Pakistani forces abducted Teenage Baloch student from Quetta

By Archen Baloch 2013-12-03

 Quetta :  The state security agencies abducted a 19 years old student from Satellite Town area of Quetta on Tuesday.

According to information 33 vehicles of Pakistan security forces with cordoned off the entire Baloch hotel midnight and searched all the room forcing students to stay out.

The forces abducted Mehrab s/o Shoukat Baloch. He is a resident of Kalatuk village Kech district of Balochistan.

According to report, Mehrab Baloch was abducted after confirming his identity. A close family member told this scribe: “They started beating him up inhumanly in front of 50 fellow students before taking him to an unknown place.”

His family said that he had no affiliation with any political party.

In order to continue his study he came to Quetta and started preparing for University admission two months ago at Baloch Hostel of Balochistan University Campus after finishing his study at Turbat BRC College.

Yesterday Pakistan security forces abducted Asghar Baloch an activist of the Baloch Republican Party from Gokdan area of Thump Balochistan.

Sources said Asghar Baloch was on his way back home to Thump from Turbat when Pakistani forces seized him and took him to an unknown location.

It is noteworthy to mention here that students are worst victims of state's repressive policy of "abduct, kill and dump across Balochistan, so far more than 18000 Baloch activists have been extra-judicially abducted, among them more than 1500 have been killed and dumped in desolate areas.

BLA releases two Levis personnel unharmed and urges Arab states to support Baloch struggle

2013-11-28 

By Archen Baloch

Kharan  - The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in a statement said on Thursday that it has released two Levis personnel unharmed from Kharan, Balochistan.

According to sources a spokesperson of the BLA informed media persons from an undisclosed location that the Organisation has released the tow Levis personnel, namely Riyaz and Allah Dad after a thorough investigation finding them not involved in any sort of anti Baloch activities.

The BLA spokesman, Jiyand Baloch’ also accepted the responsibility for an attack on Panjgur airport radar system that had extensively damaged it.

Spokesperson said: “The seizure of the vehicle of Sheikh Khalifa Gaib in Kharan last month was a brief political to the Arab dignitaries on behalf of Baloch liberation movement that we are in a state of war against Pakistan hence the Arabs should refrain from coming to Balochistan, especially with permission of Pakistani state.”

He added: “Our Arabs neighbours should also refrain from kind of capital investment with Pakistan in Balochistan as historically Baloch nation has nothing in common with Pakistan, adding that Baloch nation regards Pakistan as a colonial state and it has forcefully occupied Balochistan.”

The spokesperson of BLA revealed Pakistani security forces want to physically harm the Arab dignitaries and Arab nationals in Balochistan and blame it on Baloch resistance organizations in an attempt to defame the Baloch freedom struggle.

He said since Baloch are in a state of war from past many years that’s why it is not possible for them and resistance organizations to provide security to the Arab sheiks and nationals.

“We urge the Arab sheiks not to visit Balochistan until Balochistan’s issue is resolved and Baloch nation regains their sovereignty,” said Mr Baloch.

The spokesperson of BLA citing the centuries old historical relationship between the two brotherly nations Arab and Baloch said that Baloch nations have always had good relations with the Arabs.

The Baloch will establish cordial relations with their neighboring Arab states after liberation of Balochistan provided they recognise Balochistan as an illegally occupied territory by Pakistan and they extend their political, moral and diplomatic support to Baloch freedom struggle.

Voice for Baloch Missing Persons Long March and Baloch struggle for national liberation

