re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
And there are still those who with their head in the sand, who believe this govt is helping the Baloch 
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
[
Video interviews from Balochistan. It is clear from them, that Balochistan is Pakistani territory in name only now. Very sad about the treatment of Balochs in Pakistan. We should all be ashamed.](“http://www.thebaluch.com/”)
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
Article by Cowasjee joining the condemnation of the treatment of the Baloch by Mush
** The unhappy province **
By Ardeshir Cowasjee
THIS government of Pakistan seems to be digging itself into a hole as far as the province of Balochistan is concerned. It has on its own admission used jet planes, gunships, and missiles against the rebels of the province.
The rebels have been rebelling against the attitude of the government towards the underdevelopment of the province, its extreme poverty, its illiteracy, its lack of food, potable water, health facilities and the lack of all else that goes towards the making of a democratic state, highly enlightened and reasonably moderate.
Balochistan, 43 per cent of Pakistan’s land mass, housing but four per cent of its population of 160 million, some 6.5 million deprived, in poor health, illiterate, hungry and thirsty, mainly in thrall to the local sardari system, has of late been targeted by President Pervez Musharraf, who, after having rid himself of Thorn Nawab Muhammad Akbar Shahbaz Khan Bugti in a gun battle fought between the Pakistan army troops and the Nawab’s private army, has promised to do wonders for Balochistan and the Baloch — they are to be developed to the teeth.
They will be the recipients of much government funds, in return, of course, for cooperation and the cessation of bomb blasts and rockets faring by members of the movement demanding enhanced autonomy and a share in the gas-rich, poverty-stricken province. So far, the dissenters seem not to be in a cooperative mood as we read daily reports in the press of bombs going off here and there causing casualties and deaths.
So, it should not have been so strange to read the report in this newspaper on Friday, ‘Balochistan instability displaced 84,000 — UN help sought to save IDPs from starvation.’ But it was because of the story related. 84,000 Baloch, out of 6.5 million, is a lot and that they have been displaced through the acts of the government is not disputed. Reportedly, the government has so far not acknowledged the existence of the 84,000 though various UN agencies have known about them for many months and have been trying, almost begging, to help — but were always prevented from doing so by the caring, enlightened and moderate government of Pakistan.
Suddenly, the government has somersaulted and asked for United Nations help in feeding the starving 84,000. The provincial government has generously allowed the various UN agencies to “carry out nutritional intervention in districts of Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, and Quetta,” where the bulk of the displaced citizens have gathered — their plight has been described as ‘utterly desperate’ and is growing more desperate with the onset of winter. A one million dollar relief package will, however, be carried out through health facilities under the supervision of the local authorities who have up to now been unwilling to help in any manner.
This immediate volte face has apparently been brought about through acute embarrassment following a news item in the Christian Science Monitor of December 21 based on, “an internal assessment by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), shown to the Monitor,” which “paints a disturbing portrait.”
The disturbing portrait has it that 59,000 of the 84,000 wretched souls, bona fide citizens of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, with its nuclear arsenal, its mighty army of half a million men, its banks dispensing hefty loans for cars, weddings, jewellry and air-conditioners, are women and children. Of the thousands of children, a large number are so acutely malnourished that it is feared that they will die without immediate medical attention. One foreign observer has remarked, according to the CSM report, that it is a “crime against humanity situation.”
Helping the government dig itself deeper into a hole was the statement made without thinking, obviously, in view of the later development, by presidential spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan who claimed the UNICEF report to be “untrue” as most of the displaced persons “have gone back.” Disturbing also are reports by local aid workers that military trucks were used to round up the displaced men, women and children and hide them before they could get to them. According to the CSM, last week “the government abruptly cancelled a planned tour to Balochistan by a visiting delegation from the European Commission.”
This is all more than merely disturbing — the lying and the deception by both provincial and federal governments. Political oppression is the name of the game played in Balochistan, and on this score the governments are now trying to cover up their sins by appealing for help to save lives. It is indicative of the failure of the federal government, the cabinet of 80-plus, headed by an astute banker, that it has neither the means nor the wherewithal to feed 84,000 starving citizens.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is now working on a list of what is known as the ‘disappeared’ of Pakistan, citizens who are considered a political nuisance, who have been arrested and taken to undisclosed locations. So far, the HRCP can confirm that 242 men have simply disappeared since 2000, 170 of whom hail from the province of Balochistan. To name but a handful of the more prominent Baloch ‘activists’ who have simply disappeared into thin air : Muneer Mengal, Gorem Saleh, Raja Ahmed Khan, Hafiz Saeed ur Rehman Bangalzai, and Ali Asghar Bangalzai. Now, apart from the suffering caused to these men and the other 237, one must also take into account the impact on the families of ‘enforced disappearances’ (as such victims are known by Amnesty International). The families and dependents who have no idea of the whereabouts of the disappeared, or as to whether they are alive or dead, are also victims. Enforced disappearances take a heavy toll on parents, wives, children and other relatives. They suffer extreme anxiety, and are frustrated in the face of pretended official ignorance, contradictions and even harassment.
