When Khan of Kalat Mir Suleman
Dawood Khan convened the Baluch tribal jirga in Kalat in August
2006, he expressed a wish to hear voices other than his own.
Please click
to play excerpts from these interviews.
Recent News
Highlights:
| Articles, Essays, Books:
| Events, Reports:
Balochistan
Legal Fund launched. The Baloch Society of North
America (BSO-NA) and HH Khan of Kalat have launched the Balochistan
Legal Fund and are appealing to Baloch worldwide and friends
of the Baloch for contributions to help bring the Baloch case
against Pakistan to the International Court of Justice. A team
of international lawyers has been retained and all preliminary
ground work completed. For more information and to help fund
this effort click
here.
Balochistan Assembly
votes to protect historic Hindu temple and fragile eco-system
of Hingol National Park:Balochistan
Assembly rejects Hingol dam, by Saleem Shahid,
Dawn.com, Jun 29, 2008:
"...According to movers of the resolution, historic Hindu temple ‘Hinglaj
Mata' would submerge in the proposed dam's reservoir. They said the dam would
also destroy the already fragile eco-system of the Hingol National Park.
Dr Narain said hundred of thousands of Hindu pilgrims from all over the world
visited the ancient temple in April every year. “With the construction of the
dam all roads leading to the temple would be blocked,” he told the assembly..."
Reuters
photo
New: Gold
exploration project to transform Balochistan: PM, DailyTimes.com.pk:
The PM said this while talking to a delegation headed by Jean Paul Luksic,
Chairman Antofagasta, a Chilean joint venture company, which called on
him here...He [the PM] "asked" the delegation to ensure that
maximum jobs are given to the people of Balochistan and arrangements
are made for imparting requisite skills training to them so that they
can avail job opportunities...
theBaluch.com Comment: "Asking" a
global mining company to ensure jobs is akin to asking a fox to guard
a henhouse. Job and environmental safety guarantees must be written into
any contracts. Barrick Gold, a joint parter with Antofasta of Chile in
this venture, does NOT have a good environmental safety record. One hopes
that the Baloch people of Chaghi will have an opportunity to do an environmental
impact assessment prior to the signing of any contracts. Mining operations
often not only require vast amounts of water, a commodity Balochistan
can ill-afford to lose, but mining operations often result in major environmental
damage--often making local drinking water unusable.
For details on Barrick Gold's (partner in this joint venture with Antofagasta
of Chile) environmental track record in other communities, visit: http://protestbarrick.net/:
"The network of communities impacted by Barrick Gold are calling on all investors
to divest their shares and no longer support a transnational corporation that
perpetrates gross violations of human rights, such as alleged killings, rapes,
poisoned waters, poisoned rivers, poisoned soil, and forced migration..."
Noordin Mengal at United Nations
New: Homeland
insecurity: As Noordin Mengal's experience shows, the US is now
adding human rights defenders to its list of unwanted aliens, by Peter
Tatchell, The Guardian, Jul 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...
The US government's clumsy, ignorant victimisation of another innocent person
– Mengal isn't the first and he won't be the last – helps explain why so many
people hate America. This is a nation that professes a love of liberty yet often
acts like a tin-pot tyranny..."
Baluchistan
human rights activist and British citizen Noordin Mengal has been
denied entry to the US and was detained without access to a lawyer
or the British consulate.
New:Petition
to stop military aid to Pakistan: "Once we have the 100,000 signatures
we will contact the offices of the UN Secretary General, NATO, U.S. State Department,
the European Union, Canada, Russia, and other key players in the world to stop
military aid to Pakistan for its crimes against humanity in Occupied Baluchistan..." (report
at balochunity.org)
Balochistan Assembly
votes to protect historic Hindu temple and fragile eco-system
of Hingol National Park: Balochistan
Assembly rejects Hingol dam, by Saleem Shahid, Dawn.com,
Jun 29, 2008
Press
Release, Jun 28, 2008: WASHINGTON DC: A Baluch
journalist and founder of the American Friends of
Baluchistan, whose family had known the Advanis in
Karachi prior to partition, has urged former Indian
deputy prime minister Sree L.K. Advani to stop the
Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline until such time the
Baluch get their right to self determination. (see
full release)
Balochistan
govt offers Rs 21m for information on murders,
by Malik Siraj Akbar, Dailytimes.com.pk: "The
Balochistan government is clueless as to the murders
of 32 people, including 18 personnel of the Pakistan
Army, Frontier Corps (FC) and the police who have
been target-killed by the Balochistan Liberation Army
(BLA) in 21 violent incidents in the past four months..."
