The Assault by Pakistan on Baloch People's Rights Has Now Reached Women

Baloch women, at the forefront of protests to ensure illegal arrests and detentions do not take place, are alone in pressing for their rights.


Baloch women face off with police in Karachi. Photo: Veengas

Veengas

Karachi: “What you can do? You can only abduct Baloch people. If you want to pick us up, do it,” Amna Baloch tells a police officer.

On May 24, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) were to jointly lead a protest rally from the Karachi Press Club to the Sindh chief minister’s house. However, the Sindh government imposed Section 144 and banned political gatherings and rallies. When a few of them gathered to ask about abducted women, they were taken to the police station.

Baloch people have been agitating for the release of all missing persons and in recent times, several Baloch women have allegedly been abducted under the pretext of curbing terrorism.

Mohammad Ali Talpur, a well-known columnist who has spoken for Baloch rights, says that since 1973, Pakistan has been leading a concerted attempt to suppress Baloch people and their demands for rights.

“The policy of abduction, killing, and dumping reared its ugly head in 2000 and then in 2008, it rapidly increased. In 2008-2009, the Pakistan People’s Party government spent Rs four million [Pakistani rupees] on counter-insurgency, in addition to paying amounts to death squads in Balochistan,” Talpur says.

So brazen are the attacks on Baloch people, that police do not even back down from launching assaults in front of media.

“Do not touch him,” Sammi Deen Baloch, a human rights activist, and deputy general secretary for VBMP, cried loudly as police officers and men in civilian clothes attempted to pick up a Baloch man at the Karachi Press Club.

Under pressure, police ended up releasing the Baloch man. Officers told media that the action was against the flouting of Section 144.

Meanwhile, Amna Baloch had a different version. She said that there were only four of them, and they did not chant a single slogan but just asked about two Baloch women who had earlier been taken to the police station.

Also read: ‘Tell Us Whether We Are Orphans’: In Pakistan, No Respite for Families of Baloch Missing Persons

Wracked with worry about the two women, Amna says that police initially were unwilling to share details. When Amna, Sammi, and other Baloch protesters pressed them, they said the two were in police custody.

When this reporter took a photograph of police gathered at the scene, she was asked to delete the photo. Eventually, explanations on her nature of work seemed to suffice. However, to questions on where the two Baloch women were kept in custody, police remained mum and instead, laughed.

This reporter also overheard police discussing the eventual picking up of Sammi, one of the four asking after the two Baloch women.

“Look at her (Sammi), she speaks a lot, you should abduct her,” one man in civilian clothes was heard telling police.

By then, reporters had surrounded Sammi. Some of the reporters asked police how she had violated Section 144, and what pretext police could have of taking her to the police station. To this, officers had no answers.

The women were eventually taken to the police station and released afterwards.

Sammi and others being taken to the police station. Photo: Veengas

After a few hours, videos of this went viral on social media. The Sindh government, later, took notice of the incident.

Nida Kirmani, an activist, was taken along with the Baloch women to the police station. But Nida, a non-Baloch woman, was apologised to by police. Baloch women were asked to take off their masks and niqab. Nida shared her experience on Twitter.

Political activist Mahrang Baloch said that abducting Baloch women has been publicly justified by law enforcement ever since Shari Baloch attacked Karachi University.

After the University incident, Baloch students in various institutions were harassed in the guise of investigations, including in Punjab universities.

“But Baloch women had been targets long before. In Awaran, a city of Balochistan, security agencies had abducted Baloch women in an explosives case. Later, allegations proved untrue. Those women were so poor they had no slippers on their feet. Pakistan security forces target common Baloch citizens, even those who aren’t rights activists,” Mahrang said.

Mass graves were found in the province, she added.

At the KPC protest, Amna said that the state’s violence was a cause of constant fear and sorrow. Sammi, for instance, has been agitating for the release of her father.

Mahrang’s father, Abdul Ghaffar, was abducted in 2009 and his mutilated dead body was recovered from Gadani on July 1, 2011. In 2017, her brother was abducted but released after four months. She has received threats to end her political activism.

Even Balochistan home minister Mir Zia Lango once taunted her, noting that the state had not apprehended her yet.

“When my number comes, they will definitely abduct me,” Mahrang said. “If the agencies can arrest Noor Jan, who lives in the much more central Hoshaap area, then who am I?”

Mahrang along with VBMP leaders, led a sit-in in front of the Balochistan chief minister’s house demanding knowledge of missing persons and Noor Jan, a 40-year-old Baloch mother of three, who was abducted in a suicide bomb case. The FIR says she was apprehended wearing a suicide jacket. Initially given a death sentence, she was released on bail.

Baloch women and men in a sit-in in front of the CM’s house in Balochistan. 

Photo: Mahrang Baloch

“How is possible that a mother will wear a suicide jacket at 3 am in the house where her children are sleeping?” asks Mahrang.

One Habiba Baloch was dragged by male security officers from her home in Karachi and released after four days.

Mahrang also cites the example of Hafeez Baloch, who is an MPhil student at Quaid-e-Azam University of Islamabad, who was picked up and charged allegedly in a fake case.

Mahrang is also worried about conservative society in Pakistan that is ready to point fingers at women who are outside at night. “When Baloch women are made to spend days in the custody of security agencies, you know what and how society thinks,” she said.

Many see in present day Pakistan’s treatment of Baloch women a reflection of how Bengali women were treated in East Pakistan.

Silence of human rights groups

Human rights groups and political parties remain silent on the mistreatment of Baloch women.

Recently, Shireen Mazari, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and former minister for human rights, was arrested by the police. In Pakistan, people condemned it and Islamabad high court sat at night to rule in the case. The same reaction is absent when it comes to Baloch women.

Talpur says there is a clear difference of perception.

Sammi criticised the role of feminists in Pakistan who raise voices in selective cases but when the question comes to Baloch women, they are silent. “Why does their feminism end at Baloch women?” Sammi asks.

