Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Before Balochi Insurgents, Imran Khan Needs To Talk To Army – OpEd
By Nilesh Kunwar
It’s no secret that the Pakistan army has been brutalizing and terrorizing the people of Balochistan ever since it illegally occupied this region in 1948. Those who think otherwise, just need google search “kill and dump policy” and perusal of the top 20 results have one thing in common- they all pertain to the Pakistan army’s vicious role in Balochistan due to which Rawalpindi owns exclusive copyright of this terrifying phrase. Hence, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s willingness to talk with Baloch insurgents is indeed a welcome step that was long overdue.
Besides achieving political stability and substantial economic advantages that would accrue if dialogue resolves this long-festering issue, the biggest takeaway would be the end of a humongous human tragedy of gargantuan proportions. An amicable settlement would also pave way for the oppressed Balochis to start re-living a dignified life without the ever-looming fear of being ‘snatched’ by Pakistani security forces and ending up as battered corpses dumped by the roadside or secretly buried in mass graves. It will hopefully also end the exploitation of the region’s natural resources and recompense locals by using part of the income from such commercial activity for development of Balochistan.
However, resolving Balochistan won’t be an easy task because for this Khan would muster the courage to accept the reality that over the years, the Pakistan army’s medieval-era strategy of suppressing dissent with brute force has deeply lacerated the Balochi psyche and is the root cause of the problem. His surreal comment that “It is possible that they [Balochis] have grievances,” smacks of casualness and as such it doesn’t inspire much confidence.” Moreover, by adding that “India [can] use them [Baloch insurgents] to spread anarchy,” Khan has given a clear indication that just like his predecessors, he too will take the convenient option of remaining in a blissful state of denial by blaming New Delhi for this more than seven-decade-old crisis.
With the Pakistan army enforcing strict access control into Balochistan and Islamabad imposing stringent censorship on reporting incidents of human rights excesses by security forces and intelligence agencies, the world remains largely ignorant regarding the institutionalized dehumanization of Balochis by the Pakistan army and its proxies. However, credible information of incidents involving gross human rights violations keeps leaking out and is reported by various international rights organizations. However, despite documented evidence of human rights abuses by Pakistan’s security forces in Balochistan, the world, unfortunately, turns Nelson’s eye to these brazen crimes against humanity.
Whereas there’s no dearth of incidents of enforced disappearance in Balochistan, but just one example is enough to illustrate how Rawalpindi has not only mastered the macabre art of forcibly disappearing Balochis and secretly burying them into mass graves, but also its expertise in sabotaging the investigation. Most importantly, it reveals how Rawalpindi ‘fixes’ judicial inquires so that security forces get a ‘clean chit. This illustrative example is regarding an incident that happened in the Khuzdar district seven years ago.
Some geography enthusiasts may recall that Khuzdar district takes its name from a township which is the third-largest city of Balochistan. A few history buffs may also recollect that Khuzdar was the capital of the erstwhile Brahui kingdom of Makran. Since Brahui are the only Dravidian-speaking population not only in Balochistan but entire Pakistan, so, Khuzdar may also evince the interest of ethnologists. However, very few would recollect that in 2014, three mass graves were discovered in the Total area of Khuzdar district.
In its official statement [Document ID- AHRC-STM-023-2014], Asian Human Rights Commission [AHRC] confirmed that a total of 103 human remains had been found buried in these graves. The report goes on to reveal that “Pakistani military forces stopped the local people from unearthing the mass graves and took control of the area. Now, no one is allowed access to the location except military personnel.” While the army’s decision to stop locals from digging up these mass graves may be to preserve forensic evidence and is thus understandable, why were rights organisations and independent media persons were denied access to this site is beyond comprehension- unless the army dis so to conceal something from the public.
Locals said that 169 corpses had been found in the Total mass graves but due to strict access control, there was no way any impartial agency could verify this claim. So much so, that even though the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan [HRCP], is an autonomous body mandated to investigate incidents of human rights violations, HRCP Chairperson Zohra Yusuf revealed that its fact-finding team wasn’t allowed to visit the mass graves site “despite several written and verbal requests.”
Perhaps that’s why AHRC had demanded an UN-led inquiry stating that “It must be pointed out that the people of Pakistan do not expect any proper and transparent investigation from their government and the security agencies as they themselves are involved in the killings, enforced disappearances and the concealment of the crimes. The importance of a UN report, therefore, cannot be over-emphasized.”
