COMMENT : Dust and ashes — Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Consensus against the Baloch in the establishment has always been unanimous because of its desire to exploit Balochistan’s resources, its huge land mass and long coastline

The Supreme Court exercise, which ostentatiously began for addressing Baloch grievances regarding missing persons, has ended up prescribing more of the same medicine. The interim order has thoroughly exposed itself as the establishment’s policy statement, which encourages employing brute force to coerce the Baloch to remain compliant and submissive to the dictates of the state. Declaring the incompetent Raisani government — which is but a tool in the hands of the Centre and the army — illegal because it has not yet been able to suppress the Baloch struggle for their rights is not surprising. The order demands of the Centre to replace it with a more uncompromising direct rule. The Baloch do not really care either way. A person asked someone’s opinion regarding the better qualities of himself and his brother. He was bluntly told that if you were dust he was ashes and vice versa. There will be no change for the Baloch, come dust or ashes.

آگ لگانا تبصرہ : میر محمد علی ٹالپر ترجمہ: لطیف بلیدی

بلوچستان میں ریاست کی زیادتیاں اس حد تک بڑھ چکی ہیں کہ حکمران جماعت کے کچھ ارکان بھی گمشدگیوں اور قتل میں ریاست کے ملوث ہونے کی مذمت کر رہے ہیں

شام آج ایک خانہ جنگی میں مبتلا ہے، اور رابرٹ فِسک کا کہنا ہے کہ یہ سب دیرا میں اس طرح شروع ہوا: ”بغاوت کی ایک تاریخی جگہ، کچھ نوجوانوں نے ایک دیوار پر اسد مخالف تصویر منقوش کی تھی۔ شام کی سیکورٹی پولیس معمول کے مطابق نوجوان مردوں کو گھسیٹ کر اپنے اسٹیشن لے گئی اور ان پر تشدد کیا۔ لیکن بعد میں ان کی مائیں ان کے رہائی کا مطالبہ کرنے کیلئے وہاں پہنچیں تو پولیس نے ان سے بدکلامی کی۔ اس کے بعد، زیادہ سنجیدگی سے، قبائلی عمائدین کا ایک گروہ پولیس کے رویے کی وضاحت طلب کرنے کیلئے دیرا کے گورنر سے ملنے گیا۔ ہر ایک نے اپنی پگڑی گورنر کی میز پر رکھ دی، جوکہ مذاکرات کا ایک روایتی عندیہ ہے؛ وہ اپنی پگڑیاں فقط اسی وقت دوبارہ پہنیں گے جب معاملہ طے پاجائے۔ لیکن گورنر نے، جوکہ ایک بدمزاج پرانا کھڑوش باتھسٹ اور حکومت کا وفادار تھا، سب سے زیادہ معزز شیخ کی پگڑی کو اٹھایا، اپنے دفتر کی فرش پر پھینکا اور اس پر اپنا پیر رکھ دیا۔ دیرا کے لوگ ہزاروں کی تعداد میں احتجاج کیلئے باہر آ گئے، فائرنگ شروع ہوگئی اور بشر نے عجلت میں اس گورنر کو برخواست کرکے اس کی جگہ دوسرے کو بٹھادیا۔ بہت دیر ہو چکی تھی۔ آگ لگ چکی تھی۔ تیونس میں، ایک بے روزگار نوجوان، جس نے اپنے آپ کو آگ لگادی۔ شام میں، ایک پگڑی نے۔“

COMMENT : Lighting the fires — Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

The state excesses in Balochistan have reached such a point that even some ruling party members are condemning state involvement in the disappearances and killings

A civil war afflicts Syria today and Robert Fisk says it all began thus in Deraa: “A place of historical rebellion, some youths had painted anti-Assad graffiti on a wall. The Syrian security police followed their normal practice of dragging the young men to the cop shop and beating and torturing them. But then their mothers arrived to demand their release — they were verbally abused by the police. Then — much more seriously — a group of tribal elders went to see the Deraa governor to demand an explanation for the behaviour of the police. Each placed his turban on the governor’s desk, a traditional gesture of negotiation; they would only replace their turbans when the matter had been resolved. But the governor, a crusty old Baathist and regime loyalist, took the turban of the most prestigious sheikh, threw it on the floor of his office and stamped on it. The people of Deraa came out in their thousands to protest, the shooting started and Bashar hastily dismissed his governor and replaced him. Too late. The fire had been lit. In Tunisia, an unemployed young man who set himself alight. In Syria, a turban.”