Also read: Pakistan: Family of Baloch Activist Who Died in Canada Claim Harassment by Authorities

Mahrang added that if the Balochistan government and other political parties genuinely wanted the removal of the FIR against Noor Jan, they could have asked for it.

She criticised political parties who, when they are in opposition, speak about Balochistan for their vote banks, but when they come in power, they speak for Kashmir first and then for Islam. “Balochistan was and is never their priority. For instance, the sitting government’s interior minister Rana Sanaullah rejected a commission for Baloch students who have been made to disappear. He belongs to Pakistan Muslim League, led by the same Maryam Sharif who once promised us that she would look into our matter,” Mahrang said.

On the other hand, human rights organisations follow the state’s narrative in the case of Balochistan. “We (Baloch women) force them to issue statements. Otherwise, they do not care about us,” she said.

Baloch women entered the protest arena asking for the release of their fathers and brothers. Mahrang said that the time will soon come when Baloch fathers and brothers will need to agitate for the release of their daughters and sisters.

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BALOCHISTAN IS A COUNTRY

Balochistan: Abused by Pakistan, looted by China

On 25 August, 39 people were killed when a Baloch outfit attacked police stations, railway lines and highways in a co-ordinated manner. 34 more were killed in retaliation by the Pakistani security forces.The 34 included Pakistani soldiers and police personnel and attackers. This happened in Pakistan’s south-western province of Balochistan.

The attacks continued through the night and into the next day. They were by far the most violent killings carried out in recent years by ethnic Baloch separatists, as the Pakistani State calls them. An armed group, called the Baloch Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the killings, code named “Haruf”, meaning dark, windy storm.

That is the story so far. But that is far from the whole story. The Baloch have been systematically, clinically and brazenly exploited and discriminated against. Tortured by Pakistan’s “Punjabi” Army. Looted by China’s Communists. And hated by Iran’s clerics. Balochistan has become a land where anti-Punjabi, anti-Pakistan and anti-China sentiments converge.

Allegations are flying thick and fast. Pakistan claims that all the dead were civilians. But the B.L.A. says they were all Pakistani security personnel dressed in civilian clothes. Whether they were civilians or not is a moot point. But what is not disputed is that almost all the people who were killed were Punjabis — the name given to the people who hail from the Pakistani province of Punjab.
 
Some more things stand out. One, the timing of the attacks. And, two, the involvement of woman suicide-bombers. The attacks coincided with the death anniversary of a Baloch leader, Akbar Bugti. Bugti was killed by Pakistan’s security forces in 2006 when Gen. Pervez Musharraf was in power. Bugti’s killing fuelled the fifth and fiercest round of insurgency in Balochistan. And it continues to this day. The four previous insurgencies took place in 1948, 1958, 1968 and 1973.

The attacks also coincided with a visit to Pakistan by Gen. Li Qiaoming, the Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Forces. The Chinese General called on Pakistan’s President and Prime Minister and also held talks with Pakistan’s Army chief Gen. Asim Munir.  Pakistan conferred the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, one of its top honours, on the Chinese General.

The B.L.A. says a woman from the southern, port district of Gwadar was involved in a suicide-attack on a para-military base in Bela. The chief minister of Balochistan province is reported to have said that three people had been killed at the base.

The Punjabi Connection

The Baloch-versus-Punjabi ethnic fault line is a story that threatens to snowball into a wider conflict -– one that could have disastrous consequences for Pakistan. The Punjabis are the largest of the six, main, ethnic groups in Pakistan. They dominate the military and other arms of the Pakistani State.

The real estate in Balochistan is exploited by the rich, landed gentry from Lahore and other cities in the Punjab province. Simply put, the Punjabis are well-entrenched in Pakistani society. And, that is why the Baloch complain that their land has become a colony of the Punjabi elite.

Mehran Marri is a Baloch activist. He lives in the U.K. Marri voices a similar sentiment in an interview to a private Indian news agency, ANI. He says: “We, the Baloch, live a life of indignity and humiliation every day, at the hands of the Punjabis.” Marri says that Pakistan’s Punjabi elite supports Chinese activity in Balochistan.

He bets that Beijing will have to stop the China -– Pakistan Economic Corridor sooner rather than later because the project does more harm than good to the locals. “It’s like setting up a chocolate factory in Gaza and expecting it to work amidst war and terror,” he says.

The Baloch have other grievances, too. For one, Balochistan lags the rest of Pakistan insofar as education, employment and economic development are concerned. Baloch separatist groups, such as the B.L.A., say that they’ve been fighting for decades for a larger share in the regional wealth of mines and minerals denied by the Pakistani Government.

Then, there is the issue of enforced disappearances. The Counter Terrorist Department of the Government is accused of carrying out abductions and arbitrary killings. Locals say that the Department is notorious for its so-called death squads. They claim, that what is happening to them is a genocide under the guise of targeted killings.

A quick word about Balochistan and the Baloch people. People of Baloch ethnicity are present in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. They are Sunni Muslims. The Baloch society is organised along tribal lines. The Marri, Mengal and Bugti are the more prominent tribes. Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan.

It has a long, Arabian Sea coastline in the south, not far from the oil shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz. Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan. It forms about 45 per cent of Pakistan’s total area. It is the richest province in terms of mineral wealth.

But, it is the least developed of the four provinces of Pakistan. And, it has the lowest per capita income in the country. The irony is that Balochistan contributes heavily to Pakistan’s G.D.P. but does not get a fair share of revenue. The province is home to key mining projects.

The Reko Diq Mine is famous for its gold and copper reserves. It is believed to have the world’s fifth-largest gold deposit. A Canada-based company called Barrick Gold operates the Reko Diq mine. Sui in Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest gas field but the gas it produces benefits the Punjab province.