2013-11-22

Archen Baloch Twenty relatives of enforced-disappeared Baloch started a 750km long march on 27 October 2013 from Quetta to Karachi. The purpose of the march was to protest the adamancy of the Pakistani state policy that refuses to produce the missing persons before the courts to give them the opportunity to defend themselves. This long march culminated in Karachi yesterday after travelling 27 days long journey passing through some of the most difficult terrains of Balochistan. As the March entered Karachi people have greeted them in thousands and showered them with flowers. On its final day the foot march walked from Mawach Goth to Karachi Press Club and were joined by 20,000 people, most Sindhi and Baloch activists. Mama Qadeer Baloch, Farzana Majeed and Bibi Gul Baloch led the caravn of the families of the missing person to Karachi. The walked with blistered feet but with dedication and conviction. Addressing the crowd and media person Qadeer Baloch and other vowed to continue the struggle for peace and justice and said that he would not hesitate to raise the voice of the Baloch missing persons even if he and his colleagues had to travel to Islamabad or knock the door of UN headquarters or seek support from Commonwealth. Pakistani media turned a blind eye to the 750km long march of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons. However, Baloch Social Media Activists (BSMA) started a twitter campaign using hashtag #VBMLongMarch to galvanize the international media attention towards enforced disappearances at the hands of security agencies. Pakistani media apathy towards Baloch missing persons reinforced the impression that there is a tacit agreement between Pakistani army and media regarding “abduct, kill and dump policy” of Baloch political activists. More than 18000 Baloch political activists have been abducted by Pakistan agencies across Balochistan. Out of them more than 1500 mutilated dead bodies have been found in desolate areas, the dead bodies of the victims bore inhuman torture marks including severed body parts. Current Baloch insurgency is the continuation of the several previous attempts of Baloch people to regain their independence dating back to day one when Pakistan forcefully occupied and annexed sovereign Baloch on 27th March 1948 against the will of Baloch people in the name shared religion. Indeed, In order to stop the general public from participating in the freedom struggle, Pakistani armed forces started unwarranted arrest of political workers from every walk of life including lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists and among them the students borne the brunt of this savagery. As was writing this article, I have been informed that a mutilated dead body was found in Herronk of Kech District he was identified as Rehmat Pindok. He was reportedly abducted yesterday from Hoshab area of the same district. Last September a UN working group briefly visited Balochistan under Pakistani restrictions and met few family members of the missing persons but the group was confined to Quetta only. Most recently the victims of the devastating earthquake were left at the mercy of Pakistan army and UN and other international aid agencies were not allowed to help them. Balochistan is totally off- limit to International media as well. Local journalists are working in extremely dangerous conditions. Many Baloch journalists have been disappeared and killed while on line of duty. Pakistan has developed distorting narrative regarding Baloch and Balochistan crisis. The information about Baloch demand and insurgency fed to international media from Islamabad bottleneck are extremely distorting. An article from Islamabad posted in Miami Herald described Baloch insurgency in its second paragraph as: “Pakistani authorities battle a separatist insurgency in Baluchistan, heartland of the country's ethnic Baluch minority.” The ninth paragraph of the same article read: “Baluch nationalists have been waging a low-level insurgency for decades, demanding greater autonomy and a larger share of Baluchistan's natural resources.” These two paragraphs are evidently self-contradicting because even if the Baloch freedom fighters are described as separatists, then why would they demand greater share in resources? This contradiction also shows that even the international media based in Islamabad are forced to follow the false narrative of Pakistan army regarding Balochistan crisis. The international media should either visit Baloch to know the true aspirations of Baloch people and the Baloch national struggle for liberation or they must at least contact the true representative of Baloch freedom struggle living abroad to report facts about Balochistan. The world and international media must know that Balochistan is an occupied territory and Baloch are struggling to regain their independence. http://balochwarna.com/features/articles.108/Voice-for-Baloch-Missing-Persons-Long-March-and-Baloch-struggle-for-national-liberation.html#.UpAZrJOYE7U.facebook The writer is a freelancer, human rights and social media activist. He blogs at: http://www.archenspeaks.blogspot.co.ukand tweets at twitter.com/ArchenBaloch.

The Caravan of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) Reached Gaddani Town of Balochistan

Archen Baloch 11/19/13

 Balochistan Quetta - The Caravan of  the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), led by Mama Qadeer and Sister Farzana Majeed with their blistering feet, has reached at Adam Kund near coastal Town of Gaddani famous for ship breaking and Marble industries, reported Cheraag Baloch a social media activist closely observing the long march  which begun on 27^th September 2013 from Quetta Press Club.  

At Guddani Turning Point, he said the local people have managed to receive the long march participants with a large number of local people.

According to schedule, Cheraag told me that when the Caravan of the missing persons of (VBMP) reaches Hub City of Balochistan close to Karachi, The Committee of Baloch Students and local people of Hub will receive them with spectacular love and affections.

At the last leg of the 700km long journey, the Committee of Baloch Students will join the long march from Hub City onto Karachi, and on the way at Naval Colony other friends belonging from various human rights organizations and media will also join the procession of the long march to Karachi Press Club.

It is noteworthy to mention here that VBMP started their journey from Quetta Press Club on Sunday 27^th for a sit-in protest at Karachi Press Club in an effort to attract the attention of international community towards the thousand missing persons of Baloch activists at the hands of FC among them plus 700 activists have been tortured to death so far. And the feat of abduction, kill and dump is still ongoing unabated in Balochistan with no hope in sight.

