Articles - Balochvoice

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Historical Facts (15 articles) Historical facts
	Instrument of Accession of Kalat State copy of the original document INSTRUMENT OF ACCESSION OF KALAT STATE WHEREAS the Indian Independence Act, 1947, provides that as from the fifteenth day of August, 1947, there shall be set up an independent Dominion known as PAKISTAN, and that the Government of India Act, 1935 shall, with such omissions, additions, adaptations and modifications as the Governor-General may by order specify, be applicable to the Dominion of Pakistan; AND WHEREAS the Government of India Act, 1935, as so adapted by the Governor-General provides that an Indian State may accede to the Dominion of Pakistan by an Instrument of Accession executed by the Ruler thereof:	[704 views]
	The exact date of Kalat's occupation by Paki army in 1948 That Kalat is an independent and sovereign state its status is different from other princely states of British India, its relations with the British government being based on various mutual agreements and treaties. That Kalat is not an Indian state, its relations with India being of only a formal nature by virtue of Kalat's agreements with the British and that with the ceasing of the Agreement of 1876 with the Kalat government, Kalat would regain its complete independence, as it existed prior to 1876. All such regions including Quetta Municipality as were given under the control of the British in consequence of any treaty will be returned to the sovereignty of the Kalat state, and resume their original status as parts of the Kalat state. On March 22, 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last of the Viceroys of India, arrived in Delhi to wind up British supremacy in this part of the British dominions. The final partition plan of June 3, 1947 stated in respect of transfer of power in India. Mr, Jinnah wrote to the Khan of Kalat that since the position of the Kalat State was different from the other Indian States, representation on behalf of the state should be made directly to the Viceroy in Delhi to discuss the future position of Kalat and the return of Baloch regions hitherto under the control of the British Government. Accordingly, the Chief Secretary of Kalat State was sent to Delhi with a draft of the new position of Kalat as prepared by legal experts. This resulted in a round table conference, held on August 4, 1947, in which Lord Mountbatten, Mr, Jinnah, Mr Liaqat Ali Khan, Chief Minister of Kalat, Sir Sultan Ahmed, the legal Advisor of Kalat State and the Khan of Kalat took part in the deliberations The following points were agreed upon:	[563 views]
	Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence ISI The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] was founded in 1948 by a British army officer, Maj Gen R Cawthome, then Deputy Chief of Staff in Pakistan Army. Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the president of Pakistan in the 1950s, expanded the role of ISI in safeguarding Pakistan's interests, monitoring opposition politicians, and sustaining military rule in Pakistan. The ISI is tasked with collection of of foreing and domestic intelligence; co-ordination of intelligence functions of the three military services; surveillance over its cadre, foreigners, the media, politically active segments of Pakistani society, diplomats of other countries accredited to Pakistan and Pakistani diplomats serving outside the country; the interception and monitoring of communications; and the conduct of covert offensive operations.	[464 views]
	General Pervez Musharraf: His Past and Present In an article (the "International Herald Tribune" of June 16) on Pakistan's proxy invasion of Indian territory in the Kargil sector of Jammu & Kashmir, Mr.Selig Harrison, the well-known American analyst, says:" Recent information makes clear that the newly-installed Army Chief of Staff (COAS), Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has long-standing links with several Islamic fundamentalist groups." Gen. Musharraf's past background has not received, from Indian and Western analysts, the attention it deserves, if one has to have a clearer understanding of his role in the proxy invasion.	[554 views]
	Human Rights Violations in Balochistan Rally against extra-judicial killings in Balochistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan organized a protest demonstration in front of the press club on Tuesday against extra-judicial killings by police and unsatisfactory law and order situation in Balochistan. Balochistan HRCP Chairperson Zahoor Ahmed Shahwani said a man, Abdul Karim, was shot dead by police in front of his house but the killing was linked with Saturday's incident that claimed lives of three policemen. He said the law enforcement agencies had killed three citizens in Khuzdar and two women in Dera Bugti during two months. He said the HRCP had brought the issue to the notice of the governor, who had asked the commission to meet the chief secretary but the official had not given appointment for a meeting in 15 days and the response of the inspector-general of police was also not encouraging. 29.9.04	[460 views]
	A Page from the Past By Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur Who was an active member of the Balochistan Resistance in the 70s. He recently returned to Pakistan after a 10-year long exile in Afghanistan. In keeping with the Pakistani tradition of camouflaging history a vital chunk of the country’s past has been shrouded in mystery for over 20 years. This was the period of 1973-1977, when the Baloch rose in revolt against a state that had relentlessly oppressed them for decades and military operations against the Baloch people were at their peak. As Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Arbab Jahanzeb, the corps commander of Sindh and Balochistan during the rebellion and subsequently MLA, Sindh during Zia’s martial law himself recently conceded, the army “responded forcefully” to the perceived threat from the Baloch struggle.	[532 views]
	Mapping Internal Wars Characteristically, all eight internal wars that this study seeks to analyse are fundamentally ethnic wars in the sense that the battle lines are drawn along ethnic lines and the goals of combatants are defined in ethnic terms. First, the warring parties belong to two different ethnic groups with strong identities based on distinct historical antecedents and heritage, language, religion and culture	[401 views]