To quote from a September 2006 Amnesty International report on Pakistan and its dismissal of human rights : “To be unaware of the fate and/or whereabouts of a family member for a prolonged period of time and to fear for his or her life and safety may in itself amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The knowledge that torture is routinely used in Pakistan adds to the dear of the relatives.” There is also economic hardship involved, for when the main earners are victims of enforced disappearances this places a heavy burden on the families left behind.
All we see of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz now (on the front pages of our press) are photographs of him strutting about inspecting honour guards in remote countries of this world, or praying in Makkah. When I last met him, many years ago, he was not an unmitigated whatever. Now, I ask him : “How does it feel being prime minister of a country which ranks as it does in the international statistical records?”
Enjoy !
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
There are articles published supporting both sides, it is sad to see that in these forums each side trying to prove themselves to be right only **the articles which agrees with their point of view. Some consider the military rule to be brilliant, others who want to see the corrupt political parties back will say that even the headache they get when they wake up in the morning is the fault of Mush. That shows how narrow our vision is and reflects on how our country is. We put our point of view above the national interest of our country. Shame really. **Pause and think.
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
Good points, but i think u will find those you can consider 'neutral' comdemn the treatment of the Baloch, for many years, including previous govts. The crucial difference is recent govts have not killed the Baloch as this govt has, and have not inflamed the situation so badly.
The only one's who support their treatment are the supporters of Mush. Once he is gone, they will 'see the light' and join those speaking for the Baloch.
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
Excellently put Ehsan bhai. :k:
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
Ehsan, so removing the link which shows interviews from Balochistan is against the national interest? I would think airing views from that province would be a good thing?
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
More reports on the thousands of Baloch suffering and dying because of Pak govt oppression
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/29/AR2006122900645.html
**Pakistani Refugees Suffering in Camps
**MURID BUGTI, Balochistan – Shah Mohammed Bugti says his 9-month-old son has died and his daughter may soon follow if humanitarian aid does not reach tens of thousands of desperate tribesmen who fled a civil conflict in Pakistan’s tense southwest.
The 22-year-old Bugti and the others have been uprooted by fighting between government troops and ethnic Baluch rebels in the vast desert of Baluchistan province, the scene of long-running unrest over autonomy and control of royalties from its natural gas fields.
Speaking in a fetid, sprawling camp of huts and flimsy tents in a roadside field where dozens of barefoot and thin children scurry about in dusty lanes, Bugti said, “It seems that we have been living in hell for the past one year.”
Tribal leaders say at least 76 people, most of them children, have died in the settlements the past three months from cold weather and malnutrition.
The conflict in Baluchistan, Pakistan’s biggest and poorest province, is a largely forgotten one. Western nations are more concerned about Taliban militants believed to be staging attacks from border regions of Baluchistan into Afghanistan where NATO forces operate.
Pakistan’s government wants to develop the resource-rich region but has alienated the local Baluch population by its use of military force, and there is growing evidence the fighting has had a grave impact on displaced civilians.
Bugti, who according to custom takes the name of his tribe, the Bugti, said his baby boy died of cold earlier this month. Now, his 1-year-old daughter is seriously ill for lack of food, medicine and proper shelter.
“It gets extremely cold at night,” Bugti said. “We will all die without aid.”
A survey by U.N. Children’s Fund has counted 84,000 displaced people, including 26,000 women and 33,000 children, and recommended a $1 million emergency relief program. The government approved the plan last week, but only after months of stalling.
The survey, conducted in August, found 28 percent of the refugee children were suffering acute malnutrition and about 6 percent could die without immediate help.
Ronald Van Dijk, a senior UNICEF program officer, said last week it was likely some of those children had since died.
UNICEF plans to set up 57 feeding stations with local health workers in three districts of Baluchistan by next month, he said. Refugees will also get tents, sanitation and health care.