Press
Release: A.Q.
Khan's threat to ground Tel Aviv condemned,
WASHINGTON DC, Jun 27, 2008: Two U.S.-based Baluch
organizations have jointly condemnded a statement
of the founder of Islamic bomb and nuclear terrorist,
A.Q. Khan.
Senate stunned as Sanaullah announces resignation, by Ahmed Hassan, Dawn.com, Jun 7, 2008: "...The upper house was stunned on Friday when Balochistan National Party (Mengal) Senator Sanaullah Baloch suddenly announced his resignation from the house in accordance with what he called his party's policy.
BLA
kills six youths playing cricket in Quetta, by Malik
Siraj Akbar, DailyTimes.com.pk, May 31, 2008: "...Separately,
talking to reporters after visiting the injured boys, Balochistan
Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani said he would
quit if his government remained unable to resolve the situation
in the province. He claimed the BLA was not responsible and
he would bring the real culprits to justice..." Six
youths shot dead in Quetta, by Saleem Shahid, Dawn.com,
May 31, 2008
Nawabzada
Brahamdag Bugti
Bugti's
grandson says armed struggle only solution for Baloch,
by Malik Siraj Akbar, DailyTimes.com.pk, May 31, 2008: Brahamdag
Bugti says govt has failed to improve law and order: "...The
only way to rid the Baloch of the injustices being perpetrated
against them by the military is by joining the armed struggle
against the government, guerrilla commander Nawabzada Brahamdag
Bugti said on Friday..." (original
article)
Aaj
TV Nawab Bugti interview: Host: Talat Hussain Guest:
Brahmdagh Bugti on Phone from an unknown location,
May 2, 2008
Victims
of clashes: Graphic photos of civilians reportedly slain
by the Pakistani army in PatFeeder area near Sui. Baloch organizations are inviting journalists and human
rights activists to these areas to investigate reports.
1,100
Baloch still missing: Akhtar Mengal, KhaleejTimes.com,
May 29, 2008: "...Baloch nationalist leader Akhtar Mengal
has said that 1,100 people belonging to various regions of
Balochistan are still missing and no one knew about their
whereabouts except intelligence agencies..."
May 28 Rally: Baloch
Rally Against Islamic Nukes, by Amar Mustikhan, WASHINGTON
DC: Peace activists from occupied Baluchistan will join hands
with their counterparts across the world to mark the 10th
anniversary of Pakistan testing its deadly Islamic Bomb in
occupied Baluchistan on May 28. The protests will be held
in Washington, DC; Toronto, Canada; Oslo, Norwayand Stockholm,
Sweden, besides cities within Pakistan.
JWP (Bramdagh) renamed as BRP, Dawn.com, May 26, 2008: "...Militant leader Nawabzada Bramdagh Bugti would be chief organiser of the BRP...According to the statement, the BRP would be struggling for restoration of the Baloch state to protect the coast and resources of the Baloch land..."
Gwadar
project to enslave Balochs, May 17, The Post, 2008: "...
Baloch Nationalist leader Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal said for development
in the country we need to become owners of our national resources instead of
privatisation..."
Political
Foe of Musharraf Is Released in Pakistan, by Salman Masood,
NYTimes.com, May 10, 2008: "...Western officials also
feared that military and paramilitary forces were being diverted
to Baluchistan instead of being used to fight the buildup
of militants from the Taliban and Al Qaeda elsewhere in the
tribal areas of the North-West Frontier Province..."
Balochistan
to join talks on IPI gas pipeline, by Saleem Shahid,
Dawn.com, May 12, 2008: "...Prime Minister Syed Yousuf
Raza Gilani had assured the province that it would be represented
in every meeting of the IPI gas project as one of the stakeholders..."
Two
killed, 50 arrested in Sui search operation, by Azizullah
Khan, ThePost.com.pk, May 10, 2008: "... Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gillani, Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfikar
Magsi and Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raeesani were briefed
by the military high-ups regarding the Balochistan operation.
The government has not yet stated any thing about the operation..."
PAF
plan to take over land causes furore in Balochistan,
by Saleem Shahid, Dawn.com, May 4, 2008: Pakistan Air Force
is seeking possession of 70,000 acres of land along the Coastal
Highway in the Lasbela district of Balochistan for establishing
its new weapons testing and firing range...Officials
said the previous Balochistan government had allotted the
land to the defence ministry at a throwaway price of Rs600 an
acre.