	Who Are the Baloch ? According to the Daptar Sha'ar {Chronicle of Genealogies), an ancient ballad popular among all seventeen major Baluch tribes, the Baluch and the Kurds were kindred branches of a tribe that migrated eastwards from Aleppo, in what now is Syria, shortly before the time of Christ in search of fresh pasturelands and water sources. By Selig S. Harrison in his Book: In Afghanistan’s Shadow	[530 views]
	The Delhi Convention resolution On April 9, 1946, the Pakistan resolution properly so-called was adopted by the Muslim League Legislators Convention held in Delhi. To sum up, the Pakistan of 1947 came into being as a result of the Lahore resolution of 1940 which provided the principles of a constitutional plan for partition, but the resolution, which eventually formed the basis for the creation of Pakistan as a single state and identified the areas comprising its two zones was the one adopted at the Delhi Convention. By Dr Aftab Ahmed	[395 views]
	Some Background Information on Baloch Balochistan is a huge territory located in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. As a result of the "great game", Balochistan was divided between those countries in the 19th century by the British.In Pakistan, Balochistan is geographically the largest province, however it is the most exploited province, and the least developed.	[476 views]
	A Brief page of history, on evants from 1972 to 1975 "White Paper blacks out the truth" October 19 1973 The federal government has issued a White Paper on Baluchistan, claiming that the situation in that province is now normal and the army will be withdrawn in the near future. According to unofficial estimates, some 80,000 to 100,000 army personnel have been deployed in the province since trouble first broke out in Lasbela nearly two years ago	[480 views]
	The Kashmir Conflict and National Questiont in Pakistan Pakistan's "Islamists" have raised the ante in Kashmir, banking on the nuclear deterrent to help keep the conflict confined to the valle	[648 views]
	Balochistan always an independent entity Balochistan never treated as a part of Pakistan and it was never a part of India. By Asad Rehman	[470 views]
	The Lawless Frontier The tribal lands of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border reveal the future of conflict in the Subcontinent, along with the dark side of globalization. Full Story - By Robert D. Kaplan	[433 views]
	What is Liberty ? Liberty to one is to not be tied in chains no matter whether his tongue in chained, his thoughts are chained, his ideas are chained, his motherland is chained, his mother tongue is chained, both his present and future are chained but as long as his hands and feet are free he feels himself free and is happy about it.	[438 views]

Analysis (3 articles) Analysis
	Balochistan is treacherous territory for many, but Beijing keeps buying its way in China's Pakistan Corridor Maha Atal, 04.30.10, 08:40 AM EDT Forbes Asia Magazine dated May 10, 2010 In the Pakistani province of Balochistan, South Asia and central Asia bleed into the Middle East. Bordered by Afghanistan, Iran and the Persian Gulf, and well endowed with oil, gas, copper, gold and coal reserves, Balochistan is a rich prize that should have foreign investors battering at the gates. But for a half-century it has been the exclusive playground of the Pakistani government and its state-owned Chinese partners. China would prefer it to stay that way.	[814 views]
	Midas’s gold —Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur The powerless provincial government in Balochistan, if it has a modicum of decency, should quit immediately to absolve itself of the responsibility of exploitation and destruction of Balochistan’s resources and environment	[759 views]
	Luckless Gwadar —Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur The people see Gwadar’s so-called development and the VVIP fanfare as a move for further opening up Balochistan for permanent demographic changes and militarisation The luckless Gwadar is running through a gauntlet of lethal blows being delivered by dispensations of both the military and the elected, who only have eyes on the lucrative returns rather than the needs and aspirations of the people. It suffers from a chronic run of bad luck and there is very little hope of it ever prospering in these conditions.	[951 views]

Balochistan (1 articles)
	Pakistan's broken mirror Islamabad's brutal attempts to crush ethnic Baloch nationalism have met with fierce, escalating resistance - and have laid bare the strains that threaten the founding idea of Pakistan. Madiha R Tahir reports from the rallies, homes and hospital rooms of the fifth Baloch rebellion.	[634 views]

Sindhi Baloch Forum (6 articles) Sindhi Baloch Forum
	Press Release Protest Demonstration to Condemn Pakistani Atrocities against Baloch and Sindhis A massive protest rally was organised on 4 February, 2007 in front of American Embassy in London on the call given by Balochistan Action Committee, World Sindhi Congress (WSC), Balochistan Rights Movement (BRM) and Sindhi Baloch Forum (SBF). The Baloch's and Sindhis from all around the UK and Europe and members of other nationalities participated to show their solidarity with the righteous cause of Baloch and Sindhi people. The demonstration was held against Pakistan’s atrocities against Baloch and Sindhi people that include:	[443 views]
	A Memorandum delivered to the UK Prime Minister’s residence WORLD SINDHI CONGRESS 37 Barnesville Close, Birmingham B10 9LN, UK. Phone: 44 (0121) 772 0641 Email world_sindhi_congress@yahoo.com ~ URL: http://www.worldsindhicongrss.org 560 Spring Branch Rd., #2, Springhill, LA 71075 ~818-917-6910~Fax 408-715-0329 214 McGibbon Dr., Ottawa, ON K2L-3Y4 Canada ~Tel 1-613-591-0451~Fax 1-815-550-5694 UK Company Number: 0233412 ~ State of Louisiana Organization ID: 35380366N	[403 views]
	Press Release WORLD SINDHI CONGRESS 37 Barnesville Close, Birmingham B10 9LN, UK. Phone: 44 (0121) 772 0641 Email world_sindhi_congress@yahoo.com ~ URL: http://www.worldsindhicongrss.org 560 Spring Branch Rd., #2, Springhill, LA 71075 ~818-917-6910~Fax 408-715-0329 214 McGibbon Dr., Ottawa, ON K2L-3Y4 Canada ~Tel 1-613-591-0451~Fax 1-815-550-5694 UK Company Number: 0233412 ~ State of Louisiana Organization ID: 35380366N	[439 views]