However, this didn’t happen and, in the end, while the number of corpses found varied from 103 to 169, Pakistani authorities surprised everyone by claiming that the mass graves contained the mortal remains of only 17 persons, which the HRCP chairperson bluntly disputed by saying “The residents of Khuzdar have told us that the number of dead bodies uncovered is much higher than 15”! So, could there be a possible correlation between the Pakistan army placing the Total mass graves site off-limits to visitors and the number of corpses there suddenly dropping from three digits to just 17?
What followed was even weirder. A judicial commission headed by Justice Noor Muhammad Maskanzai of Balochistan High Court concluded that “The commission recorded the statements of 38 witnesses. No one recorded a statement against the army, secret agencies, and the government. They did not accuse them of being involved in this heinous crime. On the contrary, there is enough evidence to suggest that the army, spy agencies, and the government were not involved in this incident.”
Under normal circumstances, it would be improper to doubt the competence or integrity of a judicial commission, but in this case, there are two good reasons for doing so. One, it’s apparent that the Pakistan army and intelligence agencies were given a clean-chit only because “No one recorded a statement against the army, secret agencies, and the government.” Two, while the commission mentioned that “there is enough evidence to suggest that the army, spy agencies, and the government were not involved in this incident,” details of the same haven’t been revealed in the inquiry report. No wonder the HRCP chairperson dismissed the findings of the commission, saying that it was “just another” judicial report!
Some feel that the Khuzdar mass graves incident relates to 2014 and since then things have improved. However, such persons need to think again, because just two years ago, the then Director-General [DG] of Pakistan army’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations [ISPR] Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor actually went as far as accepting and even justifying enforced disappearances. When asked by senior journalist Hamid Mir of Geo TV about enforced disappearances in Balochistan, DGISPR replied, “We don’t want any person to go missing but where there is a war, you have to do a number of [undesirable] things. It is said that everything is fair in love and war. War is ruthless”!
When the Pakistan army considers itself to be at “war” its own countrymen in Balochistan, before speaking to Baloch insurgents it is all the more imperative for Prime Minister Imran Khan to first talk with Rawalpindi. Needless to say, for any meaningful dialogue, Pakistan army has to end its reign of terror in Balochistan – because Islamabad talking peace while Rawalpindi continues disappearing Balochi people just doesn’t make any sense at all.
https://www.eurasiareview.com/13072021-before-balochi-insurgents-imran-khan-needs-to-talk-to-army-oped/
#Pakistan's Another attempt of deception
By Rindani Gutt
Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan announced his carrot initiative yesterday in Gwadar coastal city saying that he is considering talking with the “Baloch insurgents” in Balochistan, “the government would pay attention to Balochistan because when the province progressed and there was peace, Balochistan’s people would “understand that Pakistan is also theirs. And in line with PM’s announcement, Fawad Chaudhary, the Federal Minister for Information said that they’re going to determine the agenda for dialogue with Baloch nationalists added that they have also broken the Indian network in Balochistan with great success”.
Both Imran Khan and his media minister Fawad Chaudary say that “India is involved in Balochistan’s unrest”. In the same breath, they also say that Baloch people are aggrieved because previous governments neglected Balochistan. However, both have failed to tell Baloch and the world as well who should be blamed for Balochistan’s insurgency – India for its involvement or the Pakistani state for neglecting Balochistan?
At the same time, Army Chief of Pakistan Gen Qamar thundered with “stick” on Tuesday during a so-called National Workshop Balochistan held at the General Headquarters of Pakistan army saying that “security forces would remain steadfast to defeat elements against the province’s stability while terming “peace and prosperity in Balochistan as “the bedrock of Pakistan’s progress”.
The bedrock of Pakistan’s progress in Balochistan is the shabby condition of Turbat city of Balochistan where the Pakistan Navy’s second Headquarters are located. This city of Turbat is also divisional headquarters of three big districts including Gwadar, Kech and Punjgor districts inhabited by 2.5 million people. Despite being the second largest city of Balochistan after Quetta, Turbat city, apart from having a borrowed electricity supply from Iran which now cut off, has no sewerage system, no clean water system, no proper hospital, no internet system and municipality service!
So, what made Imran Khan announce such a step to talk with Baloch insurgents? If we see all these hallow announcements of Imran Khan in the context of current geopolitics of the region and the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, we find that Pakistan military establishment is trying to ward off or pre-empt the possible foreign interventions in occupied Balochistan by making it appear that Balochistan’s insurgency is a local issue and it can be resolved by internal efforts. Besides that, they’ll also attempt to draw a wedge between pro-freedom leaders of different organizations. Anwer Sajjidi, the chief editor of Inthekhab Akhbar, has already started that Kare –Khair- the noble task.