Besides their dislike for the Punjabis, the Baloch have an animus towards China. Balochistan is home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine. China has invested 65 billion dollars in the China -– Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through Balochistan and terminates at the Gwadar port. The Chinese have also monopolised fishing in the area.

Baloch groups have attacked Chinese interests and citizens in the province, and, elsewhere, in Pakistan. For instance, on 26 March 2024, a suicide-bomber killed at least five Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project in neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A B.L.A. fighter says that China entered Balochistan without the consent of the Baloch people and that the Chinese projects will fail miserably.

Besides China, there’s another country that makes the Baloch anxious — Iran. The Baloch are present in large numbers in an Iranian province called Sistan and Baluchestan. It suffers from neglect, too, much like the Balochistan province of Pakistan.

The ethnic Baloch population of Iran feels discriminated against by the majority Shia population. Iran fears that the Baloch are supported by elements in Pakistan. The Jaish ul-Adl, meaning Army of Justice, is a Baloch group active in the area.

What about the West?

The West has taken a particular stance on the issue. The U.S. State Department does not comment on the continued repression and persecution of the Baloch but its Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs posts a message on X. It reads: “The United States strongly condemns the multiple attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan province which took many lives.

Any violence disrupting peace and stability is indefensible. We stand with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and we send our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones.” The U.S. has designated the Baloch Liberation Army as a terror group.

This lack of support or understanding does not deter the Baloch. They remain optimistic. Dawn newspaper of Pakistan quotes the late Baloch leader Akbar Bugti’s son Jamil as saying that he sees his father’s mission advancing, what with the daughters of Balochistan now stepping forward to strengthen their movement. And Mahrang Baloch is a good example of just that. 31 years old. Medical doctor. And, the face of Baloch struggle.

Mahrang Baloch heads the Baloch Yakjehti Committee. It is a human rights movement that was set up in 2020. Yakjehti means unity, or, solidarity. In July 2024, the B.Y.C. organised a national gathering called the Baloch Raji Muchi in Gwadar.

In December 2023, it organised a Baloch Long March, a 1,600-kilometre-long peaceful protest, from Turbat in Balochistan to Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, to demand justice for the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Baloch people.

400 Baloch protesters, half of them women and children, held a month-long sit-in outside the National Press Club of Islamabad, to demand justice for their missing and murdered family members.

Clearly, the Baloch seem to have had enough. They are in no mood to put up with mistreatment and humiliation any longer. “If the Baloch fight, they are called a terrorist. If the Baloch cry, they are called a coward. If the Baloch ask for something, they are called a beggar. Where do the Baloch go? What do they do?” asks Mehran Marri.

All of which raises certain questions to ponder.
— Where does the Baloch agitation go from here?
— Will the Baloch unrest gain enough critical mass to challenge the Pakistani State?
— Can the U.S. jettison Pakistan?
— Is Pakistan too big to fail, as some in China would like to believe?
— Will the West change its attitude towards the Baloch cause?
— How should India view developments in Balochistan?
— And, what if Pakistan implodes under the weight of its contradictions?

Asking questions is the easy part. Finding the answers will be much more difficult. I leave you with Marri’s parting shot.

“We have our dignity as well. We have our self-respect. Whether anyone supports us or not. The Baloch will stand up for themselves.”

Now, that is another point to ponder, isn’t it?

By – Ramesh Ramachandran (Senior Consulting Editor and presenter with D.D. India)

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THE WOMEN OF THE BALOCH SPRING


A movement that began as a protest against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan is now evolving into a strong political and social force for change.

Muhammad Akbar Notezai 

DAWN

Published September 8, 2024

On January 27, 2024 in Quetta, the leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), Dr Mahrang Baloch, addressed a crowd of thousands, which comprised men and women, many of them young students. Having recently returned from a month-long sit-in outside Islamabad’s National Press Club, held to protest enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, Mahrang said that this movement was the “voice of Baloch people, from Nokundi to Parom and Koh-i-Suleman to Makran.”

The recent terrorist attacks in Balochistan by the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which resulted in the tragic loss of the lives of almost 40 people, tend to take the media spotlight because of the sheer violence involved, but they also do a disservice to the efforts of movements such as the BYC, which have attempted to highlight the alienation of Balochistan’s educated youth in a peaceful and constitutional manner.

Gatherings such as the one in Quetta in January, accompanied by such a large number of attendees, have now become commonplace for the BYC. But what makes this movement unique and sets it apart from any other such group is that women — specifically Baloch women — are the face of this movement.

But how did the BYC come to become such a force? Who are the women spearheading this movement? And how is it that, in a conservative and still-largely patriarchal society, men are turning up in droves to hear these women speak?

A movement that began as a protest against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan is now evolving into a strong political and social force for change. The women at the forefront of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee have amassed a large following of Baloch men and women, but who are they and how did they become so influential in a largely patriarchal and tribal society?

ROOTS OF DISCONTENT IN BALOCHISTAN

The long-enduring political vacuum in Balochistan has resulted in a rising atmosphere of fear, where both the state and Baloch nationalists have been at loggerheads with each other for decades. Many of the mainstream Baloch nationalists who are peacefully calling for change are of the opinion that their voices have long been ignored. Furthermore, due to the worsening security situation in the province, a number of private militias, locally known as death squads, have sprung up across the region.

Both the Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) and the National Party (NP) — which claim they are fighting for Baloch rights within the framework of the state — have been criticised by Baloch nationalists for not doing enough for the Baloch, despite holding positions in the government and being part of the National Assembly. Under these circumstances, desperate Baloch nationalists have been trying to voice their grievances from non-traditional platforms, in the hope that it will lead to long-term change.

Dr Mahrang Baloch pictured at a BYC gathering in Turbat

In May 2020, three men, allegedly associated with a local death squad, stormed into a house in Danuk, Turbat, which resulted in the killing of four-year-old Bramsh Baloch’s mother. That incident gave birth to these ongoing protests and, in the words of BYC activist Sammi Deen Baloch, that is when the BYC came into being.