	World Sindhi Congress condemns the Operation of Pakistan Military forces on Balochista World Sindhi Congress is deeply concerned and anxious at the current situation in Balochistan. The military and paramilitary forces of Pakistan have started a widespread operation in various parts of Balochistan using heavy air and ground equipment. We demand from the Pakistani government to stop this illegal operation immediately that they have started to suppress the democratic movement of Baloch people and to peruse their colonial designs of the construction of Gawadar Port and army cantonments. WSC also requests all the democratic forces in Pakistan and worldwide to demand from Pakistani government to stop their evil actions. At this stage we reiterate that Sindhis show their solidarity with Baloch nation and will not hesitate to join in a common struggle against the yoke suffocating nations in Pakistan. 2.8.04	[441 views]
	Administration of Justice, Rule of Law and Democracy Speaker – Ms Ambreen Hisbani COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Sub-Commission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Fifty-fifth session (July 28th -August 15, 2003) Item 3:	[710 views]
	Speech By: Balach Marri Speech By: Balach Marri in a conference organized by World Sindhi Congress (WSC) on 21.9.02. Mr. Chairman, Honorable Guests, Ladies and Gentleman. We have gathered here to mourn the plight of the oppressed Nations in Pakistan. I will try to be as brief as I can so as to save the time for other speakers who will follow here after. We have a long history of repression and oppression. Since the inception of Pakistan, Sindh	[410 views]

Baloch Struggle (48 articles)
	Another Front in Balochistan: Pak media battle of distortion Quote: " It is a guerrilla war waged by Baloch in mountains that has unnerved Pakistan military establishment that considers Balochistan a strategic location and a land full of resources to be exploited for the growth of its bludgeoning Military Inc. it is the military economy that army wants to protect. For this it has abducted 13 thousands Baloch, most of them believed to be killed and vaporized in dark dungeons."	[509 views]
	Pakistan’s promoting religious extremism in Occupied Balochistan Pakistan army is directly involved in Dalbandin incidents BSO (Azaad) After the widespread popularity of Baloch freedom movement, Pakistan is trying to inject its most used weapon of religious extremism in Baloch nation, which it has successfully injected in Pashtun people to counter their voices for the reunification of Afghanistan and against the illegitimate Durand line. This weapon has not only proven successful to Pakistan for quelling the desires of masses but also to receive international funds to supposedly end the same terrorism which it has been fueling for years. In other words religious terrorism is the only weapon that Pakistan has for its survival. Whereas Baloch movement, due to its secular nature has proved to be only barrier in the way Pakistan’s created doctrine of religious extremism.	[851 views]
	Outcome of the Immature Conscious By: Dr. Allah Nazr Baloch Translated by: Moreid Baloch I might not agree with Arundhati Roy’s sentence that, “stories storm like swarms”, while Stanley Witt comments on daily life affairs that, “the man can observe”. Ideas could be anyone’s but the expression and sequence of ideas should be different which is the elevation of human wisdom and revelation of human consciousness.	[900 views]
	62 years later, Islamic terror fails to force Baloch to surrender By Ahmar Mustikhan Nationhood can not be achieved by shoviing the kalima -- la ilaha illallah, or there is No God but Allah-- down an enslaved peoples throat is what Pakistan military has failed to realize over the last six decades. It was 62 years ago when Balochistan was forcibly merged into Pakistan at the point of gun. Being slapped and beaten up by Pakistan military officers and fearing for his life Baloch ruler the Khan of Kalat Mir Ahmedyar Khan signed a so-called Instruments of Accession with Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah on March 27, 1948.	[932 views]
	Unjust Demands By Diagoh Murad March 25th 2010 The root cause which many find as discrimination inside Baloch society is actually not the means to which this fifth struggle for liberation of Baloch nation is about, if we take profound look over the 62 years of subjugation and forceful annexation, the biggest problem which arises is annihilation of a nation in a systematic way and to achieve its goals the neo-colonial powers have started their campaign work in a more impractical manner. The lawlessness of the region and the Talibanisation of Baloch society is a matter of ignorance by the federating units but a new agenda being the systematical division of Balochistan (Which was earlier parted in 3 different divisions as East, West and South) is now taking place again in this time, Where merely a party comes up with an idea to divide Balochistan in 2 different sections without regarding the views of the Baloch nationalists. The situation is tensed, Baloch are fighting for their survival and federal ministers are consulting such a party whose demand are clear to piece Balochistan for their benefits or for the benefits of the colonial powers who are combating Baloch freedom forces.	[558 views]
	A message to all my Baloch Brothers who are fighting for the cause of Motherland “BALOCHISTAN”. by S July 12, 2009 At this point in time of your life, If you fall to the ground and badly stumble, If your knee breaks and red-hot blood starts gushing out of your wound. my dear brother! Do not weep and do not wail, Do not make any outcry. Do not let anyone see your deep wound. Just run fast and fast, for your cause, for your fight. Holding back your tears in deep hidden corner of your head and heart, with dry and arid eyes but with vivid dream of seeing our dear motherland free from the clutches of cruelty. Do not takeout a sigh of heave. And listen! Do not show your tears to those who are inflicting wounds and atrocities on our people! For, by exposing your wounds to them, this action of yours will make u stumble. Just run fast and fast; for your cause, for your fight. Just run fast and fast; for your struggle, for your right. For the freedom of our motherland, to spare her from the clutches of atrocity and brutality. Oh, My brother! Oh My Brother! Just run fast and fast and do not stumble and only fight for our dear motherland's freedom cause.	[1079 views]