There is no buyer of Imran Khan’s offer of dialogue among Baloch insurgents, even those Baloch who’re still sticking with Pakistani politics for democratic rights don’t take seriously Imran Khan’s words for meaningful dialogue, let alone the armed insurgents who have taken on a gigantic task of dislodging Pakistan army from Balochistan and restore the lost sovereignty of the Baloch nation. They believe that the current government of Imran Khan is a selected stooge of a powerful army and used for eye washing and deception
The relationship between Pakistan and Baloch pro-independent forces is fraught with distrust. Pakistani rulers – always dominated by Punjabi army generals – have always sought to deceive, intimidate and subjugate Baloch patriots into submission one way or another over the last 73 years; while the pro independent Baloch forces resisting all Pakistani attempts of deception, intimidation and subjugation have never relented in their attempts to restore their lost sovereignty over their homeland Balochistan.
Those Baloch who several times explored the democratic avenue of struggle with public mandates for equal status in the federal system within Pakistani framework after losing Balochistan’s independence to Pakistani aggression, miserably exhausted parliamentary character of politics in the face of intrigues of dominant Punjabi ultra-nationalism and concluded that Pakistani rulers can only understand the language of ‘power of power’, so they picked up arms and take to the rigid mountains of Balochistan for resistance.
The current indigenous Baloch armed Insurgency, for the liberation of Balochistan, initiated by Hyrbyair Marri in 1996, has registered the fact that this insurgency has the general public support, otherwise, given the Pakistan army’s disproportionate aggression against the Baloch public in the form of collective punishment in a blanket media blackout, it would have vanished away a long time ago.
The Baloch insurgents from rigid mountains of Kohlu Kahan to far plunged Mand tehsil have engaged almost 300,000 Pakistan army troops and paramilitary forces in the vast terrace of Balochistan for prolonged guerrilla warfare for almost 23 years. This war has over-stretched Pakistani forces across Balochistan which’s visible signs show that Pakistani forces’ war morale is fairly low in occupied Balochistan. A video clip of a recent attack on the Pakistan army shows how demoralized Pakistan army troops are when the Baloch insurgents run over a mountain top army outpost and capture it without any resistance from the Pakistani army! So it’s fair to say that Baloch patriots are still not in a hurry to rush for a fruitless dialogue with Pakistani rulers as the Baloch insurgents are in a better position for sustaining their struggle for independence of their motherland, Balochistan.
https://balochwarna.com/2021/07/07/another-attempt-of-deception/
Pakistan seizes textbook for printing Malala’s picture in list of important personalities
The Punjab Curriculum & Textbook Board also confiscated a book published by Oxford University Press for printing Malala's picture alongside that of military officer Maj Aziz Bhatti.
https://theprint.in/world/pakistan-seizes-textbook-for-printing-malalas-picture-in-list-of-important-personalities/695346/
Bilawal Bhutto will not go to Washington during US visit: top PPP leader
Bhutto arrived in New York today after he departed for the country on Sunday. His visit generated accusations from the PTI that the PPP leader was seeking a "backdoor deal" from Washington.
The PPP had shot down the allegations, lashing out at the "puppet government" for creating a hue and cry over the PPP leader's personal visit.
After landing in New York, the PPP chairperson refused to speak to the media, saying he is on a "personal visit" to the US.
"When I come here next, in September, I will then speak to the press," he said.
"Bilawal Bhutto will not go to Washington during his visit," clarified PPP-USA President Khalid Awan.
The PPP responded back to Gill's statements, accusing the "puppet government" of being worried about Bhutto's visit for no reason.
"Fawad Chaudhry, Shahbaz Gill and Farrukh Habib are also worried that their leader Imran Khan cannot go to the US without diplomatic immunity because of pending cases in the USA's courts,” PPP Parliamentarians’ Secretary Shazia Marri had said in response to Gill's press conference.
Marri had said Bhutto had hope in the strength in the people of Pakistan and it has been proven how General Elections 2018 were stolen from the PPP by creating obstacles in the party's path.
She had said that it is also on record that those who stole the PPP's mandate have been admitting that opponents of the PPP have been brought to power through rigging in elections.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/359595-bilawal-bhutto-will-not-visit-washington-during-us-visit-ppp