But it was the killing of Balaach Baloch in November 2023, supposedly in an ‘encounter’ in Turbat with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), that sparked a widespread movement in Kech district. The family of Balaach and civil society activists alleged that Balaach had been apprehended by the CTD the month before and had been presented before a local court, which had remanded him in police custody for 10 days. The protests against the alleged extrajudicial killing culminated in the Islamabad sit-in, led by Mahrang under the platform of BYC. This is when Mahrang and the BYC captured the attention of the nation.

After a big power show in Quetta, the BYC held a gathering in Gwadar under the banner of the ‘Baloch Raji Muchi’ [Baloch National Gathering] this July, in which hundreds of protestors from across Balochistan, and other Baloch-dominated areas in the country, joined in — despite the fact that the state had imposed restrictions upon the peaceful protestors in order to stop them from going to Gwadar. After that, the BYC held large gatherings in several places across Balochistan.

According to Mohammad Arif, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Balochistan, “There are three factors fuelling the discontent felt by the people of Balochistan, which is why they protest. Firstly, Balochistan has been ignored by the centre from the very beginning. Secondly, there is rampant corruption in Balochistan, especially by the politicians and bureaucrats, which has hindered development and progress in the province. Thirdly, the region has become a playground for international politics in the wake of Chinese involvement in the region.”

Professor Arif says that people’s dissatisfaction, instead of being allayed, is further increasing by the day. He further adds, “Balochistan does not have much political participation at the centre, where our representation is just six percent. The government can only provide jobs to 10-15 percent of the population, while the rest have to be catered to by a private sector that simply does not exist in Balochistan as such.”

Sammi Deen Baloch receiving the Front Line Defenders Award 2024

On the question of Baloch women becoming the face of political and social change in Balochistan’s tribal and patriarchal society, Professor Arif is of the opinion that this is the product of a social transformation.

“For instance,” he says, “Japan was a tribal society in 1870, too. But they arrived at the doorstep of social change far before us.” Change is indeed a slow process, and the rise of women in the hostile political atmosphere of Balochistan, particularly through the BYC platform, has not happened overnight.

THE RISE OF MAHRANG

Given that she was born into a political family in Balochistan, it is safe to say that politics has been running in Dr Mahrang Baloch’s blood from day one. But she was suddenly pushed into the limelight when she began to spearhead protests after her father, Ghaffar Longove, went missing in December 2009 from outside a hospital in Karachi.

At the time, she was still a student in primary school. The eldest of six siblings, Mahrang would burn her school books in front of the Quetta Press Club in an act of protest, demanding that her father be returned home. Tragically, as often happens in cases of missing Baloch persons, her father’s mutilated body was found in 2011.

While speaking in a combination of Balochi, Urdu and English, Mahrang tells me, “My father was my political teacher. I joined politics because of him, when I was in the fifth or sixth grade.”

Mahrang’s story, like those of many other Baloch households, is one of immense tragedy and trauma. Violence has marred the region without any respite since the fifth Balochistan insurgency began back in 2000. But the tragedy that has marked her life in this volatile province is one that is felt and understood by all those who have lived and grown up in Balochistan.

Gulzadi Baloch protesting in 2021 after the disappearance of her brother

Perhaps this is why Mahrang has been drawing tens of thousands of Baloch men and women to her protests and gatherings — because they see in her a strength that is giving voice to their decades of grievances. Whether she wanted it or not, she has now become the face of the ‘Baloch Spring’.

“Our ultimate goal,” Mahrang reveals, “is to raise a voice against the Baloch genocide, human rights violations and economic suppression in Balochistan. Our organisation hopes to give a voice to the plethora of issues the Baloch are facing. We continue to try to shine a light on these topics, while also trying to mobilise the Baloch community. Issues pertaining to the climate, health, education and safeguarding our rights are just some of the problems that we need the state to address.”

Back in 2019, like other reporters and journalists, I was looking into the University of Balochistan (UoB) sexual harassment scandal. While working on that story, I saw a young female medical student speaking to protestors, most of whom were men, in front of the main gate of UoB on Sariab Road.

“Who is she?” I asked a professor friend of mine. “That is Dr Mahrang Baloch,” he responded. “The daughter of comrade Ghaffar Longove, a Baloch nationalist who was said to be close to the Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Khair Baksh Marri.”

Clearly, she left quite an impression, and she’s only gained a greater following since then. Reflecting on her journey, Mahrang says, “I have participated in jalsas [gatherings], protests, including the ones led by women in Balochistan. I came into the media spotlight after the abduction of my father, and then of my brother in 2017, and then during the video scandal case at the UoB. That was when I started engaging in politics properly for my people. Since then, I have been very active, because doing what I do and giving a platform to the concerns of my people was a conscious decision on my part.”

Since the UoB video scandal, Mahrang has been actively participating in political activities in Quetta, especially through the platform of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), which was set up by Mama Qadeer Baloch. After becoming the leader of the BYC, she is now at the forefront of the movement calling for justice for the families of Baloch missing persons. There has been hardly any protest in Quetta in recent years, especially in front of the Quetta Press Club, that Mahrang has not attended.

After speaking to Mahrang’s teachers, friends and colleagues, it is clear that all of them think very highly of her. One of her teachers tells me that, despite her ability to draw huge crowds across Balochistan, there seems to be no hint of arrogance in her. He further adds she now seems more mature when delivering her speeches than she did in the past.

But not everyone is as pleased. Mahrang’s critics say that she has not been properly nurtured through the necessary political process and training required for one to establish themselves as a true leader. They argue that she resorts to emotional appeals because she does not have any clear answer when questioned about Balochistan’s complex political situation.

Others have even flippantly accused Mahrang and the BYC of being funded by ‘external forces’, allegedly in an attempt to counter the rising Chinese influence in Balochistan. Mahrang rebuts these claims, saying, “We totally reject these kinds of allegations,” adding that the BYC is a political and social movement that is working on human rights issues, and that the people of Balochistan support this movement.