	Qambar Jan tho kuja hey? By Malik Siraj Akbar If I have ever been truly inspired by a leader of the Baloch Students’ Organization then it is not Dr. Allah Nizar Baloch or Bashir Zaib Baloch but Qumbar Chakar. In him, I have always seen a future Ghulam Mohammad Baloch. For English readers, he was (oh sorry, is) a “super star” and for the Balochi readers, I could simply describe him as a “Blaheen Mard” (Big man). Qambar, 20, is an extraordinary agitator, cogent speaker, deeply committed political activist and a highly organized and punctual activist who could proudly take credit for arranging most protest rallies for the restoration of quota system at the Balochistan University for Information Technology and Management Sciences (BUITMS), recovery of all the missing Balochs and several other issues.	[910 views]
	Baluchistan is second Bangladesh; 2,000 missing persons families in anguish By Ahmar Mustikhan QUETTA, Occupied Baluchistan — Pakistan’s military is repeating the same war crimes and barbaric torture in the area-wise largest Baluchistan it perpetrated on the Bengalis in the erstwhile East Pakistan during their war of independence there in 1970-71. Pakistan’s largest circulation Jang newspaper has reported as many as 2,000 Baluch families in Baluchistan are anguished as they have no clue about the fate of their loved ones since the time the military launched an operation under former coup leader General Pervez Musharraf. Resistance parties in Baluchistan use the term state abduction and illegal arrests for such disappearances, the newspaper said in an exclusive report by Mohammad Ajmal.	[1076 views]
	Fresh air strikes in Balochistan by B. Raman Even six months after President General Pervez Musharraf ordered his Army and the Air Force to suppress the freedom struggle launched by the Baloch nationalist elements, the freedom struggle continues to gather strength with no sign of any impact on the freedom-fighters despite the large-scale use of heavy weapons and air strikes. Their motivation and determination to achieve independence remain as strong as ever. There has been a steady flow of volunteers to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other groups carrying on the freedom struggle and the military operations have not been able to disrupt the training of the new volunteers by these organisations in the liberated pockets set up by them.	[724 views]
	Balochistan’s accession to Pakistan Sheikh Asad Rahman The political, economic, social, cultural discrimination and military operations that Balochistan’s people are facing today are nothing new and such things have been going on since the very inception of Pakistan. This discrimination has taken on even more sinister overtones of late, leading some commentators to warn that a situation seems to be emerging similar to that which pertained in 1970-71 in respect of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The fact is that it is not the Baloch that have not accepted the suzerainty of Pakistan, it is the Pakistani establishment that has never accepted the Baloch as rightful, legal, patriotic citizens of Pakistan. The Baloch had supported the movement for an independent Muslim State in the Indian Subcontinent even before the 1940 Pakistan Resolution. They actively contributed to the struggle for a separate homeland for the Muslims of India through monetary contributions, moral and political support to the All India Muslim League. Unfortunately our history books, establishment and governments have never recognised this through publication of the real facts, nor appreciated the Baloch contribution to the emergence of Pakistan as an independent entity in the comity of nations.	[1217 views]
	Pakistan's Other War Time Magazine Monday, June 19, 2006 BY TIM MCGIRK \| ISLAMABAD JOHN MOORE / GETTY IMAGES DESERT FOXES: A Baluch guerrilla fires a rocket at a Pakistani army position He's 80 years old, but Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a feudal lord in Pakistan's rugged Baluchistan province, wants to fight to the death. A Kalashnikov rifle strapped to his back, Bugti travels by camel through desert ravines and hobbles up cliffs to hidden caves where he plots ways for his Baluch tribesmen to ambush the Pakistani army. "It's better to die? as the Americans say? with your spurs on," says Bugti. "Instead of a slow death in bed, I'd rather death come to me while I'm fighting for a purpose." That purpose is to make life as difficult as possible for Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. Bugti is one of three Baluch tribal chiefs leading an armed uprising against Islamabad. In recent months the fighting has picked up. Hundreds of civilians have died, as well as nearly 400 government soldiers, and thousands of Baluch have been displaced. The conflict has diverted Musharraf's overstretched troops and U.S.-supplied weaponry away from the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Moreover, the President's aides say that he is convinced Bugti and fellow tribal leaders Balach Marri and Ataullah Mengal, whom he labels "miscreants and outlaws," want to kill him? a rocket attack on Dec. 14 in Baluchistan narrowly missed a public address he was making. The fighting flared immediately after. Musharraf, says an aide, has vowed he will "sort them out."	[543 views]
	Baloch Freedom Struggle: The road ahead From Saag.org By B. Raman The massacre of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the legendary leader of the Baloch freedom struggle, and some of his close associates by the Pakistan Air Force and Army in a three-day operation against their hide-out in a cave between Dera Bugti and Kohlu in Balochistan between August 24 and 26, 2006, seems to have happened due to three fatal mistakes committed by the Baloch freedom-fighters and their friends.	[942 views]
	Pakistan’s Baluch insurgency Serious troubles have erupted in the Pakistan province of Baluchistan since the assassination of an opposition leader in August. Pressure for independence is growing in this region bordering Iran and Afghanistan, which challenges Pakistan’s authority. By Selig S Harrison THE slow-motion genocide being inflicted on Baluch tribesmen in the mountains and deserts of southwestern Pakistan does not yet qualify as a major humanitarian catastrophe compared with the slaughter in Darfur or Chechnya. “Only” 2,260 Baluch fled their villages in August to escape bombing and strafing by the US-supplied F-16 fighter jets and Cobra helicopter gunships of the Pakistan air force, but as casualty figures mount, it will be harder to ignore the human costs of the Baluch independence (1) struggle and its political repercussions in other restive minority regions of multi-ethnic Pakistan (2).	[909 views]
