Category — Balcochistan campaign

FEELING that they have been left in the cold, the people of Balochistan have stood up to defend their rights. It should be a matter of shame for the leadership that has done very little to address their grievances. Angered by this indifference, members of civil society from the province and elsewhere, launched Balochistan Solidarity Campaign on Friday to highlight their grievances.
The Baloch disenchantment should be taken seriously. While the hardliners have resorted to attacking government installations, the patience of the man on the street is wearing thin. It is a pity that no lessons have been learnt from history. One had wished that the dreadful example of East Pakistan and the consequent soul-searching would be kept in mind. Far from that, we see that the federal government is committing the same errors. The establishment has been given a carte blanche to suppress voices of dissent. What is worse, it has succumbed to the Western demand for a military offensive in the province. According to The Times, Britain would be building a huge training camp in Balochistan run by British and US military personnel who would help the Frontier Corps in counterinsurgency operations. Nothing could be more unfortunate than Islamabad’s propensity to view the province through a Western perspective. Such designs would add insult to the injury of the Baloch. After failing to follow up on his words with definite moves, President Zardari is all ears to the voices calling for the use of force. Of what use is his apology if the real intention was to hoodwink the public. The real issues — nabbing Akbar Bugti’s killers, granting provincial autonomy, and right amount of finances — remain in cold storage. Political parties and the government need to realise the seriousness of the crisis. They ought to venture out of the federal capital away from their luxurious lifestyle and witness at first hand the plight of the people. This could be a good beginning. www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Opinions/Editorials/11-Oct-2009/Troubled-Balochistan

QUETTA, Oct 10: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan has called for mid-term polls in Balochistan so that ‘genuine’ elected representatives could be elected to resolve problems facing the province.
Addressing a press conference at the Bugti House and a public meeting at Meezan Chowk on Saturday, the PTI leader said he was demanding elections because the existing provincial government was not a representative of the masses.
He claimed that a new government formed by fresh elected representatives would not allow military operation in the province.
He said the government had failed to resolve people’s problems because its representatives had been chosen in polls that were conducted by a military dictator and in the absence of an independent judiciary and election commission.
Mr Khan urged the armed forces in Balochistan to keep their guns silent because political issues could only be settled through negotiations. http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=11_10_2009_005_002

By Malik Siraj Akbar
QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani on Saturday relieved the provincial minister for parliamentary affairs, Rubina Irfan, of her duties, reportedly because of “objectionable activities” that were undermining the stability of the provincial coalition government.

The female minister belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and is the wife of Agha Irfan Karim, former minister for Zakat and Ushr, who earlier tendered his resignation to express solidarity with PPP minister Ali Madad Jattak. “Rubina’s portfolio has been given to Shama Perveen Magsi, the minister for Information Technology [and wife of Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi],” a senior official at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat confirmed. “Rubina will retain the status of a provincial minister, but without a portfolio,” he added. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\10\11\story_11-10-2009_pg7_15

By Malik Siraj Akbar in The Daily Times, Oct 10
QUETTA: Several civil society organisations have decided to launch a countrywide signature campaign to express solidarity with the people of Balochistan.
Sungi Development Foundation Director (programmes) Asad Rehman announced this at a seminar, Proposed Balochistan Package and the NFC award. Rehman said Pakistan would disintegrate if the federating units were not treated equally and respectfully. People had realised that Balochistan had been brought to the verge of disintegration due to the erroneous and repressive policies of successive governments, he said. “The government should make arrangements for the return of the internally displaced persons of Dera Bugti and Kohlu to their hometowns. The Hindus should be compensated for the damage caused to their houses during the military operation. Nawab Akbar Bugti’s body must be handed over to his family,” he added.
Balochistan National Party (BNP) President Dr Jahanzeb Jamaldini said, “We reject all kinds of packages. We want ownership of our natural resources. It is impossible to run the country on the basis of ad hocism,” he commented.
National Party President Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch said the government had not consulted the Baloch parties on the proposed package. The ruling party, he said, was treading in the footsteps of former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf.
BNP Secretary General Habib Jalib said the military government had promoted around 6,000 seminaries in the province. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\10\10\story_10-10-2009_pg7_26

The Balochistan High Court’s order to book former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf, his PM Shaukat Aziz and others for killing Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti is the first substantial move to open up contentious issues which the present PPP government has hitherto avoided. The court’s order may force Musharraf, now in self-exile, to consider hard whether to return to Pakistan, but it also has the potential to pitch the newly assertive judiciary against the civil and military establishment. Parts of the political spectrum, including the opposition parties, will welcome the order, yet it may seem easy for a judge to order Musharraf’s trial for murder, but it would be harder for the government to comply.