“We are not anyone’s proxy,” she says firmly, “nor have we been anyone’s proxy. The Baloch people are our support. The state, from day one, uses such allegations of foreign funding to crack down on peaceful political movements. That is why we say that the state, instead of using violence, should wisely and politically deal with Balochistan’s issues. Violence only prolongs issues and leads to great loss.”

Mahrang, however, is just one of the many women that have come to form the spine of the BYC.

Women, men and children in Panjgur being addressed by Dr Mahrang Baloch on August 10, 2024: gatherings such as this have now become commonplace for the BYC

SAMMI, THE ASPIRING JOURNALIST

The eldest of three siblings, Sammi Deen Baloch was just a teenager when her father, Dr Deen Muhammad, was reported missing in 2009. Today, 15 years later, he is still missing. Since then, Sammi has spent most of her time at VBMP camps in Quetta and Karachi, desperately hoping that her struggle will lead to some lasting change.

Even at that young age, Sammi began to meet with journalists at press clubs, as well as at missing persons’ camps. Often, she would be accompanied by her younger sister, Mehlab Baloch.

Similar to Mahrang’s father, Sammi’s father and uncles also had a political background. And it was because of his political activism that Deen Muhammad was ‘disappeared’, Sammi claims. In her words, “I was born into a political environment that nurtured me and my other family members early on. But, unfortunately, more than that, the circumstances surrounding my father’s disappearance played a greater role in my political upbringing.”

After Mahrang, Sammi is regarded as the face of the BYC, and she has now gained admission to the Institute of Business Administration’s (IBA) Centre for Excellence in Journalism (CEJ) as part of their masters’ programme. I ask her why she decided to pursue the field of journalism.

“In 2013,” she responds, “I met a female journalist, Mahvish Ahmad [who wrote for Dawn and the Herald], in Karachi at a missing persons’ camp. She used to write extensively about Baloch missing persons. I was enamoured by her.

“In many ways, it had become a routine for me to meet and speak with journalists in Quetta and Karachi, to clamour for the release of my father, to meet other missing persons’ families and to hear stories of their loved ones. I decided in 2013 that I would become a journalist some day and write about the stories of Baloch missing persons, alongside my own personal story.” This year, Sammi was honoured with the prestigious Front Line Defenders Award 2024 in Dublin, Ireland.

Sammi lost her childhood in search of her father, and she reveals that what began as a young girl demanding her father be returned home has now turned into a struggle for the release of all the Baloch missing persons. She tells me, “I started collecting pictures of other Baloch missing persons a long time ago, and I continue to do so, because my struggle is now for all of them — not just for my own father.”

Following her father going missing, Sammi used to hear taunts from people, especially from women, about the fact that she used to travel out of the city so often, that she would interact with men, and that she was neglecting her studies. But things have now changed.

“What is a source of pride for me is that people’s perception — especially that of women — regarding my struggle has changed,” Sammi shares. “I am glad they are now united with us in our efforts, that they join the protests and raise a voice for their own people.”

Sammi says that she is proud that the BYC gatherings are so well-supported and attended by Baloch men. She remarks, “There are tens of thousands of men who attend the BYC jalsas. But, even before us, there were notable female activists here, such as Karima Baloch and Shakar Bibi Baloch.”

GULZADI, THE GIRL FROM THE BUS

Last year, a video of a teenage girl at a Baloch missing persons’ sit-in in Islamabad went viral on social media. The girl, Gulzadi Baloch, was being forcibly returned to Quetta in a bus by law enforcement authorities in Islamabad.

As women swarmed her bus window to try and film her pleas, Gulzadi defiantly, succinctly and persuasively asserted: “We want nothing from Pakistan, nothing at all. We just need our loved ones back who have been forcibly disappeared.”

The journalist and author Mohammed Hanif retweeted the video of Gulzadi with the following statement: “In protest, returning my Sitara-i-Imtiaz given to me by a state that continues to abduct and torture Baloch citizens. Journalists of my generation have seen Sammi Baloch and Mahrang Baloch grow up in protest camps. Ashamed to witness a new generation being denied basic dignity.”

Hailing from the town of Mach in Balochistan’s Bolan district, Gulzadi moved to Quetta after the abduction of her brother, Wadood Satakzai. While talking to me, without me even asking her, she reveals the circumstances that led to the disappearance of her brother.

“On August 12, 2021, my brother went missing in Mach,” she tells me. “After waiting for a few months, and despite many financial issues, I started protesting in Quetta for his release. During my struggle for his release, I encountered several Baloch families who also had their loved ones missing. I found that my story was echoed in their stories. That is why I protest from the platform of the BYC for the Baloch who are missing, even though my brother was released on February 8, 2022.”

According to her, Balochistan has been turned into a security zone, where the males are picked up without any reason whatsoever, which is why women and girls, such as her, have to come to the forefront and ask for justice.

During her school days back in Mach, Gulzadi used to take part in speech and debating competitions. She says that foundation is what gave her the confidence to speak in front of Baloch protestors and command an audience. But her struggle is not limited to the spoken word only.

“I also write poetry,” she says, “in the Brahui language. These writings of mine mostly revolve around poetry of resistance, missing persons, and are against the sardari [tribal] system.”

A rally of the BYC held in Noshki on August 12, 2024: thousands of Baloch men and women look upon the leaders of the BYC as representatives of their collective cause

BEYOND THE MISSING PERSONS ISSUE

Mahrang, Sammi, and Gulzadi, like many other Baloch women, are of the opinion that they came out on to the streets in protest simply because they had no other choice. Since the men of their families had gone missing, the women had to take up the responsibility of fighting for their release.

Mahrang and Sammi acknowledge that the early conversations about politics that they were privy to in their households gave them the necessary acumen at an early age to be able to take a strong stand on political and social issues. Today, thousands of Baloch men and women now look upon the leaders of the BYC as representatives of their collective cause.