	Baloch Shadow over Islamabad By B. Raman The murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti, the Baloch nationalist leader, by the Pakistan Army near Kohlu in Balochistan on August 26, 2006, and the subsequent movement of additional troops into Balochistan from North Waziristan in the wake of the so-called peace accord signed by the Pakistan Army with the tribal heads of North Waziristan on September 5, 2006, have not affected the Baloch freedom struggle. The death of Nawab Bugti was a great tragedy for the Baloch people, but the young leaders of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) managed to escape death at the hands of the Pakistan Army and have lost no time in stepping up their activities against the Pakistani security forces and against the sensitive infrastructure belonging to the Pakistan Government and Punjabi businessmen such as gas pipelines, power transmission lines etc. They have also kept up their attacks on the Pakistani security forces and their posts in different parts of the province.	[499 views]
	Balochistan and the Line of Evi The events in Balochistan have little or no impacts on the world and India in particular. India government as usual failed to utilize the events to dramatize the cause for the liberation of Balochistan. The reason is that for the last 60 years, Balochistan is forgotten. Although India’s politicians particularly those who are called ‘the left’, are very much eager to express their solidarity to the people of Lebanon or Nicaragua, they do not care about what is going on in India’s immediate neighbourhood. Invasion and occupations of Tibet and Eastern Turkistan by China, Balochistan, North-West Frontier Province by Pakistan, mass murder of the Hindus in Kashmir, Bangladesh and Sri-Lanka cannot draw the attention of so-called progressive people of India.	[673 views]
	Conflict in Balochistan expanding: report Reliance on military for a solution to the Balochistan crisis is not viable and needs to be done away with, says a research report presented at the ninth sustainable development conference held here on Friday. The report “Balochistan Crisis – A regional conflict unfolding over Suleiman Range” brings vivid and horrifying details of the military operation in Balochistan to the forefront. According to the report, the Taliban insurgency, US-Iran tension, the Durand Line issue, Chinese investment in Pakistan and the alleged Indian assistance to Balochistan insurgents are significant security threats to Balochistan and Pakistan.	[694 views]
	New aid crisis in Pakistan The Pakistani government has blocked food aid to war-torn Balochistan. By Gretchen Peters \| Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Pakistan's military government is preventing aid groups from helping more than 80,000 people - many of them acutely malnourished children - who have been displaced by a widening civil war in remote southern Balochistan, say international aid workers and diplomats. An internal assessment by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), shown to the Monitor, paints a disturbing portrait. UNICEF and Pakistan provincial health officials, who surveyed the area in July and August, report that 59,000 of those suffering are women and children and that 28 percent of the children under 5 were "acutely malnourished." Six percent of the children were so underfed that they would die without immediate medical attention.	[515 views]
	Photo journal: Life in a tribal Balochi settlement New Kahan New Kahan is a settlement outside of Quetta city in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province. It is home to the Marri tribal people who initially fled Pakistan for Afghanistan in the 1970s after a war with government forces. When the Taleban came to power in the mid-1990s, they returned to Pakistan and finally settled near Quetta naming New Kahan after their original homeland in the remote eastern part of Balochistan. A student from Quetta, who prefers to remain anonymous, visited New Kahan and sent these pictures. Click to view pictures	[508 views]
	Balochistan \| Continuing military operations By Sheikh Asad Rahman A case has been registered in an Anti-Terrorist Court against Jamil Bugti, son of the late murdered Nawab Akbar Bugti, for allegedly speaking out against the sovereignty of the country. The late Nawab’s daughters and granddaughters’ accounts and assets have been frozen. His grandson, Bramdagh, is on the run and the intelligence agencies are after him. The BNP’s long march from Gwadar to Quetta in protest against the murder of the late Nawab has triggered the arrest of over two hundred of BNP’s activists, including its leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal.	[449 views]
	At Border, Signs of Pakistani Role in Taliban Surge The New York Times By CARLOTTA GALL Published: January 21, 2007 QUETTA, Pakistan — The most explosive question about the Taliban resurgence here along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is this: Have Pakistani intelligence agencies been promoting the Islamic insurgency? The government of Pakistan vehemently rejects the allegation and insists that it is fully committed to help American and NATO forces prevail against the Taliban militants who were driven from power in Afghanistan in 2001. Western diplomats in both countries and Pakistani opposition figures say that Pakistani intelligence agencies — in particular the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence — have been supporting a Taliban restoration, motivated not only by Islamic fervor but also by a longstanding view that the jihadist movement allows them to assert greater influence on Pakistan’s vulnerable western fla	[391 views]
	Islamabad’s flawed Balochistan strategy By Dr Haider K Nizamani The dogged presence of the Pashtun question in Balochistan, the Brohi-Baloch difference, the class formation of the Baloch society, a lack of effective urban middle class among the Baloch, inter and intra-clan conflicts among them etc are all being exploited by Islamabad to hold the insurgency in check The tale of two visits that took place in the second week of January is a symbolic representation of the unresolved tension between the strategy to portray a ‘soft image’ of Pakistan and the coercive means state-managers employ to address political issues.	[388 views]
