The Pakistani electronic media, government, judiciary and the Human Rights Organisations also have completely ignored the hues and cries of Baluch mothers and sisters who have been knocking at all the door from so called commissions for missing persons to courts and press clubs. This discriminatory way of Pakistan has been well exposed by a Karachi based writer Naimat Haider. In his article Reason(s) to dance he wrote: “Meanwhile, another form of protest, a peaceful one, at the Karachi Press Club also seems to be serving little purpose. There, in the scorching heat, three family members of Zakir Majeed Baloch, a student political activist who is claimed to have been missing since a year ago, refuse to end their 34-day-old hunger strike. With pain etched on their faces, Zakir’s family members, including his sister, refuse to eat anything. They say they “will not eat a morsel till Zakir is freed.” All his sister says is that Zakir should be produced before a court if he has done anything unlawful, and yet her voice seems to be diffusing with the wind”.
She also constantly has been appealing the Baluch in Diaspora to take practical steps to raise the issue of forced-disappearances in Baluchistan. In several news statements she and sister of comrade Zakir Majeed Baluch urged the Baluch people living abroad to play the role of ambassadors of Baluchistan and inform the International Community about the atrocities that Pakistan is committing against Baluch people. Presumably, the Baloch forced disappeared persons’ families consider the Baloch in Diaspora as their last ray of hope but has the Diaspora met the expectations of the agonized Baluch families? The answer is in negative! Unfortunately!
The families of Baluch forced-disappeared perhaps believe that the Baluch in Diaspora have more freedom, more access to press, more opportunities than the Baluch people in Baluchistan – which in theory is precisely true but in practical the Diaspora has failed to meet the expectations of the people of Baluchistan so far, especially the families of disappeared persons. They have failed to structure a united struggle against the atrocities in Balochistan, with the exception of few demonstrations and letters which usually end up either in Yahoo groups or get tossed between one Baloch friends to another by e-mails.
Just like in Balochistan there are many groups of Baluch people abroad as well, to name few: Baloch Community UK, Baloch Community Norway, Baloch Community Sweden, Balochistan Action Committee (UK), Baloch Human Rights Watch, Baloch Human Rights Council (UK, Canada, UAE), the American Friends of Balochistan and recently someone has been posting news in the name of World Baloch Organisation from Canada and many more.
Among the above mentioned groups the heavy burden lies on the shoulders of BHRC and BHRW, in case of Human Rights Violations, as they are supposed to raise the issue of violations of basic human rights. There can be no greater violation of one’s human rights than depriving someone of his/her liberty – yes, we’re talking about forced-disappearances. Not only the freedom of forcefully disappeared people has been snatched but their families too are deprived of their liberty since the vanishing of their loved ones, they are spending sleepless nights and prolonged day waiting for their loved one to return home and reunite with them. Put yourself in the shoes of those families! And think for a while! You’ll get the answer.
http://www.balochwarna.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2755
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