch, Sher Muhammad Baloch, and Rasool Bux Baloch, the acceleration can be seen now.

This upsurge has not only worried affected families of Baloch Missing persons, but also the international organizations working against human rights violations. In a recent statement, the Amnesty International urged Pakistan to investigate the murder and torture of Baloch activists and leaders over the past four months. It said, “The government must act immediately to provide justice for the growing list of atrocities in Baluchistan. Baloch political leaders and activists are clearly being targeted and the government must do much more to end this alarming trend.”

The first International Conference on Enforced Disappearance in Baluchistan was held in Geneva by the International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons with collaboration of International Humanist and Ethical Union in which delegates from the U.K U.S.A,Canada, Norway, and Spain participated.

The Geneva conference called upon the United States via a resolution to intervene in Balochistan to immediately stop the crimes against humanity in Balochistan.

The Balochistan Package, announced last year in November, promised to to immediately release all political workers except those charged under heinous crimes. On year down the line, neither the federal nor the provincial government could achieve a breakthrough.

The situation in Balochistan is becoming precarious day after day. The abduction of Baloch citizens has became a common practice. Killing, dumping, and decomposing bodies are the latest fashion of repression in the country’s largest province.

The Balochistan High Court (BHC) has hundreds of pending petitions filed by the families of the dead and still missing Balochs but it seems either indifferent or utterly helpless in coaxing the spymasters to release the missing persons.

Statements of the Governor and Chief Minister are also disappointing. “The Frontier Corps (FC) has established a parallel government and does not abide by the provincial government’s directives,” confessed Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani. The affected families believe they can most probably get some relief if the international community and international media start to pressurize Islamabad for the recovery of the missing.

The involvement of a third party, such as international human rights groups, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Asian Human Rights Commission can be fruitful in highlighting the issue. There is a need for a UN independent fact finding team to investigate human rights violations and atrocities taking place in Balochistan. The proposed team should visit the family members of the abducted youths and speak to the eyewitnesses of torture and brutality.

(The end)

www.thebalochhal.com

State terrorism gets birth when oppressed demand for rights: Naushin Qambrani.

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

(Naushin Qambrani is renowned social activist in Balochistan, she has good experience of working with international and National Organizations as high capacity, few days ago she was interviewed by a Balochi TV channel in regard of ongoing human rights violation in Balochistan. Her interview is translated for readers)

Q: Being a social activist how do you see the current wave of human rights’ violation in Balochistan?

Naushin Qumbrani: The violation of human rights by state begins since forced annexation of Balochistan with Pakistan, but I comment about atrocities of 21^st century, because this century is declared for philanthropic, development and freedom of expressions. But for a decade bombardment on Baloch population genocide of Baloch is state terrorism. Disappeared youth, women, children and old people number is more than ten thousand and perpetration of this crime is continue even till today, two boys were  abducted, each day we are receiving tortured dead bodies of our brothers. This grimness acts series is manifested for anyone but the senseless behavior of Pakistan chapter of Amnesty International, HRCP, NGOs those are working for Human rights, judiciary, parliament and other institutions prove that they are still not ready to accept Baloch as human.

Q: For few days decomposed and tortured dead bodies are found, what do you say about this?

N.Q: The series of dumped dead bodies is not new, we are seeing this for ten years, previous year our leaders Ghulam Mohammad Baloch and his comrades Lala Munir Baloch and Sher Mohammad Baloch were martyred and their dead bodies were found at Mughrab, after that tortured dead body of Comrade Rasool Bux Mengal was found in Uthal on 31 August. One year later in June 2010 the first decomposed dead body we received was Faiz Bangulzai which was dumped in deserted area of Quetta vicinity. You see it is the continuance when an occupant reaches the stage of killing our people, our political leaders and those who are practicing in field of teaching or advocacy; they are writing and working for maturity of ideology and consciousness. The signs of torture were obvious on Advocate Zaman Marri’s dead body, and on 2^nd August our endeared writer, poet and advocate Ali Sher Kurd was abducted and after two days his tortured dead body was found in Khuzdar. It proves that state is underdog, they have been defeated in such way that they are doing heinous and inhuman atrocities so as not let any one to work for nourishment of ideology in Baloch society. I myself consider a human being killing as murder of Humanity but killing of advocate Ali Sher Kurd by Electric Shocks and torture, such a helpful man, friend and broad minded, in fact they didn’t murder a Baloch and human being but they put to death a divine soul.

