Baluchistan - The Forgotten Cause

Indian media reports about the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipe line through Baluchistan have glossed over the atrocities being committed there. How ostrich like can we get in not going into the details of a region on whose coast the Gwadar port has sprung up with Chinese help? The Gwadar port is within striking distance of the world's most sensitive choke point, the straits of Hormuz! Baluchistan is endowed with natural gas and minerals, which is being leached out for the benefit of Pakistan, with the Baluchis getting only crumbs. Pakistan has been accusing India of fomenting trouble in Baluchistan. The Baluchis are the most secular of all Pakistanis and have been fighting for autonomy since 1947.

The Baluch is a site that details the strife in Baluchistan since 1947. The gory details of torture and intimidation the Baluchis are being subjected are hard to believe. It is the recordings of interviews of Baluchi leaders that lend credibility to the reports. It is surprising that the site has not been hacked as yet by the ISI and the site owners not eliminated. I was surprised when I learned that it is being maintained by an American lady from New York. She has traveled extensively in Baluchistan and what she witnessed there has broken her heart, irreparably. The latest effort to highlight the plight of Baluchis by organizing a seminar in Washington shows that many non Baluchis are involved in rooting for the Baluchi cause.

Andrew Eiva was the star speaker of the seminar. His bio makes interesting reading. The speech captured on YouTube in three parts is at:


The Baloch Hal is maintained by Pakistanis that gives an opportunity to Baluch writers to articulate their woes. The article on persecution of Baluchis in Karachi makes sad reading.


C N Anand is the author of Tarbela Damned � Pakistan Tamed, where the central theme hinges around the world�s largest earth and rockfill dam, the Tarbela dam of Pakistan.


Listen to: Andrew Eiva-Part I, Baluchistan International Conference

Source: http://desicritics.org/2009/12/01/100225.php