A Day in the Life of Balochistan’s Struggle for Independence
Baloch activists who aspire for freedom, dignity and an independent Balochistan continue to face persecution and violence.
In spite of official claims of a military-installed puppet government in Quetta that the situation in Balochistan is fast improving, independent news sources paint the picture of a war zone in the France-sized occupied territory.
A sympathizer of the Baloch National Movement was gunned down in the Basima area Tuesday by the death squad sponsored by the Inter-Services Intelligence, Talaar news reported.
The victim was identified as Ibrahim Baloch.
In a press statement the BNM spokesperson said the state security forces, death squads and religious terrorist organizations are jointly targeting political workers under a preplanned agenda to create fear and panic among the general populace in order to prolong the military occupation of Balochistan.
“The Baloch people are fully aware of these conspiracies by the ISI and its sponsored death squads,” the BNM said, adding “There is no dearth Baloch heroes are willing to sacrifice their lives for the defense of their homeland until complete freedom.”
Meanwhile, the body of an activist of the Baloch Republican Party was discovered from Mazar Goth in Kashmore. The victim identified as Dostain Bugti was forcibly abducted by agents of the Inter-Services Intelligence on October 4 from Guddu.
The BRP paid salutes to the fallen hero and re-affirmed its pledge to continue with the mission of the party martyrs.
In another incident in Chitkaan, Panjgur, Pakistani intelligence services abducted a Baloch youth named Waseem Baloch, son of Master Abdul Rehman. His whereabouts are unknown.
In yet another incident, police sources said the body of a man was found in the date gardens in Khudabadan in Panjgur. The victim was identified as Waris Jan, son of Mohammad Jan, who was a resident of Turbat. His political affiliation could not be immediately ascertained, though most victims are Baloch freedom activists.
On October 13, an aide of Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik named Ghulam Shah Dashti was freed from the custody of the Sarmachars after remaining under “arrest” for eight days. The arrest of Dashti, who was deputy secretary at the Chief Minister’s House in Quetta, was aimed at convincing Barrick Gold Corporation and Antofagasta to stay away from Balochistan or its personnel may face a similar fate.
The chief minister who owes his seat to alleged poll rigging and enjoying the blessings of the military General Headquarters, Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence has repeatedly claimed that the situation has improved since he took office.
However, according to report in Sangar Publication by Asif Magsi, “Malik took oath as Chief Minister of Balochistan in May 2013. Since then over 400 political activists have “gone missing” and over 270 plus mutilated dead bodies have been dumped in various parts of the Balochistan. These figures clearly show the extent of the government failure to stop human rights abuses in Balochistan.
The Sangar further said,
“The hypocrisy of it all was illustrated by concomitant events in January 2014. At a press conference Malik claimed that ‘kill and dump’ had stopped in Balochistan. The next day mass graves were discovered in Tutak area of Khuzdar. According to the reports approximately 70 dead bodies of Baloch were dumped. The exact number of dead bodies is still not known as the army cordoned off the area and barred entry to journalists and the also the locals.”
Ahmar Mustikhan is a journalist of longstanding and now lives in the Washington DC metropolitan area. He can be reached at ahmar_scribe@yahoo.com. Read other articles by Ahmar.
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