Having gone over Mahrang’s recent speeches, it is evident that she has been increasingly talking in expansive terms about ‘the people’. Even during her conversation with me, she keeps using the phrase “Baloch awaam [populace]”, while talking about myriad issues that they are confronted with. The way Mahrang sees it, the Baloch awaam backs the BYC because it has a clear objective.

“The Baloch awaam trusts the BYC because it has got a programme,” she tells me. “Based on that programme, the genuine issues the Baloch are facing are being highlighted.”

But Mahrang and the others know that their cause has to address the many issues in the region that extend beyond that of missing persons. According to Mahrang, “Besides the missing persons cases, the BYC also talks about how the Baloch are denied access to their own resources. We have also spoken against the Reko Diq deal, which has been approved against the will of the Baloch people, and other such projects, such as the Saindak project.”

There is no denying that the work these women have done, and continue to do, is inspiring many — perhaps even generations to come. While working on this story, I came across a relative who has named her second daughter Sammi, while another relative of mine has recently named her daughter Mahrang. Even though these individuals have nothing to do with politics, this gesture on their part is testament to the widespread appeal that the women of the BYC have managed to amass.

One day, while eating breakfast, I saw that my Baloch housemaid was watching Mahrang’s speeches on Facebook. “So,” I asked her, “is she your leader?” She responded, with her eyes still glued to the video: “If Mahrang is not our leader, then who is?”

The writer is a staff member based in Quetta

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 8th, 2024

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Baloch activists highlight Pakistan's atrocities on international stage

ANI
25 May 2024, 

Oslo [Norway], May 25 (ANI): The Norway chapter of Pen International, an organization of social activists involved in the protection of freedom of speech organised a discussion amongst activists from across the world in Oslo Norway, wherein prominent Baloch leader, Mahrang Baloch highlighted the ongoing issue of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan.

In her statement, the Baloch leader highlighted that during the last two decades, in the name of counter-insurgency operations and peace, a large number of people have been forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces.

"The area I belong to has been reeling from violence and insurgencies for the last seven decades. During these last two decades, in the name of counter-insurgency operations and peace, a large number of young men, mostly students, engineers, doctors, political activists, and journalists have been forcibly disappeared by Pakistani security agencies," she said.

She further stressed that these people have been detained in detention centres, and tortured, and their families didn't know about their whereabouts.

"Not for days, but for years, even though there are cases that have been enforcedly disappeared for decades. And the family didn't know that their beloved ones were alive or dead," Baloch added.

Mahrang Baloch emphasised that even today, it has been practised by fascist states, the oppressive states like Pakistan.

She further added, "Still today, it's been practised by the fascist states, by the oppressive states like Pakistan. During these last two decades, in the name of counter-insurgency operations and peace, many of our assets have forcibly disappeared. And then their mutilated bodies were found in Balochistan. They were being killed in detention centres."Baloch said that the exact number of disappeared is unknown, as the state has not allowed international groups such as the United Nations or Amnesty International to investigate the nature of this human tragedy.

"But when local activists' rights groups tried to document the number or raise their voices, they themselves disappeared. It is very difficult to tell these stories of victims of forced disappearances," she said.

While sharing her own experience of suffering at the hands of the Pakistani administration Baloch said, "I myself am a victim. My own father was disappeared by agents of Pakistani state in 2009. He was killed and his bullet-ridden body was found in 2011. When I was at 10th standard that was the day when my result was announced. That day, I found the body of my father, my younger brother disappeared when I was doing my graduation in medicine in 2017."She highlighted that she campaigned and launched rallies for him in Balochistan, adding that after three months he was released.

"But my case is not exceptional. There are worse cases than this in Balochistan. Even though there are victims and there are families where no one is left to tell their stories. And even though there are villages that have been destroyed and no one is here to tell their stories."In her statement, she also said that there are hundreds of children, teenagers and young people whose fathers, uncles or brothers have been missing for weeks, months and in some of the worst cases years.

"They do not know whether they are alive or not. Together with these youngsters, the majority of whom are women. I have been campaigning and pressing the Pakistan Supreme Court, Parliament and security forces to release those who have disappeared or at least present them before a court if they have committed any crime," she said.

Baloch added that the Pakistani authorities instead of addressing these issues, have resorted to violence.

She also mentioned the long march which failed due to the ignorance and ill-treatment of the Pakistani administration.

"I marched more than 1600 km in December for over a month and arrived in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan on a cold evening with children and women. We were beaten, charged, humiliated and tortured by police. The controlled media was used to run a malicious campaign against us. On social media, we were abused and trolled by state accounts," she said.

Stressing that the journalists were intimidated and stopped from giving the media coverage, Baloch said that the powerful intelligence agencies of Pakistan forced the people not to respond to the peaceful movement.

"The media ignored us through our protests. Scams were sent just outside the National Press Club of Islamabad. And there was no coverage of this peaceful movement. We have been sitting there for more than one month," she said.

Baloch further expressed hope and said that they are hopeful because those who are behind this violence and those who are using violence, are less in number.

"Maybe they have the power to rule us. But those who believe in humanity, who believe in peace, we are large in number," she added. (ANI)

Prominent Baloch activists narrate horrors of the Baloch community in Pakistan

Story by ANI 

A virtual session by human rights activists of Baloch community (Photo/ANI)© Provided by Asian News International (ANI)

London[UK], (ANI): Several prominent Baloch human rights activists have voiced their concerns over the atrocities faced by the Baloch community in Pakistan over the last two decades. They have called upon politicians and other leaders to prioritise the civil rights of this oppressed community.

The event, which aimed to shed light on the plight of the Baloch community globally, witnessed the participation of over 500 individuals from around the world. This diverse group included journalists, representatives from media organizations, members of the United Kingdom government, intellectuals, and individuals belonging to the Baloch community.