If the judiciary persists with the pressure and forces the executive to act, an unfortunate situation of confrontation may develop. But to correct the massive distortions in our political and judicial systems, such bitter pills have to be swallowed. Somewhere, someday, somebody will have to start the process. Though it may appear impractical now, the FIR against Musharraf and others must be registered and action must be initiated, to the extent possible. If the PPP government drags its feet, governments to come later can pick up the thread. But the process must begin. Musharraf must be booked and tried. http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=202108

By Amanullah Kasi in The Dawn, Oct 8
QUETTA, Oct 7: The Balochistan High Court has ordered the SHO of Dera Bugti police station to register an FIR against former president Pervez Musharraf and others in the murder case of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.
On a petition by Nawab Bugti’s son Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti, a bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa ordered on Wednesday registration of a case against the respondents, except NWFP Governor Owais Ghani.
The petitioner had nominated Gen (retd) Musharraf, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former governor of Balochistan Owais Ghani, former chief minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf, former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao and former home minister Shoaib Nausherwani.
The court accepted the submission of the petitioner, but excluded the name of Mr Ghani who being governor of the NWFP holds a constitutional position.
Mr Sherpao’s counsel Barrister Masoor Shah pleaded that he had no role in the killing. He said that forces which had killed the Baloch leader during a military operation were not under his command and he had not been consulted or informed about the action.
Mir Nausherwani said that three lawyers contacted by him had not yet responded to his request to represent him.
He denied having played any role in the killing of Nawab Bugti and said he had not been consulted on military actions in Dera Bugti.
He said the killing of the Baloch leader was a sad incident and morally he felt guilty for having failed to resign after the incident.
Deputy Attorney General Afzal Jami said the issue was a provincial matter and the federation had nothing to do with it.
Balochistan Prosecutor General Malik Zahoor Ahmed Shahwani said he had no objection to registration of the FIR.
The petitioner had challenged on Sept 8 the rejection by the Sibi sessions court of his application for registration of the report.
The chief justice had issued notices on Sept 11 to the respondents, except Mr Ghani, but neither the ex-president, the former prime minister and chief minister nor their counsel appeared before the court.
Nawab Bugti was killed on Aug 26, 2006.
APP adds: Interior Minister Rehman Malik told journalists in Islamabad that the federal government respected all judicial orders, including that of the BHC regarding Gen (retd) Musharraf. He expressed full support for the court order.
He said the former president did not have immunity from Interpol’s red warrants.
“We will extend maximum cooperation to the provincial government whenever required,” he added. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/registration-of-bugti-case-against-musharraf-ordered-809