Al
Qaeda’s HQ in tribal areas, claims Europol, by Arshad
Sharif, Dawn.com, Apr 29, 2008:
A damning report by the European Police Office puts Pakistan in the spotlight,
pointing an accusing finger at the tribal areas as the “command and control
centre” for Al Qaeda's “remaining core leadership” planning attacks in the EU...; read
full report
Gas pipeline blown up in Sui, by Daily Times Monitor, Dailytimes.com.pk, Apr 25, 2008: The Baloch Republican Army (BRA), a banned militant outfit, has claimed responsibility for the incident...Militants in Balochistan often blow up the gas pipeline and electricity poles to press the government for their demands – from seeking royalties for the region's gas supply to getting share in government jobs.
April
11, 2008: Sources report
Faiz Muhammad Baloch has been granted bail in London and
is to be released next week. No further details available
yet. Herbiyar Marri had been granted conditional bail.
(Sources variously report the operation
was launched against Jundallah, a group of militants headed
by Abdul Malik Reki from Iran, smugglers, or Baloch freedom
fighters.)
Talks
will be held with all Baloch groups: Dawn.com, Apr 3,
2008: Nawab Raisani said he had been assured by PPP co-chairman
Asif Ali Zardari that the federal government would fully
cooperate with the PPP-led coalition government in Balochistan
in releasing political activists and ending the military
operation.
Nominated candidate
for Chief Minister of Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raisani arrives
at Liaquat National Hospital to inquire about the health of
Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Mar 30, 2008, Online Photo by Hussain
Jan; Raisani
meets Mengals in bid to win support, by Jan Khaskheli,
The International News, Apr 1, 2008
Call
to end operation in Balochistan, dawn.com, Mar 31, 2008:
The Balochistan Action Committee (UK) and the World Sindhi
Congress held a two-hour protest rally in front of British
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's official residence 10 Downing
Street against what they claimed to be the “forcible and
illegal annexation of Balochistan.”...
Cool Reception for Envoys in Pakistan, by Salman Masood, NY Times, Mar 26, 2008:
Mr. Nawaz Sharif tells American diplomats, “...that situation has changed now. There is no more one-man show. Parliament has come into being, and the Parliament will decide all policies. No individual today can give a commitment on anything.”
US
report takes up issue of the missing, by Anwar Iqbal,
dawn.com, Mar 13, 2008: the State Department concluded: “Politically
motivated disappearances occurred during the year. Police
and security forces held prisoners incommunicado and refused
to provide information on their whereabouts.” The official
US document acknowledged that while some disappearances were
associated with terrorism and national security cases, “many
missing individuals were Sindhi and Baloch nationalists.”; full
report here
Six
independent MPAs declare support for PPP, Dawn.com,
Mar 5, 2008: Sardar Bizenjo: “Our support is unconditional
and we believe that the PPP will fulfil the promises it
has made about the recovery of the missing people, release
of political leaders and ending military operation in the
province"
Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani: “Our aim is to bring about a change and serve the
people of this province who have been badly neglected in the past..."
Islamabad,
L to R: Independent MPA Irfan Karim from Kalat joins PPP, with
PPP Co-Chairman, Asif Ali Zardari and President
PPP Balochistan, Nawab Lashkari Raisani, Feb 28, 2008
Marching
to a different tune, by Kamila Hyat, The News, jang.com.pk,
Jun 26, 2008:
"In Pakistan today, the province of Balochistan seems to be locked in such a
world of media darkness. Certainly, what is happening within the vast province
appears to be unknown to people elsewhere in the country – particularly if they
live in Punjab..."
Special
report on Balochistan, The News, jang.com.pk, Jun 15,
2008, editorials and interviews by Saeed ur Rehman, Babar
Mirza, Nadeem Iqbal, Farah Zia
Pack
of Pak lies, Baluch rejoinder to Haqqani interview: “...Baluchistan
was annexed by Pakistan against the wishes of the Baluch
people in March 1948 and a move is afoot to approach the
International Court of Justice at the Hague,” Mustikhan said...“Right
to self-rule to the people of Baluchistan and direct Afghan
and U.S action against terrorist bases in Pakistan are the
only long-term solution to the unending violence in Afghanistan..."
Afghan
government has right to hot pursuit, says Mustikhan,
Pajhwok Correspondent, Jun 18, 2008: "...A Washington-based
Baluch organization has welcomed the statement of President
Hamid Karzai that Afghanistan has the right to self defense
and to send its troops across the border to destroy the terrorists
living there..."
"...Baloch
are a big nation. We are fighting for Baloch national liberation.