Hosted by the UK's Labour Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington, John McDonnell, the event held on Friday was intended to bring attention to the severe hardships endured by the Baloch people on the international stage.

During the online session, prominent Baloch rights activist Mahrang Baloch detailed the numerous atrocities faced by the Baloch people. She revealed that she, too, had been a victim of enforced disappearances, recounting the abduction of her father when she was just 14 years old. He was later imprisoned on baseless accusations, becoming one of many Balochis who have been forcibly abducted and killed by Pakistan's law enforcement agencies.

She further said, "Balochistan has been facing a systematic genocide for the last 76 years. And, for the last two decades, every Baloch individual has been under the target of state atrocities. It is to create an atmosphere of fear and control every person's rights. Then came a time when the Baloch people were abducted then mutilated and killed by the security agencies and their bodies were thrown. Later on, mass graves were discovered in Balochistan, there are investigative reports by journalists that multiple mass graves exist in Balochistan, where the victims of these atrocities are buried."

Furthermore, Mahrang also added that, Pakistan's judiciary also has failed to address this issue, and at times has taken the side of Pakistan's military and state often safeguarding them by stating that the military and law enforcement agencies have nothing to do with those mass graves. Henceforth, none of these bodies have been identified and the relatives of these people still don't know the whereabouts of their relatives.

The recent long march which went through various cities of Balochistan and was welcomed by the local people finally witnessed the participation of thousands of Balochis.

The Baloch activist while referring to the same event said, "This movement actually witnesses and exposes, the whole setup of the Pakistani state."

Referring to the abduction of an individual named Balash, Mahrang narrated that he was first abducted and later on was presented in the court, but was ordered by the judiciary to a 10-day long remand but was killed during his remand after claiming he as a terrorist.

"Here we can see that we have exposed all of the state institutions, we know that one institution is behind the human rights violations but all other institutions are supporting them. During our movement, more than 50 individuals were abducted, and even during the 2024 Pakistan General Elections, these abductions have continued. During the entire movement, numerous mothers were on the streets for their sons. As they have abducted people who are over the age of 60 and are farmers earning bread for their families," Mahrang added.

She also added that "even the attorney general has given a verdict on January 10th this year ordering that no one must be abducted after that day but still the abductions have continued. It is evident that the state institutions are incompetent and incapable of providing basic rights to the Baloch community, which have been written in the constitution".

Sabiha Baloch, another activist specialising in students' rights present at the virtual discussion, while highlighting the challenges for the Baloch community stated that "this land produces resources worth trillions of dollars but the education rate is merely 23 percent. All small schools in Balochistan have been occupied by the army. Even after having millions of students, there are four universities, and even in those universities, the Baloch are so pushed back that they cannot afford education there. And why we are speaking if you ask, it is now a question of survival. we now have to speak as we are facing the worst human rights violations. The Baloch people are facing a lawless society. And all the institutions who are there in Balochistan are supporting Pakistan to continue this lawlessness and genocide".

She also stated, "No one is ready to listen to us, just because a wall is has been created around us made of fear, pseudo politicians and leaders. These leaders may be representing us but don't belong to our society. And those who want to talk about the real situation and rights of the Baloch people are abducted and threatened. This has happened so much that now we have become voiceless for last two decades."

Jamal Baloch, the third Baloch activist who participated in the virtual discussion said, "When a person is picked, his status of being a human is dropped at the very moment. He no longer remains a human for the law enforcement agencies who are involved in the person's disappearance. During my abduction by the Pakistani forces, they tortured me and after several tortures, I was released. During the torture, they were continuously trying to pressure me to give them some information of people who are engaged in politics. The condition of my release from them was, that I work for them and will never share what had happened to me in the prison. The same is with every single abducted Baloch individual."

"That place is unbearable, people may just be hearing abduction numbers from Balochistan, as a report from PAANK (Pakistani Human Rights Organisation) stated that in 2 years 2000 people were abducted which totals to around 3 people a day. It may be just a number for some people but even today I see images of what these people may be facing," Jamal added.

Furthermore, he said, "How systematically they have practiced this crime in Pakistan, they have convinced their people that it is justifiable to abduct anyone. That is why you will never hear from Pakistani journalists, Pakistani parliamentarians, and the common people raising their voices against these crimes. People's mindsets are already controlled, as they have molded the issue, and built the perspective and manipulated, to believe that those who are disappeared must deserve this, as they are actually against the state, although that is not the case".

Balochistan, constituting 43.6 percent of Pakistan's total area, stands as the country's largest province. Abundant in natural resources such as gold, copper, oil, and natural gas, it also boasts a 770km (478-mile) coastline housing the strategically significant Gwadar Port, a key component of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Despite its wealth in resources, Balochistan remains the most economically deprived province in Pakistan. The Baloch ethnic group, forming one-third of the population, has faced prolonged marginalization due to discriminatory policies of the Pakistani government. This history of marginalization has been met with persistent armed resistance. 

(ANI)

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info)

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Mahrang Baloch urges united front against Pakistan’s oppression of Baloch people

IT'S A NATION NOT A PROVINCE

ANI
18 July, 2024

Baloch leader Mahrang Baloch (Photo credits: X/@MahrangBaloch)

Gwadar [Pakistan], July 18 (ANI): Prominent Baloch rights activist Maharang Baloch urged the Baloch community to gather in Gwadar on July 28 for the Baloch National Gathering (Baloch Raaji Muchi) to demonstrate the unity and strong spirit of the Baloch people, The Balochistan Post reported.

Announced earlier this month, the Baloch National Gathering (BNG) is intended to unite the Baloch community against the atrocities inflicted by Pakistan, including, enforced disappearances, torture, targeted killings; and economic exploitation.