Government and Human rights organizations exist here and as well working, what are your comments about theirs’ role in Balochistan?

NQ: Institutions are working in Pakistan whether they are intended to enforce the law, strengthen judiciary, and human rights watch organization or they are our parliament worshipers or those Baloch politicians who are getting incentives against the dead bodies of their own Balochs. They all consider Baloch question as bigoted and narrow-minded. They are standing in our columns, abusing to forces, in real they are not doing so for subjected and oppressed Balochs, if they would be sincere to declare army guilty for subjected and oppressed Baloch so circumstances wouldn’t be ugly like so. In fact using the name of Baloch they are collaborating with establishment to protect Pakistan and their personal interest. And living in like army base, being a slave, protection and raising voice for human rights is how possible.

Through your comments it seems there is absence of Government and existence of any setup to stop actions against public, and what will be the situation in future?

NQ: Now Balochs are conscious and they will make their decisions, even Baloch nation has made cleared to world community from their decisions. Those people who are sitting in parliaments and running their business against the dead bodies of Baloch by covering  nationalism clad and turn by turn getting ministries and senate seats, whether they are  Zehri, Resani or other so called nationalists. They are observing that what is happening with Balochs but Baloch nation has determined that they will stronger their freedom movement. I am optimist that they will see very soon triumph in this struggle.

Can you mention turning point of authorities for recent human right violation?

NQ: State terrorism gets birth when oppressed demands for rights and abuses of human rights begins when occupied feels their slavery. You have extorted my rights, made me slave and I am not to be slave. This land is mine. When you say this way then birth of state terrorism is sure. Here I feel necessary to mention that our Children, Mothers, Sisters and daughters who are protesting for abducted and imprisoned Balochs, they are not protesting from state authorities and parliamentarian Balochs but want to get attention of international community so as to stop the terrorism of Pakistan.

Source: www.bolanvoice.wordpress.com

Skin disease caused by unhygienic situation

By Yousaf Ajab Baloch

Union council Iskalkoo is one of the nearest union councils of district head quarter Of Kalat ,some 16 km .People of Iskalkoo are deprived of all basic facilities of life ,just few villages have some facilities of health ,education which do not meet the requirements of the communities. The facilities in mentioned area are equal to none ,lack of skills and poverty worsens the level of daily life ,extreme poverty and current drought have increased in the indigence and hardships of the communities more .
Human prosperity organization was established in 2006 and focused U/C iskalkoo for social change and participation in development sector .HPO has been conducting seminars , workshops and community meetings including formation of community organizations for mobilization and motivation of communities . In January 2010 the social workers while formation of community organizations felt that a skin disease was affecting to the children and women very rapidly .Feeling it dangerous for children and communities HPO team conducted a survey at house hold level and collected facts and figures about affected people, HPO surveyed in 10 villages of U/C Iskalkoo.As soon as the survey completed HPO informed district Health officer Kalat and held a press conference. According to the survey the skin disease had been existing for four years but in 2010 it affected a large number of children. For the treatment of victims of skin disease the district health team with five doctors visited Iskalkoo and arranged medical camp and provided medicines to children, up to on going month HPO has continued the treatment of children.
The doctors observed, analyzed and certified that the skin disease was caused by unhygienic practices, water and sanitation problems and contaminated water .According to the skin specialist Dr.Gansham Das the mentioned disease is caused by lack of sanitation at house hold level and contaminated water in community use .It is the disease of fungous and infectious, it quickly affects to the vulnerable groups on hands, face, mouth and other parts of the body and then it turns in the shape of (exima ) which spreads human to human .
It was discussed that the existence of disease was four years in area but lack of information about prevention of it and due to poverty hardly ever people would contact with doctors, lack of mobilization on water and sanitation and open deification in the area causes such disease. Treatment of affected people is taking place but this is the time to bring behavior change in communities, conducting of trainings on hygiene education and construction of model dustbins, latrines and pavement of water channels can motivate people to impede such diseases and root out the causes.

(The end)