By Maqbool Malik
ISLAMABAD – Iranian Baloch human smugglers played a key role in ferrying many hardcore Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters to various Gulf Arab countries in 2002 when they fled Afghanistan to evade US-led military offensive, TheNation has reliably learnt.
Background interviews and discussions with senior security officials, diplomats and Taliban in FATA suggest these fleeing fighters along with some of their family members had paid handsome money to the smugglers to ferry them.
“Sea-route was the most feasible option they had used while fleeing from Pakistan and Iran”, a knowledgeable source said while speaking on condition of anonymity.
They hired the services of human smugglers using high speed boats owned and operated by Iranian Baloch, sources said, adding that most of the fugitives were Arabs and Afghans and used Jiwani, a Pakistani fishing town on Pak-Iran border.
Sources said some of them were living with different names in different Gulf Arab countries as well as Iran, Somalia, Iraq and southeast countries including Indonesia.
They were of the view that the fleeing Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters from Afghanistan managed to enter Pakistan and Iran, where some of them were arrested or killed while many still managed to slip away and reached different Gulf Arab countries.
These people, who fled to evade the US-led terror war in Afghanistan, launched in the backdrop of 9/11 terrorist attacks, had carried with them passports of various countries, mostly the Gulf Arab states.
“Some of them, particularly the Arab fighters of Al-Qaeda, later went to Iraq to join hands with the forces which were resisting the US-led invasion in early 2003”, another knowledgeable source said, adding “who knows how many of them had managed to enter even the European countries”.
They were of the view that those who fled Afghanistan in the first instance managed to reach Quetta and from there they sneaked into coastal areas with the help of their Pakistani supporters and sympathisers. While some of them, including a son of Al-Qaeda Chief Osama bin Ladin, tried to flee through Iran but were arrested. Later, sources said, Iran handed a few of them to Saudi Arabia.
Sources said this starling clue came to light when Pakistani authorities launched concerted efforts to check and verify presence of Taliban chief Mullah Omer and his key associates in Quetta on the request of US and Afghan authorities.
The US authorities later placed Pakistan on the list of those countries with a dismal record in curbing human trafficking and human smuggling.
They said Pakistan, after thorough investigation, had told the US and Afghan governments that there were no signs of Mullah Omar and his key commanders in Quetta city as alleged by their respective intelligence sleuths.
The Chief spokesman of Pakistan military, Major General Athar Abbas, refused to give details of the intelligence exchanges shared by security forces of Pakistan, USA and Afghanistan through their Tripartite Commission.
“These are intelligence exchanges and not made public”, he told TheNation in response to a query whether US military commanders in Afghanistan had ever requested Pakistan to check and verify their intelligence reports about the alleged presence of Mullah Omar and his key commanders in Quetta.
Meanwhile, a US Embassy spokesman insisted that Mullah Omar and some of his key commanders were in Quetta and they keep on moving from one place to another. “I have nothing more to offer than the statements already issued by our ambassador and the deputy head of mission”, Embassy spokesman Rick Snelsire told TheNation.
Taliban sources from FATA regarded the US threat to launch drone attacks on Quetta as a mere trick to pressurise Pakistan to launch its offensive against hideouts of terror networks of late Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in Waziristan.
Some Taliban sources also claimed that Osama bin Ladin was killed during the US bombers’ B-52 strikes over Tora Bora with daisycutter bombs which destroyed Al-Qaeda’s famous mountain hideout.
They quoted some Al-Qaeda and Taliban who offered special prayer for the departed soul of Osama when they gathered for pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia the very next year.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online//Politics/06-Oct-2009/Hardcore-QaedaTaliban-fighters-smuggled-out

The writer is a former senator
THE Baloch people had hoped that over the past few years the central government would have come to the realisation that the conflict in their province was not merely about financial packages.

In fact, the struggle in the resource-rich but poverty-stricken region is political: it aims at ending Islamabad’s exploitation, oppression and colonial control over Balochistan.

The centre’s endless desire to control the province’s natural wealth and its continued suppression of the people through ethnically-structured military and paramilitary forces are the prime reasons behind the uneasy Baloch-Islamabad relations. Since the time Pervez Musharraf took over in 1999 and after, the term ‘Balochistan package’ has been used repetitively to confuse and distract debate and attention away from the province’s genuine political, social and economic issues.

If the current regime in Islamabad is sincere, willing and authorised by the establishment to indisputably resolve the prolonged Baloch-Islamabad conflict, then they have to agree to address the crux of the matter: the rulers should come up with a more political and long-lasting solution, rather than packages. However, their silence on the aggravating situation in the province is proof of their aloofness.

In the last six decades the Baloch people have been governed like a subsidiary. Islamabad is ruling Balochistan through a system known as ‘control’. Control is a suppressive and outdated system based on a set of mechanisms used in multi-ethnic states by the dominant ethnic group to contain and keep its control over dissident ethnic minorities.

It is based on the idea that one ethnic group takes over the state and its institutions, imposes its culture on society, allocates to itself the lion’s share of resources and takes various measures like military operations, suppression, etc to prevent the non-dominant groups from organising politically for their due rights.

Control works through three interrelated mechanisms:

a) Divide and rule: creating internal social and tribal rifts and divisions among the non-dominant groups.

b) Economic dependence: controlling and exploiting resources and making the non-dominant group permanently dependent for its social, cultural and basic livelihood on the central government (dominant group).

c) Co-optation: involving the non-dominant elite like greedy tribal chiefs, feudals, drug tycoons and corrupt politicians through partial dispensation of benefits and favours.

First, the central government has to end its colonial control over the destiny of the people of Balochistan. The province’s politics, economy and security set-up must be Balochistan-oriented rather than imposed from elsewhere. Islamabad has to ensure an end to political suppression, ‘disappearances’ and the intimidation of the Baloch.

Perhaps it is too early to say so, but it appears that the PPP’s package may not be different from the packages announced by previous regimes. I am also uncertain whether the package is going to be attractive enough to end growing Baloch anger. The package will aggravate Baloch dissatisfaction if it does not address the root causes of the tension and genuine demands of the Baloch people. The central government needs to be very fair when dealing with Baloch demands.