We want a Baloch state which is not dependent and subservient
to any other nation. Within the Baloch, some people are
fighting on the political front who believe that they can
achieve their goals by participating in parliamentary politics
but I subscribe to the other school of thought which talks
of independence and supports the armed groups....";
and from
DailyTimes.com.pk
Top
Guns: Inside the Secret World of the Israeli Air Force,
60 Minutes, Jun 11, 2008
Target
killings bring BLA support into new focus, by Malik Siraj
Akbar, DailyTimes.com.pk, Jun 6, 2008: "... According
to sources, the BLA underwent a paradigm shift after the
killing of Nawab Muhammad Akbar Khan Bugti on August 26,
2006. At that time, most BLA operations were confined to
the rural areas of Balochistan. Meanwhile, the organisation
reportedly put extra efforts into urbanising its operations.
It is this reason that the BLA-factor, which once appeared
to be mainly a rural phenomenon concerning the Marri and
Bugti Tribal Areas, has now shifted to public places of Quetta..." (reposted)
Proposal
for forming Baluch National Congress: The Baluch National Congress is to serve as a centre to facilitate
the unity and prosperity of the Baloch nation. Visit to learn
more and provide feedback: http://balochnationalcongress.blogspot.com/
Analysis:Resolving
the Baloch National Question: aspects of a negotiated
settlement, by Dr. Naseer Dashti, May 6, 2005
(original post at regainingsovereignty.blogspot.com): "...
it is a historical fact that every violent conflict
ends up in a negotiated settlement. The failure
of a negotiated resolution of the conflict can
bring catastrophic results for both parties. Continued
state intransigence and non-accommodation of genuine
Baloch demands for cultural, economical and political
rights will ultimately lead to the possible dissolution
of the federation of Pakistan..."
"...Reporters
Without Borders has called upon the government to take
steps to end the harassment of Munir Mengal, one of the
promoters of a proposed Balochi satellite TV channel, ‘Baloch
Voice'..."
The author examines the energy context of the simmering
Baloch separatist insurgency that has surfaced in recent
years in Pakistan's sprawling Balochistan province.
Pakistan:
Another U.S.-Made Disaster, by Asad Ismi, CCPA
Monitor, March 2008: "...Commentators in
the Western mainstream media worry about what they call Islamic
terrorists taking over Pakistan. The fact is that U.S.-backed
terrorists have been running the country for decades. The
Pakistan army has always been an instrument of U.S. terrorism,
killing millions of people and ensuring that most Pakistanis
remain mired in massive poverty and illiteracy. This has
driven people in four different areas of the country to fight
for their independence..."
(original article here;
more by Asid
Ismi
Editorial:Balochistan
and a ‘new social contract', DailyTimes, editorial,
Apr 8, 2008:
"The prospective unopposed chief minister of Balochistan, Nawab Muhammad
Aslam Raisani, seems to have upset a few anchors on TV channels when he hinted
at a “new constitution” to placate Balochistan and bring it back from its insurrectionary
ways...
Jeay Sindh National Party activists demand release of nationalist
leaders Akhtar Mengal and Dr Safdar Sarki, demonstrate
outside press club in Islamabad, Mar 31, 2008, PPI
Mr. Munawar Laghari met UNPO General Secretary Mr. Marino Busdachin, in an informal meeting alongside the UNHRC on Friday 7 March 2008. They discussed various issues relating to issues affecting the Sindh, the recent membership within UNPO of the Sindh, and Pakistan's arbitrary detention and torture of Dr. Safdar Sarki - a Sindhi human rights activist, who holds a US passport. click to read UNPO pdf
Noordin Mengal addresses UNHRC
New video: click
to view on youtube.com:Address
to UN Human Rights Council, Seventh
session, 3 to 28 March 2008, at the Palais des
Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Mar 13, 2008:
Baluch representative on behalf of Interfaith
International; Issue: Promotion and Protection
of all Human Rights, civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights, including the right
to development
(Nawabzada
Gazain Marri is a prominent Baloch politician and the son
of famed Baloch leader Khair Baksh Marri. His brothers
include slain Baloch leader Balach Marri, imprisoned human
rights activist Hyrbiar Marri, and Mehran Baluch, the Baloch
representative to the UN Human Rights Council.) read
full interview
From before:Hyrbyar
Marri reiterates stand on resources, by Irfan Saeed,
reposted from balochvoice.com, Nov 25, 2000: "...the
energy sources found in Marri area was the property
of the people of Balochistan and the Government should
hold talks to the representatives of all tribes if
it desired to exploit these resources. In an
i
Reuters
photo 
photo: 
