By P. Chacko Joseph | November 23rd,

Balochistan is waging a lonely battle against Pakistan to get freedom. We had the opportunity of an email interview with Banok Karima Baloch, Central Vice chairman of Baloch Student Organization (Azad). Banok Karima Baloch has been in the forefront of the freedom struggle and has been featured by international news agencies.

Frontier India: We are surprised to see a lady is such a high position in an Islamic struggle. What is the role of Baloch women in the liberation of Balochistan?

Banok Karima Baloch: Firstly I would like to make this clear that our struggle is not a religious struggle; Balochistan does not have a religious movement. Our struggle is based on pure nationalism and the concepts of justice and equality. Our (Baloch nation’s) struggle neither is based on religious ideologies nor is a sectarian movement, and it is not meant to bring any change while being in Pakistan’s framework as Baloch nation was never a part of Pakistan and nor does Baloch wish to part Pakistan in future, we are struggling to regain our Independence from Pakistan, which seized our (Baloch nation’s) freedom on 27 march 1948 using military aggression. This forceful annexation or we may call it invasion was against the will of Baloch nation and the Baloch parliament present at that time. With the passage of time in order to conceal the invasion, Pakistan worked to eradicate our national history, our national identity, our culture, norms and values and presented us as Pakistanis, which is not what a Baloch is and neither wishes to be called so. Whereas, regarding the role of Baloch women in the movement, I believe their role to be enormously positive; they have memberships of the parties included in Baloch National Front (Alliance working on the mutual objective of gaining Balochistan’s liberation) and constitute an important part of the Baloch parties working for the liberation of Baloch nation. Baloch women are employing every possible political mean used in liberation movements, and the false cases upon them in the anti terrorist courts of Pakistan indicate the threat they pose on Pakistan’s occupation of Balochistan.

Frontier India: What are your personal experiences with the Pakistani judicial system?

Banok Karima Baloch: Pakistan’s courts are as corrupt and incompetent as the other institutions of Pakistan are, whereas when we discuss Baloch nation even the corrupted judicial system does not apply, and it is not surprising for us, as historically when a country has been invaded a different set of laws rule the invaded area, though the silence of International community do disturb us. We (Baloch nation) are rarely presented to courts, if any Baloch, whether he may be a political leader, a student, a social worker or a common Baloch is suspected to be a harm to Pakistan’s invasion, the person is abducted by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies and then they treat the person the way they wish to, disregarding all the humanitarian laws and ethical boundaries. The abducted Balochs are kept in the secret torture cells for years, out of which some are released in such physical and mental conditions that very few survive to continue their normal lives, while others are tortured to death and their bodies are thrown in public places to create fear amongst other people. Presently more than ten thousand Balochs are kept in these torture cells and no one even knows in which conditions they are or are they alive or not.

London: Baloch Leader Hyrbyiar Marri has said pakistani intelligence agency personnels are involved in target killings in Balochistan. He said, that intelligence agency personals are not only targeting innocent people but they are also damaging our respected norms & traditions and committing inhuman and heinous crimes such as throwing acid on Baloch girls which is very much intolerable & condemnable. , He further said that the intelligence personnel were caught red handed in mastung region some time ago by the local people when they shot injured a school teacher. They were arrested by local people and they were carrying pakistani intelligence agency I.D. cards. same has happened in Karachi where they intelligence agencies have tried to target kill a Sindhi Nationalist leader.

Click to watch the original interview in Balochi with english subtitles

Exclusive interview of Nasrullah Baloch, chairman Voice for Missing Baloch Persons (VMBP) with The Baloch Hal

Interview by Malik Siraj Akbar

If there is one issue one cannot skip while talking about Balochistan, it is indeed the case of numerous missing persons who have allegedly been whisked away by the state intelligence agencies. Former military dictator General Musharraf , who instigated the conflict in Balochistan, is gone; his policies predominately continue to misrule the gas-rich province. The Baloch Hal spoke to chairman of Voice for the Missing Baloch Persons, a platform that has brought together all the families that simultaneously mourn and await the return of a missing person. Excerpts:

THE BALOCH HAL: When and why was the Voice for the Missing Baloch Persons (VMBP) formed?

London (28-10-2009): The Baloch have a long history of struggle against repressions and oppression by the Pakistani and Iranian states. Our history, however, pre-dates the formation of both Pakistan and Iran. The Baloch have a history which goes back thousands of years.

During the British Raj, Britain annexed a strip of land adjoining Afghanistan and named it (“British Balochistan”). The Baloch tirelessly campaigned for independence during the final decades of the British Raj. When the British left the Indian subcontinent the Baloch declared their Independence on 11 August 1947. Balochistan remained a sovereign state until it was forcefully

By Malik Siraj Akbar

A confident Baloch guerrilla commander Nawabzada Bramdagh Bugti, 28, believes it is now “impossible” for Islamabad to get him extradited even if he is hiding somewhere in Afghanistan, as claimed by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik, or elsewhere in the wake of increasing “international moral support” the “ Baloch national liberation movement” is attracting because of its “legitimacy”.

Bramdagh, the fiercest face of the Baloch insurgency, is a grandson of late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a former chief minister and governor of Balochistan who was killed by the Pervez Musharraf regime in a military operation on August 26 2006. Since then, the young separatist has taken the command of the armed Baloch fighters who demand an independent Balochistan. While the senior Bugti only demanded provincial autonomy for the gas-rich Balochistan province, Bramdagh differently interprets his grandfather’s dream. He stands for a free and sovereign Balochistan.


Pakistan has been blaming India for supporting Bramdagh’s armed movement via Afghanistan where Islamabad believes this young fighter is currently hiding. The situation in Balochistan has now transformed into a pain in Islamabad’s nick. On his part, the Baloch leader says if he enjoyed international support, he would vanquish his enemy overnight.