The killing of Waqar Naseer a Naked Aggression: BSO Azad

By Archen Baloch - 29/10/2013

Quetta - In a statement to Baloch media, the central spokesperson of BSO Azad termed the brutal killing of Waqar Naseer by Pakistan army as a naked aggression. The spokesperson said that Wakar Naseer was traveling from Quetta to Karachi in a passenger bus when intercepted at Wadh check post. The statement said the army shot him dead in broad daylight after unbearable beating as soon as he was taken off the bus after checking the identities of passengers.  Martyred Waqar Naseer is the son of Baloch Republican Party’s President Naseer Ahmed of South Korean chapter.

The statement further said that Pakistan has further intensified its brutalities ‘on the spot form of extra judicial killing, of political activists after continuous abduction and killing.

Regarding the historical long march of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, the spokesperson said that people were joining the long march en masses wherever it passed the villages and towns on the way to Karachi denoting the defeat of Pakistani colonial rule.

The family members of the enforced missing persons have exhausted all peaceful means of political protests including set-in, protest rallies and hunger strike to highlight Pakistan’s human rights abuses in Balochistan.

Despite of all successful efforts of creating awareness in all international forums and human rights organizations, including the concerns expressed by UN and its working group’s subsequent visit to Balochistan, the international community has failed to take concrete step to deter Pakistan from its crimes against humanity in Balochistan. BSO statement asked UN to put pressure on Pakistan so that it produces the missing persons before the courts.

Encouraged by the criminal silence of international community, the statement said that Pakistan has intensified its criminal acts of Baloch genocide; even the sufferers of earthquake are not spared by Pakistani aggression. 

Pressurising tactics: Security agencies tried to abduct my brother in Quetta: Nasrullah Baloch

2013-10-28
Quetta :  Reported by Archen Baloch Speaking at Quetta press Club, Nasuralla said the secret security agencies abducted his younger brother Samiullah Baloch at Shahwani Road Quetta but luckily he made a successful escape after the agencies car stopped at due to traffic jam. He said: My younger brother was walking on Shawani road in Quetta when the armed men of secret agencies whisked him and put him in their vain but, because of the traffic jam he jumped off the vehicle and escaped from the brutal clutches of the agencies.” He said his brother brutally beaten up while by the security agencies in their car. He warned that government secret agencies will be held responsible for any harm to him or any of his family members during the course of his struggle for the safe recovery of abducted Baloch. He said his brother had nothing to do with his activism for missing persons’ rights. He also said that his younger brother was not affiliated with any political party. The arresting and beating up his brother was a pressure tactic of Pakistani agencies to force him [Nasrullah] to abandon the long march. He made it clear that he will not back down from long march and the intimidating tactics cannot weaken his resolve for the rights of the Baloch people. He informed the press that the long march headed by Mama Qadeer Baloch has crossed Lukpass Mountain and it is well on its way. He said the long journey in support of missing persons set off Sunday from Quetta to protest the illegal abduction and enforced disappearances of Baloch people in Balochistan. “Baloch children and elderly people are participating in the 700km long march,” he said. The long march he said would take around 15 to 20 days to reach to Karachi. He said the government would be held responsible for any ham or displeasing occurrences to any participant of the long march during this humanitarian journey. He added: “Voice for Baloch Missing Persons had asked the government for security arrangement but they did not heed to our request. We are marching all alone.” He told the press that nothing can deter the long march from its journey until it achieves its objective. In reply to a question, he said that no official from government had contacted VBMP in this regards. At the end of the press conference, he appealed the Edhi Foundation to provide an ambulance of doctors and other necessary apparatus to the caravan of Voice for Missing Persons for emergency help.

http://balochwarna.com/xnews/articles.389/Pressurising-tactics-Security-agencies-tried-to-abduct-my-brother-in-Quetta-Nasrullah-Baloch.html#.Um6kkT8HwjQ.facebook

Pakistani Punitive Sanctions against Balochistan

20/10/2013

By Archen Baloch 

As if Pakistan made death and destruction were not enough, Mother Nature struck the 6th most powerful quake to Balochistan on Tuesday, 24 September killing almost 1000 people and injuring scores. This merciless earthquake was so powerful that it gave rise to a small island off the Gwadar coast which is reported to be about 200m long, 100m wide and 20m high. According to US Geological Survey the earthquake measured at magnitude 7.7, recording its duration as eight seconds. At a depth of 15 kilometres, it struck at 4:29 pm local time, 60 miles southwest of Khuzdar city in occupied Balochistan.

Pakistan army, consists of Punjabi and Pashtun ethnic, is a red rug to bull in Balochistan. Almost all Baloch resistance organizations have made it loud and clear that they would oppose Pakistan army to carry out relief operation in Balochistan but the military is hell bent to control everything in Balochistan. In the cover of relief operation it has established so far 15 check points in Mashkai alone forcing the locals to carry out the banker and check post construction work in several other areas including Perwar, Meyani Kalat and Bansar of Awaran district.