کوئی امید نہیں تبصرہ : میر محمد علی ٹالپر ترجمہ: لطیف بلیدی

ریاست بلوچ کی خواہشات اور حقوق کیلئے ان کے مطالبے کو محض اپنے اسٹریٹجک اور اقتصادی منصوبوں کیلئے ایک رکاوٹ کے طور پر دیکھتی ہے

لاپتہ افراد یا ان کے رشتہ داروں کی اکثریت کی صعوبتیں کم کیے بغیر، سپریم کورٹ میں بلوچستان کے لاپتہ افراد پر کی جانیوالی سماعتیں غیر متعین طور پر اختتام پذیر ہورہی ہیں۔ مزید برآں، ایسا لگتا ہے کہ یہ سماعتیں بلوچ کیلئے پہلے ہی سے برے حالات کو مزید ابتر کرنے کا باعث بنیں گی کیونکہ چیف جسٹس کے بیان ’بلوچستان میں ایک آئینی بگاڑ آچکا ہے‘ کے سنگین مضمرات ہیں۔ اس کا مطلب ہے کہ اس آئینی بگاڑ کیلئے خصوصی اور ہنگامی اقدامات کی ضرورت ہوگی۔ پہلے ہی سے کسی بیگ راج نامی شخص، پنجاب فورم کے صدر نے، ایک قومی اخبار میں مطالبہ کیا ہے کہ حکومت سنجیدگی سے غور کرے اور تجویز پیش کی ہے کہ بلوچستان میں صورتحال کو معمول پر لانے کیلئے گورنر راج نافذ کرنے کے بعد بڑے پیمانے پر فوجی کارروائی شروع کی جائے۔ بلوچ سوچ رہے ہیں کہ آیا ان تمام سماعتوں کا مقصد صرف اس امکانی صورت کو جواز اور بنیاد فراہم کرنے کیلئے تھا۔

COMMENT : No Expectations — Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

The state simply sees the Baloch aspirations and their demand for rights as an obstacle to their strategic and economic plans

The Supreme Court (SC) hearings on the missing persons in Balochistan are ending inconclusively without having done anything for the majority of the missing or reducing the agony of their relatives. Moreover, it seems that these hearings may become a reason for further aggravating the already bad conditions for the Baloch because the Chief Justice’s statement ‘there is a constitutional breakdown in Balochistan’ has serious implications. It implies that a constitutional breakdown requires special and emergency measures. Already one Baig Raj, president of Punjab Forum, in a national daily demanded that the government give it serious consideration and suggested that the situation in Balochistan be normalised by initiating a massive military operation after imposing governor’s rule. The Baloch are wondering if all these hearings were for laying the groundwork for justifying just this eventuality.

FC and intelligence agencies are responsible for abductions: Families of abducted Baloch tell CJ

Quetta : Several family members of forced-disappeared Baloch have appeared before the Chief Justice and narrated their ordeals on Tuesday during a hearing. The CJ who, has resumed hearing cases of Baloch activists, has said he didn’t know what was going here [in Balochistan]. “Even yesterday four bullet riddle bodies were found in Killi Kabo. The evidence of Mehran Baloch and Mohammad Tariq’s abduction was given to the security agencies but instead of their release they were killed and dumped”, remarked the CJ.
During hearing the brother of Samiullah Baloch said that his brother was presented to courts by the police on several occasions but now the authorities were in denial about his whereabouts.

The aged mother of Hafiz Saeed-ul-Rehman Baloch burst into tears and said “We hope our loved ones will be released before 2013 but if you (CJ) are gone then we do not expect to see of our beloved relatives.” The CJ in response said “It is not like that. Have faith in God.”

Four mutilated bodies found dumped in Balochistan as CJ resumes hearing cases

Quetta : As the Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court returns to Quetta to hear cases of the families of abducted Baloch, four tortured bodies were found in different areas of Balochistan on Tuesday (10 July 2012).

Sources reported that a body was found dumped near Custom Houses in port city of Gawadar, Balochistan. Levis forces shifted the body to a nearby hospital where its identity was ascertained as Nisar Ahmad.

Another body was found dumped in a well in Surab area of Balochistan. Local authorities shifted the corpse to Surab civil hospital. Its identity was not established so far.

Separately, two bodies were found in mountains near Eastern By-pass in Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan.

Official sources said the deceased were identified as Jan Muhammad and Khalid Dad. The men were shot dead after being subject to severe torture.

Dismissing official figures: ‘Relatives to reveal true number of missing persons’

QUETTA: The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VFBMP), an organisation striving for the safe recovery of missing persons, urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to hold monthly hearings on the issue in Quetta.

“Relatives are coming to Quetta with the hope that the chief justice will recover their loved ones who have been missing for years,” VFBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch told The Express Tribune.

Appeal for missing persons cases of Balochistan

An Appeal to the Mr. Iftaikhar Mohammad Choudhary,the Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Pakistan

by Voice for Baloch Missing Persons.

( Balochistan, Sri Lanka Guardian) As you know that under the given circumstances, the people of Balochistan are suffering for the last many years due to highhandedness of intelligence agencies and paramilitary forces. The family members of Baloch missing persons have formed a non-political organization with the name of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons to raise voice over human rights abuses and to seek the release of their dear and near ones in Balochistan.

Letter to Pakistan’s Chief Justice: from An extremely terrified Working Mother

Primary School Children living on a Time Bomb on Arbab Karam Khan Road Quetta, Balochistan

From a working mother, Quetta, Balochistan

Date: 21st Feb 2012

To: The Honorable Chief Justice
Supreme Court of Pakistan

Subject: Primary School Children living on a Time Bomb on Arbab Karam Khan Road Quetta, Balochistan.

Honorable Chief Justice,

I am a single working mother of two children and would like to bring to your honor’s attention the dangerous situation on Arbab Karam Khan Road Quetta, Balochistan, as under: