A hostile arid terrain with rugged mountains characterizes the geography of the region of Baluchistan. The region is sparsely populated and spread over three countries sharing border with each other. The land of the Baloch is divided among the countries of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Spread in almost equal proportion between Pakistan and Iran, are known as provinces of Baluchistan and Sistan-Baluchistan respectively. Within Afghanistan, a small portion of the Kandahar, Helmand and Nimruz provinces are also part of Baluchistan.
Amongst these, Pakistan holds the majority of the Baloch population. This spread weakens the strength of those struggling to protect their rights, their nationality and the unique Baloch culture from oppression by Pakistan. Baluchistan is inhabited by tribal and nomadic people who are the most deprived, oppressed and cheated communities living in this region. They have been on the wrong side of history and the circumstances. To understand the magnitude of this human catastrophe,
one needs to fathom the fact that out of a population of 18 million, it is estimated that six million are forcibly missing people in Pakistan. Likewise, these people have suffered prosecution and oppression in Iran and Afghanistan, but unlike what they suffer in Pakistan.
In the cities of Islamabad, Karachi and Quetta in Pakistan, scenes of people protesting with placards and photos against forced disappearances, are common. These men, women and children are the next of kin of the victims of forced disappearances. Chiefly, these victims are social activists, journalists, students and writers. Even the elderly, women and children have not been shown mercy. Tens of thousands of Baloch people have been abducted since the year 2000.
The state and its security agencies have responded to the separatist movement with a ‘kill-and-dump’ policy and are forcibly making students, lawyers, doctors, political activists and their sympathizers disappear, according to prominent activist, Sammi Deen Baloch.
Since the year 2000, the Pakistani Army and the powerful ISI have been following this policy of ‘kill-and-dump’ in Baluchistan. Through this policy, they intend to suppress dissent and popular opinion. However, the voice for justice is simply getting louder by the day. The extra judicial agencies are failing and they are becoming the sole reason for the overall declining security situation in this region. As per the human rights activists, there may hardly be any house left from where someone has not disappeared in Baluchistan in the past twenty years.
The organisation, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), claims that more than 53,000 Baloch people have been abducted so far since the beginning of the crackdown and this list is only increasing. This claim, however, is refuted by the Pakistani government, but interestingly, not altogether denied. The issue of forced disappearance is considered extremely sensitive by the Pakistani establishment. No media dare cover these issues without risking serious consequences.
This sensitivity is not without reason. Ever since its creation, Baluchistan has never considered itself to be a part of Pakistan and it seeks independence from Pakistan. In fact, Baluchistan had revolted against the Pakistani state and the insurrection continues since its annexation in 1948. Convinced of having been historically wronged, the Balochis view their fight as one against repression and for self-determination.
The fragile security dynamics of Pakistan e has forced the authoritarian state on a path of ultra-nationalism. This has led to marginalisation of all other ethnic groups, now struggling to preserve their identity. The most adversely affected are the Balochis. The sense of insecurity of the state drives the Pakistani army and the establishment to conduct in a draconian manner. They see many of the Baloch nationalist groups as terrorists, and hence, they have crushed any opposition or demand
The resultant deteriorating human rights scenario has further cemented Balochi opposition against Pakistan. Across the border in Iran, the Balochis face a similar fate, with extreme deprivation and marginalisation by the Iranian theocracy. While undoubtedly possessing unique identities and aspirations, repression and ignorance on both sides of the border have resulted in a common desire for liberation.
In this context, the independence of Pakistan in 1947 brought increased pressure on the Khan of Kalat to accede to the merger with the state of Pakistan. However, the lower house of the Baluchistan parliament unanimously passed a resolution declaring that relations with Pakistan should be established as between two sovereign states and not by accession. Thus, it was not a mere coincidence that Khan of Kalat declared independence for Baluchistan the very same day when Pakistan declared her ind ..
Pakistan, undeterred of this unified Balochi dissent against accession to the Pakistani state, dismissed the latter’s independence outrightly. Largely motivated by the fear of Indian influence in a strategically critical region, Pakistan sought to carry out the accession forcefully. Till date, they continue to be nervous about any such imagined possibility. The paranoia of Indian support to the Baloch independence also fuels enhanced human right violations by Pakistan in its efforts to consol ..
In the latter half of the twentieth century, Pakistan’s proclivity for ignoring the basic human rights concerns increased, they continued trampling upon the rights and identities of the minor ethnic groups fueling rebellion and restiveness throughout, spreading over from Baluchistan to Sindh to Bengal. Eventually, this led to unrest, and the dismemberment of Pakistan which gave birth to Bangladesh in 1971. Mass scale human rights abuse by Pakistan army in East Pakistan was a common template a ..
So shocked and scared was the Pakistani establishment after the massive defeat in the 1971 war that Islamabad quashed the limited autonomy provided to the Baloch in the 1970s. The 1970 election that brought to power the prominent National Awami League, a coalition of Baloch parties, which began to make significant structural changes in the promotion of the Baloch people, was ousted by the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in Islamabad after the 1971 defeat. This act of belligerence on the par ..
Having failed to learn right lessons from the loss of East Pakistan, they have continued to peruse similar military approach. The heavy-handed policy of using force adopted by the Pakistani state towards any dissent in the region has crossed all the limits. This use of force has often been disproportionate to the threat. Using the military to quell any Baloch uprising into submission has become a norm, and any attempt at protest is crushed with a heavy hand.
The main reason for the lack of success of the Baloch freedom fighters to launch an all-out offensive against the Pakistani army has been their shortage in numbers. Undoubtedly empowered by a strong feeling of commitment to the Baloch nationalist cause, the fact is that the Baloch comprise less than five percent of the total population of Pakistan. This has resulted in numbers heavily skewed in Pakistan’s favour. And this hinders any tactical or strategic progress on the ground for the Baloch fr ..
Such a contrast in the numbers means that none of the uprisings against the state will be able to sustain by itself. Additionally, not only is the overall region of Baluchistan sparsely populated but the fact that the Baloch in Pakistan occupied areas only account for 60 percent of the total Baluchistan population. The rest of the population consists of Pashtuns, Sindhis and Punjabis. A demographic aggression planned over years since 1948 helped consolidate Pakistani control. In countering su ..
The manner in which the Pakistan army orchestrated the 2006 assassination of Akbar Bugti is a glaring case study. How they bribed and coerced the tribal leaders and engineered Bugti’s isolation followed by his killing. If it could happen with him, then who is safe? Only months before Akbar Bugti’s assassination by General Musharraf’s troops, in 2005, he had said, “…there are two or three tribal chiefs and feudal lords behind what is going on in Baluchistan. The past governments have made deal ..
The Pakistani army had bombed Dera Bugti which resulted in indiscriminate killing, and the displacement of approximately 160,000 people in the region, a figure quoted by independent agencies. This siege forced Bugti and his supporters to shift bases to the Bhamboor hills where he was finally killed by the Pakistan army. The Pakistani English daily, the Dawn reported that the operation to capture Bugti went on for three days before it achieved its goal. Bugti’s death united ..
All opposition leaders cutting across party lines throughout Pakistan condemned the killing. Bugti was not simply a separatist leader heading an anti-regime movement; he had once been at the heart of mainstream politics, having served as Governor and Chief Minister of Baluchistan. He was secular and had been known for his anti-Taliban views. However, since his death, the number of cases of disappearing Baloch being attributed to either Pakistan’s security forces or Inter-Services Intelligence ..
A classic case in point is that of Hamid Mir, a senior Pakistani journalist and news presenter with Geo TV. He was hosting a programme on Baluchistan in 2014, and was warned against doing so. Undeterred, he continued but ended up close to losing his life. He was shot at in a suspected assassination attempt by ISI gunmen. Luckily, Hamid Mir survived. This case highlights Islamabad’s extreme sensitivity on Baluchistan and for that reason, their all-out effort to censor media coverage of tension ..
A classic case in point is that of Hamid Mir, a senior Pakistani journalist and news presenter with Geo TV. He was hosting a programme on Baluchistan in 2014, and was warned against doing so. Undeterred, he continued but ended up close to losing his life. He was shot at in a suspected assassination attempt by ISI gunmen. Luckily, Hamid Mir survived. This case highlights Islamabad’s extreme sensitivity on Baluchistan and for that reason, their all-out effort to censor media coverage of tension ..
In 2015, Karima Baloch, a renowned human rights activist, went into exile following terrorism charges filed against her by the state. A year later, in 2016, she was granted asylum in Canada where she lived until her disappearance and death in December 2020. The ISI’s hand was suspected in her murder. Sabeen and Karima are just two cases in a list of thousands of Baloch and other activists fighting for their rights killed by the Pakistani ..
Read more at:
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/pakistans-oppression-in-baluchistan/
Read more at:
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/pakistans-oppression-in-baluchistan/
Read more at:
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/pakistans-oppression-in-baluchistan/