For the past year, life has been miserable for the ethnic Baluch refugees arriving from Dera Bugti and Kohlu, districts at the center of the conflict between government troops and armed rebels of the Bugti and Marri tribes.
More than 30,000 people are crowded into two camps _ one for Bugti tribesmen, the other for Marri tribesmen _ in desert terrain at Murid Bugti, about 160 miles east of the Baluchistan capital, Quetta. Refugees claim local administrators have prevented Pakistani charities from sending aid, which the government denies.
Over the past three months, at least 61 Marri refugees, most of them children, have died because of the effects of malnutrition, weather and other hardships, said Ahsanullah Marri, a village mayor from Kohlu district. Camp residents said at least 15 Bugti refugees also died.
The refugees say they want to go home but accuse the government of blocking them.
Many in the Bugti camp accuse the government of settling hundreds of people from other tribes in their home district to neutralize the influence of an anti-government tribal chief, Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was killed in a military operation in August.
“The government is our enemy,” said refugee Nawaz Bugti, 24. “I will prefer to die than ask the government for help.”
Some camp residents said security forces had targeted them. A spokesman for the Baluchistan provincial government, Abdul Raziq Bugti, denied the charges, saying security forces target only “anti-state elements” in Dera Bugti.
Hundreds of Bugti and Marri militiamen are waging a guerrilla war, attacking security forces and sabotaging electricity and gas infrastructure.
Human rights activists and opposition politicians have urged the government to resolve the crisis through negotiations, but Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has said rebels will be dealt with by force unless they lay down their arms.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/29/AR2006122900645.html
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
Allah will forsake any country that treats its own people like animals. See what happened to Iraq and pray the same does not happen in Pakistan.
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
^ yes see what happened to Bugti…
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
nice to see your laughing at other peoples death. The Baloch know people like you laugh at their misfortune, which is what fuels them.
When your hero Mush ends up like Zia and all other dictators, don’t complain when people give out mitai.
What happened to Bugti is he died a martyr and hero to his cause,and inspiration for current and next generation Baloch, all thanks to the murderous actions of Pak Army.
Which is exactly what he wanted, saying he wanted to die in battle, not on his bedside.
Had Pak Army acted with deceny (which would be unusual), and he been allowed to to die peacefully, he would have been forgotten long ago.
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
^A negative thinker would only think negative...
I wasn't laughing at Bugti's death, but at the things people believe...!
While I beg God's protection from ever laughing at any death, I'd dare point out how you mocked and misunderstood my statement and yourself went to the extent of predicting and mocking other people's deaths.
For all other arguments, no use discussing right now.
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
I wasn't laughing at Bugti's death, but at the things people believe...!
While I beg God's protection from ever laughing at any death,
Fair enough, glad to hear you say it
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
i think if anything musharraf should cut off all funds to balochistan untill they get their act together.The people there have been supporting evil tyrants like bugti and mengal and they accept to be helped by the government?need more representation?.Why don't you go screw yourselves you are a threat to national security a.h.You have been bombing karachi and lahore and killing innocent people for that sob Bugti.You need more representation?I think you need more misiles up your illiterate terrorist a.
Musharraf Zindabad
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
Cut of funds? What if Balochistan cuts of its gas? Balochistan makes a good deal of its own revenue, its just the government takes it away.
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
To The Real Deal and all the other religious fanatics that support the insurgency in Balochistan and wish it to become bigger,
I suggest that you write to your masters in Israel that the Balochistan insurgency is not going well now that Bugti has been killed and the majority of the ethnic Baloch are voting for Musharraf and other non independenc groups.
Here is their address if you don't know it..
Desk of The Government of Balochistan in Exile
The World Baloch Jewish Alliance Building
PO Box 5631
Jerusalem, 91000
ISRAEL
Religious people (of the "Islamist" extremist variety) have always been traitors to Pakistan.
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
Actually, it is YOU that needs to get your act together, not the Baloch people who do not support the insignificant rebellion in Balochistan. not even all of Bugti's tribe supported him, and when all his money was gone, his own tribe deserted him.
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
The Baloch insurgency has nothing to do with religion…show’s how much you know about the situation
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
Baloch issue is such a waste of time...
re: Balochistan crisis & its resolution!
The Baloch issue is supported by the government of Balochistan in exile (who are supported by foreign countries) ..which you’re cheerleading for..But you’re wishes wont come true..Pakistan unity is too strong.
What will come true is an end to radicalism in Pakistan with an anti Pakistan motive. The wheels are already moving.