Killing of Baloch activists is in reaction of successful election boycott: Baloch National Voice

Quetta: The Baloch National Voice in a statement on Monday said that the killing of pro-freedom activists Naseer Baloch, Shah Noor Baloch and Shah Zaib Baloch under the custody of occupying forces is in reaction of successful boycott of Pakistani election.

COMMENT : The aftermath — Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Polls in Balochistan have always simply provided the much needed legitimacy to the brutal actions that the establishment had taken to suppress the rightful demands of the Baloch nationalists 

The elections in Balochistan will be less than credible because elections held in an environment of terror and harassment, where people are permanently terrorised by the security forces and their proxy death squads can never be free or fair. The turnout will be naturally extremely low due to the overall security situation, which has for long been appalling for the Baloch and Hazaras, and also the boycott. Although the physical turnout will probably be extremely low, the participation figures will be manipulated to give them a semblance of respectability. Incidentally, the turnout even during the un-boycotted and peaceful elections of 2002 was a pathetic 29 percent. The people’s interest in elections in Balochistan waned a long time ago as these brought them more misery and sufferings while only the elected and their families thrived. The extremely successful strikes of May 9 and 10 have put paid to expectations that people can be forced to come out to vote.

ریاست بزور شمشیر بھی انتخابات کے کامیاب انعقاد کو ممکن نہ بنا سکی، نواب براہمدغ بگٹی

کوئٹہ (آن لائن) بلوچ ریپبلکن پارٹی کے سربراہ نواب براہمدغ بگٹی نے انتخابات سے بائیکاٹ پر بلوچ قوم کو مبارکباد دیتے ہوئے کہا ہے کہ غیور اور باشعور بلوچ قوم نے نام نہاد غیر قانونی ریاستی انتخابات کا بائیکاٹ کرکے دنا کو واض پیغام دیا ہے قابض ریاست بزور شمشیر بھی انتخابات کے کامیاب انعقاد کو ممکن نہ بناسکی بلوچستان میں ریاستی انتخابات کا ٹرن آو¿ٹ نہ ہونے کے برابر رہا نواب براہمدغ بگٹی نے ریاستی انتخابات کے بائیکاٹ اور بلوچ سرزمین پر قبضہ گیریت سے نفرت کے بھرپور اظہار پر بلوچ قوم کو مبارکباد دی اور کہا کہ بلوچستان میں لاکھوں قابض ریاستی اہلکاروں کی موجود گی کے باوجو د بلوچ قوم نے غیر قانونی ریاستی انتخابات کو مسترد کرتے ہوئے دنیا کو واضح پیغام دیا ہے کہ بلوچ قوم باشعور‘ سیکولر ‘ جمہوری اور آزاد ی پسند ہے

Baloch disenchanted with polls

By Kiyya Qadir Baloch 

ISLAMABAD: Nationalists’ threat of violence during elections in Balochistan kept many voters away from the polls, leading to the lowest turnout in any election since insurgency broke out in the province.

Though the Election Commission of Pakistan has said that the election turnout was more than 50%; however, local Baloch activists on social media reported a very smaller turnout of around 3% only. Political observers believe a direct threat from the insurgents and calls of wheel-jam strike from nationalists parties like Balochistan National Front, Baloch Republican Party in the Baloch-dominant areas curtailed public rallies before the polls and produced very low turnout in the province on the election day.

A week in the life of a small war

Professor Naela Qadri in 1998 with poster: “Balochistan grows flowers, not atomic bombs.”

By Wendy Johnson

“For never was a story of more woe…”

The Baloch have been protesting features of their ill-fated gun-to-the-head marriage with Pakistan ever since this nation was occupied in 1948 by British-created Pakistan. At times the protests display poetic flourishes, such as the protest signs held in this first ever South Asia anti-nuke protest in Quetta led by Professor Naela Qadri in 1998. Naela’s poster reads “Balochistan grows flowers, not atomic bombs.”

الیکشن نا منظور -‎نا منظور نا منظور نا منظور‎

Balochistan shut down on second consecutive day of BNF’s continued strike

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QUETTA: A wheel jam and shutter down strike was observed in almost all of the Baloch dominated areas of Balochistan  on Friday (10-May-2013) which was the 2nd day of strike in protest against the elections..

The Baloch National Front (BNF) an alliance of Baloch National Movement (BNM) and Baloch Student Organization (Azad) BSO (A) had given the call for strike from 9 to 11 May on the eve of elections on account of their opposition towards elections in Balochistan.

گوادر: ’تو پھر چلیں‘ کا انتخابی سلسلہ

بلوچستان میں اس وقت اليکشن لڑنے والي وفاق کي حامی قوم پرست اور قومی جماعتوں اور آزادی کي علمبردار مسلح جدوجہد کرنے والي تنظیموں کے درمیان ايک جنگ سي جاری ہے۔ اس کشمکش میں عام آدمی جائے تو کہاں جائے۔ وسعت اللہ خان مکران کے انتخابی سفر میں اسی سوال کا جواب ڈھونڈنے کی کوشش کر ہے ہیں۔ تو پھر چلیں

Holding Balochistan hostage; Through the election bullet

For Baloch nationalists, the province was made to join Pakistan at gunpoint. Now, it appears, after a sixth decade long insurgency, it will be made to enter elections at gunpoint. The consequences, it must be said with regret, are fated.

By:Hashim bin Rashid

On May 1, 2013, 22,000 troops and 50,000 ‘law enforcers’ entered 12 districts of Balochistan to “conduct a free-and-fair election”. The existing number of troops in the areas shall not be revealed to us, nor the fact that de facto these areas had been no-go areas for the military since the current Baloch insurgency started in 2005. With the entry of troops, the possibility of free-and-fair elections in the province has ended. Rather the Baloch people shall have elections shoved down their throats with a gun to their head.

Pakistan starts deployment of 70,000 security personnel for election duty in Balochistan

QUETTA: Balochistan government on Monday started deployment of 70,000 security forces in all districts of the province to perform duties during the upcoming general elections, SAMAA reported.

The contingents of Pakistan Army, Frontier Constabulary, Balochistan Constabulary, Levies forces and police were dispatched to different areas of Balochistan from Quetta today 1 May 2013.