	Militarising Balochistan Chinese to construct civil-military airport at Gwadar By B. Raman Anger mounts in Balochistan as Pakistan reportedly has agreed to allow the Chinese Air Force to use the Gwadar airport in an emergency. In my earlier article titled "GWADAR: BALOCHS BLAST DEAL WITH SINGAPORE COMPANY", I had mentioned as follows: " The China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which is constructing the two phases of the Gwadar port, has also been given the contract for the construction of a new airport at Gwadar in about 18 months at a cost of $40-50 million. Curiously, whereas the other commercial airports of Pakistan are run by the Civil Aviation Department, the Gwadar airport is proposed to be run by the army and the Air Force. According to Baloch sources, the Pakistani authorities have agreed to allow the Chinese Air Force to use this airport in an emergency. "	[488 views]
	Baloch leadership at a strategic cross-road Guest Column on Saag.org by Belaar Baloch The low-level insurgency in Balochistan is now moving towards full-fledged war with a well-equipped conventional army's force much larger than that of the Baloch guerrillas. History, however, shows that nationalism as a political ideology can be an effective tool against an occupying force, even a sizeable one, as experienced by foreign occupiers in Asia, Africa and Latin America following the Second World War. This is true, in part, because nationalists are resolute and often more willing than their opponents to risk death in the pursuit of self-determination.	[377 views]
	India Walks into Pak trap to discredit Baloch's - By B Raman - March 08, 2007 I have written many articles on the so-called India-Pakistan Joint Counter-Terrorism Mechanism. In the article written on October 23, 2006, I had, inter alia, stated as follows: "Does the Havana Agreement indicate a change in the policies hitherto followed by Pakistan? From a study of the statements and comments of Pakistani officials on the significance of the Havana statement, the following points are clear:	[382 views]
	The Balochistan story Article by Chiranjib Haldar Balochistan seems to be in the news for all the right or wrong reasons. Is it because it straddles Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, borders the Arabian Sea, and is a vast and sparsely populated province occupying 43 per cent of Pakistani territory? A large part of United States military operations in Afghanistan is launched from the Pasni and Dalbandin bases situated on Baloch territory. For the Taliban, Balochistan is a fertile landmass and sanctuary. The logic is simple. If the pressure on Western forces in Afghanistan were to become intolerable, Washington and its allies could always use the Baloch nationalists, who fiercely oppose the clerics and Taliban, to exert diplomatic pressure on Islamabad and Tehran. In addition, three fundamental issues are fuelling this Baloch crisis: expropriation, marginalisation and dispossession.	[785 views]
	Without a trace Seven-year-old Saud Bugti's father was picked up by secret police on a street corner in Karachi last November. No one has heard from him since. He has joined the ranks of Pakistan's 'disappeared' - victims of the country's brutal attempts to wage war on both al-Qaida and those who fail to support the government. But how many innocent people are being caught up in this? And what is America's connection to the barbaric torture of suspects? Friday March 16, 2007 The Guardian Declan Walsh reports	[579 views]
	Warning to Baloch militants In his speech on the occasion of the inauguration of Gwadar port, President Musharraf launched his usual tirade against the Baloch ‘militants’. In a thundering tone, he warned them to ‘surrender’ or face ‘elimination’ for opposing the development of Balochistan. The president’s fist-waving is reminiscent of his similar posturing after a missile attack on him in Kohlu, which led to an incessant military operation against putative Baloch militants, culminating in the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. Bugti’s death however, could not end the so-called Baloch militancy. The danger is that by swearing to take out the Baloch militants, President Musharraf, desperate as he may be, may have further stoked the inflamed emotions in Balochistan. He could have curbed his urge to demonstrate his tough guy demeanour and used the occasion to invite the protagonists of Baloch rights to the negotiating table to address their grievances. But then all that requires statesmanship.	[448 views]
	Musharraf at the Exit Washington Post By Ahmed Rashid Thursday, March 22, 2007; A21 LAHORE, Pakistan -- In the rapidly unfolding crisis in Pakistan, no matter what happens to President Pervez Musharraf -- whether he survives politically or not -- he is a lame duck. He is unable to rein in Talibanization in Pakistan or guide the country toward a more democratic future. Since March 9, when Musharraf suspended the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, public protests have escalated every day -- as has a violent crackdown by the police and intelligence agencies on the media and the nation's legal fraternity.	[393 views]
	The First Nuclear Terrorist Power By Jamie Glazov FrontPageMagazine.com source Assyrian International News Agency 23.3.07 An Islamist insurgency is afoot in Pakistan, posing a dire threat of overthrowing Musharraf. And this may happen sooner rather than later. If the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is created, it means Islamists get their hands on Pakistan's nuclear weapons. This, in turn, means that such weapons will then be passed to the new regime's allies -- which will include, among others, the Iranian mullahs, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. To discuss this nightmare scenario with us today, Frontpage Symposium has assembled a distinguished panel. Our guests today are:	[373 views]
	Not like 1971 Article by Dr Haider K Nizamani Similarities do not imply that the ultimate outcome of the 2007 Balochistan situation will be dismemberment of Pakistan, nor do the differences guarantee the existence of Pakistan as it is in perpetuity. The situation in Balochistan is far from satisfactory, but the 1971 crisis may not be a very apt analogy for it. History seldom repeats itself, though we use historical analogies to talk about the present. An informed understanding of the past is nevertheless necessary to avoid disasters in the present. Some analysts think that the situation in Pakistan today is quite similar to what happened in 1971 — the year is used as a byword for the military operation in East Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh. Others consider such a characterisation as unduly alarmist.	[424 views]