Aiming to raise awareness of the meeting, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has been organising awareness campaigns in several parts of Balochistan, namely the Sariab and Hudda areas of Quetta district and the Killi Qadirabad area of Noshki district in Balochistan, The Balochistan Post reported

However, one of these awareness meetings was attacked in the Khuzdar area of Balochistan this week.

Reportedly, the Pakistani forces had detained several young Baloch women on the sidelines of the pamphlet distribution campaign for the BNG.

The detentions of these women were orchestrated in a violent attack by Frontier Corps (FC) personnel.

Later, the Baloch community expressed their dissent and accused the Pakistani state of escalating its repression of Baloch.

According to the BYC, the arrests took place on Khand Road in Khuzdar city as the women were distributing pamphlets promoting the Baloch National Gathering.

Among those detained are Saira Baloch, the sister of forcibly disappeared individuals Asif and Rasheed, and Sadia Baloch, the sister of Salman.

Mahrang Baloch, a prominent Baloch activist, condemned the detentions in a scathing post on ‘X’.

“This act is akin to pouring oil on a fire. The incompetent rulers and institutions of this state have no idea what they are doing,” she wrote. Mahrang warned that if Saira, Sadia, and the other detained women are not released immediately, “the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) will soon announce its next course of action.”

Local sources confirmed that the detained women are being transported in FC vehicles to an undisclosed location. This development has led to widespread protests in Khuzdar, with reports of the Pakistani forces using gunfire to disperse the demonstrators.

Human rights organisations and activists have vehemently condemned these actions.

The Human Rights Department of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), PAANK, denounced the detentions in a statement on ‘X’.

“Pakistani forces have surrounded Saira Baloch and other family members of forcibly disappeared individuals, illegally detaining several women,” the statement read. “PAANK condemns these actions and calls for their immediate release. Such abuses must not be tolerated.”

Moreover, the BYC has urgently appealed to international human rights organisations to intervene and advocate for the immediate release of the detained women.

The situation underscores a troubling trend of increased repression against Baloch activists and peaceful demonstrators in Balochistan, as reported by The Balochistan Post. (ANI)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

 

BALOCHISTAN IS A NATION

Dispelling Myths: Recognizing The True Baloch Identity Amidst Misconceptions – OpEd

Baluchistan, Pakistan. Credit: VOA

 September 14, 2024  0 Comments

By Sehrish Khan

The heart cries tears of blood over the situation in Balochistan. In 2006, an American Colonel Ralph Peter presented a new map of the region titled “Blood Borders” in the American Defense Journal, which is considered the world’s largest defense magazine, showing Balochistan separated from Pakistan.

It was and this is the real agenda of the colonial forces, for the fulfillment of which brutal terrorists and separatist elements are burning Balochistan in the fire of terrorism with their successive heinous incidents. To deal with these conspiracies of the enemy, the top military and civil leadership in the Apex Committee meeting decided to root out terrorism from Balochistan. Undoubtedly, it is the sincere determination of the Pakistan Army that they are offering daily sacrifices of their lives for the motherland.

It is a moment of thought that Balochistan has been made a Battle Ground. Indian intelligence agency is sponsoring sabotage in Balochistan. In Balochistan, RAW along with BLA fueled Baloch nationalism. Baloch Liberation Army, Baloch Liberation Front, Baloch Liberation Organization and Lashkar-e Balochistan are gritty for independent Balochistan. Five districts of Balochistan, Sibi, Khuzdar, Turbat, Quetta and Dera Bugti are severely affected by the killings of these organizations. In the name of nationalism, Baloch Liberation Army is involved in other subversive activities including target killing, firing on trains, explosions, blowing up railway tracks and blowing up gas pipelines in these districts.

According to sources, there are three camps of TTP in Kabul and two training camps of BLA in Jalalabad which are running under the patronage of RAW. More than 400 BLA terrorists are receiving training in these camps and are targeting Chinese citizens in Pakistan at the behest of their foreign masters, they have advanced weapons and communication systems. It was also revealed that banned organizations also receive a share of the proceeds from the smuggling of Iranian oil in Balochistan. Many banned Baloch armed organizations including Baloch Liberation Army, Baloch Liberation Front are directly involved in oil smuggling. BLA has also been involved in gang wars in Karachi. BLA had started terrorist activities in Pakistan on India’s behalf, in return for these activities, RAW provides arms, ammunition and financial support to the terrorists. 

However, the ongoing skirmish in Balochistan has led to widespread misconceptions about the Baloch people. One of the most damaging of these misconceptions is the tendency to equate the entire Baloch community with terrorism. This is not only a gross oversimplification but also an injustice to the vast majority of Baloch citizens who are loyal, peace-loving Pakistanis. It is essential to distinguish between a group of insurgents and the larger Baloch population, who have made significant contributions to Pakistan’s development and prosperity.

The Baloch people, one of the major ethnic groups in Pakistan, have a rich cultural heritage and a deep sense of pride in their identity. Historically, the Baloch have played a crucial role in the formation of Pakistan, contributing to its political, social, and economic development. The contributions of the Baloch community are evident in their active participation in Pakistan’s armed forces, where many Baloch soldiers have served with distinction, defending the nation’s borders. The insurgents, who engage in acts of terrorism, do not represent the Baloch people or their aspirations.

Unfortunately, the actions of these few have led to a dangerous narrative that paints the entire Baloch community with the same brush. It alienates the Baloch people, who are already facing socio-economic challenges and undermines their contributions to the country. Labeling an entire ethnic group as terrorists based on the actions of a few insurgents is a disservice to the nation and an insult to the Baloch citizens who have sacrificed so much for Pakistan.

To overcome this narrative, the media and educational institutions have a role to play in dispelling myths about the Baloch people. By highlighting the positive contributions of Baloch citizens and promoting their rich cultural heritage, these institutions can help build a more inclusive and united Pakistan.

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Sehrish Khan

Sehrish Khan is a freelancer and media activist. She writes on political developments 

and security issues with special focus on South Asia and the region.