The package will only be appreciated as a confidence-building measure if it includes stopping the daylight robbery of Balochistan’s natural wealth, and includes the termination of all MoUs signed by the Musharraf regime with regard to Saindak and Reko Dik copper-gold projects and an end to the half-century old exploitation of Pakistan Petroleum Limited, known as Balochistan’s East India Company.

The package should include provincial control over the civil armed forces (CAF) and replacement of more than 50,000 aliens of the CAF by unemployed local youth and should include the termination of countless military and paramilitary facilities and their transformation into education and health centres.

Also, the intelligence agencies’ meddling in Balochistan’s social, tribal and political affairs, including killings and disappearances of Baloch nationalists, should stop. There must be reliable assurances to the victims of the military operation that Musharraf and his close associates involved in gross human rights violations will be tried for their official and unofficial crimes, including the killing of veteran Baloch leaders.

Last but not least the package must offer a clear political roadmap to end Islamabad’s colonial control over the province and accept the Baloch people’s demand for the right to self-rule. Any bureaucratically drafted announcement would be useless to appease the politically conscious Baloch. Rather than being promise-oriented, the Balochistan package should be action-based.

The Baloch people have witnessed enough pain, promises and packages. Their demands are crystal clear: a peaceful Balochistan, ruled, governed and controlled by them. The Baloch have given 60 years to Islamabad to change the fate of the region but have, instead, been showered with bombs and bullets. Political, economic, social, educational and cultural values have been all but destroyed in the province. An end to the Balochistan conflict is not a simple task. The mistrust between the Baloch and the establishment has intensified after repeated killings and intimidation.

Fair and unbiased policies towards Balochistan will gradually pave the way for sustainable peace and security in the region. This can only be done by allowing experienced and neutral international mediators and experts to devise a strategy for conflict-resolution and management. The establishment must come forward and wholeheartedly demonstrate its willingness to grant self-rule and political autonomy to the province. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/the-balochistan-package-199

By Tahir Niaz
ISLAMABAD: The law and order situation is the foremost factor that has hampered the exploration of gas and production activity in Balochistan over the last few years, according to the recently-released ‘Balochistan Economic Report’.

The report – a copy of which is available with Daily Times – said over three-fifths of the 657 terrorist attacks in 2006, nearly one-third of deaths in such attacks and almost half the injuries were reported in Balochistan. The report said the security situation in Balochistan worsened in 2006 compared to the previous year. It said the number of terrorist attacks in 2006 was almost twice as high as the period between 2002 and 2005. According to the report, the gas fields of Sui, Uch, Pirkoh and Loti are all located in Dera Bugti, which is at the heart of a violent conflict. The report identifies the principal reason for the deteriorating security situation as “a violent conflict between security forces and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Bugti tribesmen”.

It said the BLA, the Balochistan Liberation Front and Bugti militiamen launched 403 terrorist attacks in the province during 2006, killing 277 people and injuring 676 others. It said gas pipelines, security checkpoints and camps, government offices, rail tracks and bridges were targeted in these attacks. According to statistics compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), Dera Bugti accounted for two-fifths of the 136 terrorist attacks reported in Balochistan between January 2006 and July 2006. The attacks killed 137 people and injured 315 others. According to the Balochistan Economic Report, Kohlu district – a stronghold of the BLA—along with Quetta and Sibi represent over a quarter of the terrorist attacks.

The report said Balochistan accounted for three-fifths of all terrorist attacks in Pakistan during 2006, and most of them took place in or around Dera Bugti. It said the precarious security situation in Dera Bugti was the main reason behind the decline in gas output – with the financial impact felt throughout the province. According to the study, the security situation in Balochistan was “highly unsatisfactory” during 2007, as terrorists continued attacking state installations and security apparatus.

The report said with gas fields exhausting, security worsening, fiscal receipts declining and community support in doubt, Balochistan’s gas economy was in urgent need of reforms. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\09\21\story_21-9-2009_pg7_10