	Who took the ‘disappeared’ people? EDITORIAL: Daily times 29.3.07 President General Pervez Musharraf has once again denied that his government is behind the disappearance of hundreds of citizens. He said they could be “in the custody of jihadi groups” and spoke about the rising tide of extremism in the country, implying that the people who had “disappeared” have probably gone to wage jihad on their own or under the influence of extremist jihadi organisations. General Musharraf insists that “the government is not involved” and that “these people may have gone on their own...to Kashmir, Afghanistan or Iraq”.	[405 views]
	The exact date of Kalat's occupation That Kalat is an independent and sovereign state its status is different from other princely states of British India, its relations with the British government being based on various mutual agreements and treaties. That Kalat is not an Indian state, its relations with India being of only a formal nature by virtue of Kalat's agreements with the British and that with the ceasing of the Agreement of 1876 with the Kalat government, Kalat would regain its complete independence, as it existed prior to 1876. All such regions including Quetta Municipality as were given under the control of the British in consequence of any treaty will be returned to the sovereignty of the Kalat state, and resume their original status as parts of the Kalat state.	[398 views]
	Balochistan, Power Politics and the Battle for Oil Online Journal Contributing Writer By John Stanton Mar 30, 2007 Since 1947, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Land of the Pure), a military dictatorship, has been a fragile entity perpetually on the brink of internal civil war, and constantly at loggerheads with India over contested Kashmir. It is a destabilizing factor on the Asian continent. The recent sacking of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Justice by President Pervez Musharraf in March of 2007 is just another one of many straws weighing on the central government’s back in Islamabad, a portent of what more is to come.	[460 views]
	Little Balochistan By Lalit Mohan April 24, 2007 from Hindustantimes.com When a new state was carved out of Punjab in 1966, ‘Haryana’ was the preferred name, even though history tells us there was another option. There is reference to this area in the 1828 Gazetteer of the East India Co. It says of the region from just north of Delhi, extending southwards to Narnoul and “the sandy desert”, which today would include most of south Haryana, “Although situated on the verge of the desert, it is celebrated for its verdure, probably by comparison, from which the name is derived, Hurya, in Hindostany signifying green. The chief towns of Hurriana are Hansi, and Hissar, venerable for their antiquity; Rotuk and Bhowani; but it also contains a large number of large villages, and in the vicinity of which lions are sometimes said to be discovered.”	[451 views]
	Waiting for the Worst: Baluchistan, 2006 Soldier of Pakistan’s paramilitary force, silhouetted against the newly built Gwadar port in February 2007 (SHAKIL ADIL / AP).On a typically hot morning last October, about a dozen people squeezed into Majid Sohrabi’s office, sitting on the black, pleather chairs pushed up against the walls. A ceiling fan whirled and wobbled overhead on its axis. Sohrabi, the thirtysomething nazim, or mayor, of Gwadar, looked overwhelmed. Before winning an election in 2005, he had spent ten years working on behalf of various NGOs around Gwadar which were implementing nutrition and education programs for women. On this morning, he wore a plain gray shalwar kameez, the trousers-and-tunic getup ubiquitous in Pakistan. His front tooth was chipped in half and slightly blackened. A trickle of sweat inched down the side of his face.	[682 views]
	Tribal Rebellion in Balochistan By John Moore March 2006 The tribal chief sits next to a campfire in his mountain hideout discussing his chances against the Pakistan government that his tribe, the Bugtis, are fighting for autonomy in Balochistan, the country's poorest province. "We have three things on our side — time, space and will," says Nawab Bugti, age 79, gazing into the flames. The Bugti tribe and their allies, the Marris, to the north attack Pakistani garrisons daily, exchanging mortar fire with the much larger and better equipped army. They say they are fighting for a larger share of the wealth from Balochistan's vast natural resources. First among these is natural gas that the federal government pumps from the arid Baloch soil for use in other parts of Pakistan.	[442 views]
	Uneasy Lies The Head By Vikram Sood is former Secretary, Research & Analysis Wing Article From Hindustan Times Conventional wisdom has it that Pervez Musharraf is in a spot of bother these days with so many troubles erupting simultaneously. Even the mentor in Washington is uneasy at the way things are not working out in Afghanistan and wants Musharraf to do more. There has been violence and killings in Karachi and Peshawar, Balochistan remains restive, the Islamists continue with their protests in Islamabad, while Waziristan simmers with surface calm. Even democracy was rearing its head in unexpected ways.	[374 views]
	The Neglected Insurgency More pressing developments elsewhere in Pakistan have tended to overshadow the Baloch insurgency in the recent past, but Islamabad is finding it increasingly difficult to crush the rebellion in the province. By Kanchan Lakshman From Outlookindia.com "We have been Baloch for more than 7000 years. We became Muslim some 1400 years ago, and have been Pakistanis for just 60 years."	[426 views]
	Pakistan's 'Other' War Pakistan's military government continues to block aid to the thousands displaced by the widening conflict in Balochistan By Ziad Zafar in Balochistan From Newsline "Forget that you are a journalist. If, as a human being, you care at all about those who are suffering, you will not publish this report. I implore you: please don't aggravate the situation. It is already very precarious," a senior official from the United Nations Human Rights Council told Newsline on condition of anonymity. "We already made a big mistake by talking to the press earlier. We will never know how many lives were lost because of it. We cannot make that mistake again."	[349 views]