“Baloch have the capacity to weather this storm, if only Pakistani army intervention is stopped! But I feel we’re lurching in isolation and UN has turned a blind eye to our plight. We need political support, rather than relief aid as Pakistan army has utterly refused to allow aid work to be carried out in Balochistan,” said a political activist on condition of anonymity. More than hundreds relief trucks are stranded in Mangoli and Jebri army camps; army is adamantly refusing them to reach to the needy people. Several vehicles loaded with relief goods, belonging to different NGOs and Baloch Welfare Associations have been confiscated by army. In the name of data registration, youth are specific targets, he said.

Meanwhile, the pro freedom Baloch political and armed organizations have repeatedly said that they would welcome international and local aid agencies to carry out humanitarian relief works in Balochistan with the help of local people. And people also refused to take aid from Pakistani army.

Almost every day Pakistan army conducts unwarranted punitive operation in quake affected areas in Awaran. According to local reports army has forced people to evacuate these areas and established check post and bunker in strategically important locations. As result, people are fleeing the area and seeking refuge in neighbouring districts. The helpless condition isn’t the only reason that has forced people to flee the area, the arrest and harassment of people by army is a daily routine in Awaran district. Pakistan army has abducted more than 16000 political activists, Journalists, educators, doctors. Out of them 1500 activists have been tortured to death and thrown in ditches across Balochistan since 2011, despite repeated protest and concerns raised by international human rights organizations, Pakistan refused to acknowledge the disappearances and the killing of the political activists. Pakistan’s apex court so far conducted more than 80 hearings of the enforced missing persons, but it failed to convict the culprits.

The fact is that Pakistan is afraid of the exposure of Balochistan landscape to international media, where it has contained Baloch society into abject poverty for 67 years.

Given the media blackout and restrictions, Balochistan is off limited for international media and aid agencies. Oxfam and UN have a better understanding of the situation in Balochistan regarding Pakistani sanctions over Balochistan.
Pakistan has imposed such a steel coated media blackout in Balochistan that it has made it virtually impossible for world community to peek into Baluchistan’s inner parts where its army has wreaked havoc and forced Balochistan to meet human catastrophe. Pakistani Urdu and English media, Instead of covering the devastation, acting on the line of state containment policy of Baloch nation, seem to have embarked upon two types of campaign against Baloch resistances forces, Urdu media with the task of a psychological war frightening people of the God punishment – implying that Pakistan is a mystical entity, if you go against it, it invokes the ferocity of the divine in the form of Quake. And English media with specific guidelines and narratives has been assigned the responsibility to portray Baloch resistance as a terrorism menace associated with religious outfits to frighten international aid agencies and media from coming to Balochistan.

All entrance ways into Awaran have been bottlenecked with new check posts, where Baloch parties and relief givers are forced to go through harsh scrutiny. But Jumaet-e Dawa, JuD and other religious organizations, including the pro Pakistan pocket parties are at their leisure to distribute propaganda leaflets inscribed with Islamic teachings – asking to people have faith in God!

When the quake gave rise to a mini Island off the Gwardar coast, we saw Pakistani media was quick to call it a tourist spot and Pakistan Navy took over the guard, hoisted Pakistani flag, and declared it an off-limited zone for local fishermen. NASA also captured its photo and posted it in its site, but failed to present the extent of the devastation in photographic details in Awaran and Kech districts. The geographical location and its vast mineral resources at the juncture of three important regions in Asia have marked Balochistan as an important land on this earth!

The pillage of Baloch mineral resources including Natural Gas in Sui and Dera Bugti, Cold and Copper reservoirs in Chagai, Marine products of Baloch Sea is not limited to Pakistani itself; it has also involved Chinese Dragon to suck the Baloch blood. The Saindak copper and cold project and Kashgar-Gwadar economic corridor have underscored the Pak-Chinese predatory collusion in Balochistan.

Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in Chagai – Balochistan – on 28, May 1998 against the will of Baloch nation. The blasts have devastating impacts on local people and wildlife in the Chagai and its surrounding areas. The international scientists and investigators have not so far visit the site to gauge the effects of these blasts on people. The international community, especially, the IAEA has neither protested against such inhuman acts of Pakistan nor did they insist on carrying out a survey of the area.

Given Pakistan’s state policy of Baloch punishment, containment and exploitation, it goes without saying that Baloch are facing undeclared Pakistani state imposed political and economic sanctions right under the nose of 21st century’s ‘enlightened world’.

http://balochwarna.com/features/articles.104/Pakistani-Punitive-Sanctions-against-Balochistan.html