By Muhammad Jamil
The writer is a freelance columnist
There is no denying that Balochistan was neglected during British Raj, and after independence successive Pakistani governments either failed to develop Balochistan or dissident sardars did not allow the development effort to succeed. The people of Balochistan had genuine grievances during One Unit era and under unitary form of government, but Baloch sardars are responsible for the woes of the people of Balochistan in equal measure. If one dispassionately examines the situation one would reach the conclusion that strong centre syndrome on the one hand and centrifugal tendencies on the other are responsible for the continuous crisis in Balochistan. But it has to be said that liberal democrats, leftists or religious right, would not allow anybody to destroy national assets or challenge the writ of the government, or keep the poverty-stricken people in servility. It goes without saying that the people of Balochistan have the first right over minerals and other natural resources of Balochistan, and major part of the income from these assets should be spent on their welfare.
The province was originally formed over the period 1876-1891 by three treaties between Sir Robert Sandeman and the Khan of Kalat. He was a ‘political agent’ for the British-administered areas which were strategically located between British India and Afghanistan. The province was abolished in 1955 and was merged into One Unit. In 1970, One Unit was done away with by the Yahya government and the provincial status of Balochistan was also restored. Before Sir Robert Sandeman was appointed as ‘political agent’ in Balochistan, British Raj used to give a part of ‘dole’ to big sardars;
however a major part went to chieftains of the tribes, who used to spend on or share with tribal people. This two-tier system was abandoned after Pakistan came into being and the people of Balochistan were left at the mercy of the sardars. Historical evidence suggests that before the British Raj, tribal people used to choose their sardar on the basis of his valour, his wisdom and his commitment to the welfare of the tribe. The British, however, gave sardars unprecedented powers and sardari was made hereditary.

One can disagree with late ZA Bhutto on other counts but he did try to develop Balochistan by launching his rural integrated development scheme in all the provinces including Balochistan. Though it worked in other provinces, yet in Balochistan it proved a complete failure due to stiff resistance of the sardars. Anyhow, the long dormant crisis had erupted into a brutal confrontation with the Centre in 1973 when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had tried to establish educational institutions and started construction of roads in Balochistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto then dissolved Balochistan coalition government under Ataullah Mengal and put all the leaders in jail who were tried under Hyderabad conspiracy case. Some educated young men from Punjab and Sindh driven by the passion for revolution went to Balochistan because they were under the impression that some of the sardars wished to bring about a basic change in the system. But that was not appreciated by the sardars.

Ziaul Haq, however, adopted the old policy of reconciliation with the local Baloch sardars and a semblance of peace was restored in the province. In 1988, the Balochistan Assembly was dissolved, when Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was chief minister of the province, but later was restored under the orders of the High Court. It has to be borne in mind that tribalism is firmly rooted in Balochistan, as ethnic and tribal identity is a potent force for both individuals and groups in Balochistan with the result that there exists deep polarisation among different groups. Each of these groups is based on different rules of social organisation, which has left the province inexorably fragmented. Tribal group-ism has failed to integrate the state and enforce a national identity. But those who have not weaned away from the poison of sham nationalism should take a look at the history of the Balkans, and the fate they met. We want that leaders of Balochistan should be given respect but at the same time they have to forget their bitterness and make a fresh start.

We also strongly urge the government to take measures with a view to addressing the grievances of the smaller provinces, and in this regard Punjab and Sindh should sacrifice a part of their share in the National Finance Commission Award for Balochistan and NWFP that were neglected in the past.

Marri, Mengal and Bugti are major tribes of Balochistan and their sardars consider entire Balochistan as their fiefdom. They want to pocket the entire income from gas and other minerals; they want more privileges and powers, and instead of negotiating with the provincial and federal government they arrogate to themselves the right to secede. The insurgency had lasted for four years from 1973 to 1977, and it was after the promulgation of martial law by General Ziaul Haq that sedition cases were withdrawn against Baloch sardars. It has to be mentioned that the sardars and feudal chiefs thrive even amid the centre’s injustices and the clashes between them and the security forces.

In other words, the poor people of Balochistan stand to suffer in general by the sardars during peace times and also become fodder for the sardars when they challenge the writ of the state. It is unfortunate that the civil society does not consider it worthwhile to comment on what sardars have been doing to their people. No human right activist cries over the atrocities inflicted on them by their feudal lords and sardars in their private jails.
The people of Balochistan have been waging struggle for their rights ever since the British left. There could have been some justification for resistance when they were under strong centre and unitary form of government in 1950s and 1960s. But once the One-Unit was done away with and complete provincial status was given to Balochistan, the struggle should have ended. Since the time, former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf had focused on the development of Balochistan and mega projects were started, the Baloch sardars launched a campaign against the federal government.
They did not understand that all the mega projects including Gwadar deep sea port will remain in Balochistan, despite the fact that Gwadar – earlier part of Oman – was purchased by the federation. After February 18, 2008 elections the elected governments in the centre and the provinces are in place, Baloch nationalists should coordinate with the provincial government to secure their rights. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Opinions/Columns/19-Sep-2009/The-other-side-of-Balochistan