	When one’s house is not a sanctuary From Dawn.com By Reema Abbasi THE scene in Awaran village near Mashkay district in Balochistan is one of mourning. Almost every home wears a pall of grief. A young Ali Akber sits in the hostile heat of a dark hovel and tries to console a newly-wed bride and an old mother. His brother Munir Mengal went missing on April 4, 2006, upon arrival from Bahrain at Karachi Airport. Mengal is just one of many whose identity threatens his life. “He was running a Balochi channel called Baloch Voice. When we went to report the case, we were told that an FIR cannot be registered against an agency so we had to file a petition in the Sindh High Court,” recounts a helpless Ali.	[462 views]
	Never Mind The Baluch By Ben Hayes From Red Pepper, June 2007 While Pakistan and Iran terrorise their Baluchi minorities, the British government has designated the Baluchistan Liberation Army as ‘terrorist’. Ben Hayes reports. Barely an eyebrow was raised last summer when the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) became the 41st group to be proscribed as an ‘international terrorist organisation’ under the UK Terrorism Act 2000. The decision was not debated in parliament. Had it been, we might have heard more on the spiralling conflict in Baluchistan and the accusations that Pakistan is committing ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and a ‘slow motion genocide’ against the Baluchi people. We might also have questioned the UK’s motives for proscribing the BLA.	[416 views]
	Balochistan - Epicentre to crown future world power Unknown writer Compared with Pashtuns, Balochs never won a war but their blind fighting’s lead to crown different groups to rise as world power. Be it Persians, Afghans,Arabs, Mangols or Englishmen. Even in the recent history, battle of Balochistan, under the shadow of Afghanistan, resulted to the down-fall of Soviet Union. The geographical situation of both east and west Balochistan including Khorasan, bordering with Turkmenistan, plays a vital global economic and political zone. Any power, which controls this region, not only increase his sphere of influence over middle-east and Central Asian States, but also shall be a dominant world power.	[690 views]
	Balochistan's rebels By Willem Marx from Prospect Magazine Is the US providing covert support to Baloch rebels in Iran? If so, what does this say about its support for Musharraf in Pakistan? Willem Marx is a freelance journalist based in New York The Toyota pick-up truck roared through the green gates into the dusty walled compound and juddered to a halt inches from a small well. Eight figures, their faces swathed in cloth, stood up stiffly from their crouched positions before clambering down. They lifted their weapons gingerly from the floor where they had lain concealed. I counted five semi-automatics, a light machine gun and a green rocket-propelled grenade launcher before the vehicle’s driver slammed his door. Iran’s most wanted terrorist walked towards me with his hand extended, a dazzlingly white smile beneath a Pashtun hat.	[464 views]
	Remembering Disappeared Baloch on International Day of the Disappeared Imran Baluch (UK) On 30 August, the International community remembers the missing and disappeared people throughout the world. The day has been officially declared as the Day of the Disappeared. On that day, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) calls on all governments to provide answers to families on the fate and whereabouts of missing persons. International Human Rights Organisations have declared enforced disappearance as a grave human rights violation and a crime against humanity. On this day, 30th August 2007, the fate of tens of thousands of innocent Baloch youth and elders remains unknown. Thousands of Baloch families in Pakistani Balochistan are looking for justice for their beloveds and peace of mind for themselves in particular and for the Baloch society in general.	[418 views]
	Beyond the Wall: Sources of Iran’s Terror Campaign in Balochistan Guest Column on Saag.org by Belaar Baloch The decades-old and artificial division of Balochistan between Iran and Pakistan is bringing yet new grief to its population. Amid speculation that the United States may take coercive measures to forestall Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons, the regime in Tehran is heavily fortifying its border regions, especially its “vulnerable” southeastern frontier known as Sistan-va-Balochistan, where it connects with Pakistani-controlled eastern Balochistan, its other half. While the international community is focused upon the most pressing issues, i.e., the war on terror and the boiling crisis over Iran’s nuclear activities, the voice of the Baloch people—repressed by both Iran and Pakistan—is either unheard or, for political reasons, deliberately ignored.	[430 views]
	'Forgotten Conflict By Abubakar Siddique from Radio Free Europe (Radio Liberty) October 25, 2007 The Baluchi minority in southwestern Pakistan and southeastern Iran is increasingly marginalized, discriminated against by the state, and suffers from limited access to the benefits of citizenship, according to political observers and human rights groups. Although the 6 million-8 million ethnic Baluchis in both countries live in a strategic location atop untapped hydrocarbon and mineral deposits and possible trade routes, it looks unlikely that their grim conditions will improve soon.	[396 views]
	Pakistan is a failed state Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:17:15 The US intellectual, Noam Chomsky describes Pakistan as the paradigm of a failed state that has undergone violence and oppression. In an interview with Pakistan's Aaj Television, Chomsky said Pakistan is now in danger of collapsing because of a rebellion in Baluchistan, the out-of-control FATA territories and the unrest in Sindh sparked by Benazir Bhutto's assassination.	[432 views]
	Homeland insecurity As Noordin Mengal's experience shows, the US is now adding human rights defenders to its list of unwanted aliens Peter Tatchell Wednesday July 2, 2008 In another bizarre twist to Washington's often illegal, irrational "war on terror", peaceful, lawful human rights campaigners are now apparently being refused entry to the US – without any right of appeal. Noordin Mengal, a British citizen and Baluch human rights defender, was detained and deported by US immigration when he arrived at Newark Liberty airport from Dubai last week.	[397 views]