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After shelling of Pakistani gunship helicopters on civilian population i...

 

By Shahdad Baloch
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” I believe Hyrbyair Marri Baloch is among the one to whom greatness has been thrust upon.

Self-made men often have to overcome great obstacles to achieve their national objectives. He spent most of his early adolescence with his wretched people in Afghanistan where he experienced their pain and sufferings. During his school vocations instead of going elsewhere he preferred mostly to visit the Baloch refugees in Helmand (Afghanistan) where he witnessed the sufferings of his victimized Baloch people, victims of Pakistani cruelty. His two elder brothers disliked his closeness with the Baloch refugees in Afghanistan but their behaviour didn’t hamper his ambition to visit his poor people and be with them in most difficult times.

Baloch nation, its sufferings and deprivations are the core subject for him to ponder on. Pakistani army and agencies tried a lot to distract his keenness towards Baloch nation. Pakistan’s anti Hyrbyair propagandas and their attempts to use carrot and stick could neither bribe nor hamper his love and dedication towards Balochistan and Baloch people. Today he is recognised as architect of current freedom movement in Balochistan.

Born on 4 august 1968 in Quetta Balochistan, at Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri’s house, he studied at Quetta Grammar School. He continued his studies in Kabul (Afghanistan) when he moved there along with his family in 1980s. He went to Russia for further studies where he studied journalism. During this time he made frequent visits to Baloch refugee camp in Helmand Afghanistan and his ties grew with his own people. This was a new chapter of life for him. He used to listen to the stories of Baloch Veterans of 70s war and the difficulties they had faced.

He returned from Afghanistan in 1992 and started working for Baloch freedom struggle. He along with his ideological and likeminded friends organised study circles to educate Baloch youth about their right to independence. He took part in Balochistan Assembly elections in 1997 and won the votes with overwhelming majority. He then became the minister of C&W ‘Communication and Work’. He was the youngest and first Baloch Member of Parliament and minister who declined to pledge loyalty to Pakistan. Instead of the words ‘I shall remain loyal to Pakistan’ he vowed “I shall remain loyal to my Nation”. Mr. Marri was also the first Baloch minister to protest against conducting nuclear tests in Balochistan in May, 1998.

In 1999 he went to Europe for vacations, he was still abroad when Musharraf’s government implicated him, his father Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri and brothers in murder case of Justice Nawaz Marri who was killed by unknown persons, presumably by Pakistani intelligence agencies, on 7, January, 2000. Hyrbyair Marri stayed in London and effectively promoted the Baloch national freedom movement in accordance with the requirements of contemporary world.

In December, 2007, Mr Marri along with Faiz Baluch was arrested in London, United Kingdom on behest of Pakistani government and on request of General Parves Musharraf. Prior to his arrest there were reports in British media that Pakistan and Britain wanted to agree on a swap deal under which Pakistan would hand over Rahid Rauf (a man wanted for a murder case in UK and accused of planning to blow up of transatlantic airlines) to UK and in return Britain would extradite Baloch leaders including Hyrbyair Marri. However, in reality Pakistan wanted to silence Mr Marri because he was exposing the atrocities of Pakistani state and its army against the people of Balochistan. Pakistan was afraid because this young man has internationalised the Baloch freedom movement and because of his tireless efforts the world organisations and international community was becoming aware of Pakistani state barbarism in Balochistan.

He was imprisoned for more than four months and then released on bail under strict conditions including he had to wear a tag at all times, he was not allowed to make phone calls to Balochistan, he was not allowed to speak to media and he was not allowed to attend any meetings about Balochistan. This ordeal continued for almost one year before he was put on trial which continued for around two months where he eloquently explained the problem of Balochistan and successfully persuaded an ordinary British jury about Pakistani state’s crimes against humanity against Baloch people. The jury of British men and women saw through his cause and acquitted him of three charges whereas the CPS later withdrew the remaining charges against him as there was no evidence. Hence he was set free as a dignified Baloch leader and human rights activist. After one year of ordeal Sine his acquittal he has continuously been advocating for the Baloch freedom movement.

Hyrbyair Marri is a great statesman, diplomat and politician. At public events he delivers his speeches with wisdom and maturity. He weighs his words well before he speaks them out. Moreover, he disclaimed himself as prince or Sardar. Despite belonging to the Sardar’s family, he says he is an activist of Baloch freedom movement and he is not better than any ordinary Baloch who struggles for Baloch national freedom. His humbleness, honesty and straightforwardness are his strength. He has not ever been afraid of enemy's strength and power, wanting to win he always rightly estimate occupier strength and he knows his nations resolve and will power for an independent state. His eyes and mind are always fixed on the ground to his struggling nation and defenders of his motherland.

One of his revolutionary steps is the formulation of "BALOCHISTAN LIBERATION CHARTER" a political road map for free Balochistan. Hyrbyair Marri and his friends believe that Baloch nation needs a written pledge from their leaders which they say is the Balochistan Liberation Charter. They presented the Charter for feedbacks and improvement to leader of BRP Mr Brahumdagh Bugti, Dr Allah Nazar Baluch, Khan Suleman Dawood Baloch, BSO-Azad, BNM, BNM (Shaheed Ghulam Mohammad), BNP leader Akhtar Mengal, Baloch Salvation Front, Baloch Raaji Zrombesh, Balochistan Peoples Party and other organisations inside and outside Balochistan.

His true comrades are those who struggle for Balochistan's independence; he called his own brother Jangaiz Marri as one of those who have sided with the enemies of Baloch and are working against Baloch national interest. He gives ideological relations priority over blood relations and his truism lays in the fact that he loves those who sacrificed their lives for Free Balochistan and those who sincerely struggle for Baloch national liberation. He has successfully drawn the attention of international community towards atrocity of Pakistan in Balochistan. Due to his extraordinary advocacy of Baloch cause, Pakistan considers him a headache that is why on several occasion Pakistan tried to mislead the international community in their endeavour to get Marri deported so that they could imprison torture and kill him like thousands of other Baloch leaders and activists.

Two other well-known names in Balochistan freedom struggle are of Dr Allah Nazar Baloch and Brahumdagh Bugti who have had close proximity with Hyrbyair Marri. On several occasions Hyrbyair Marri and his friends have supported them and worked closely with them in term of experience and stragies, diplomacy and brought consciousness in them regarding changing world order and its growing favour towards Balochistan freedom. The recent example of which is the formulation of “BALOCHISTAN LIBERATION CHARTER” and presenting it to all stake holders for their suggestions and feedbacks to improve it further and make it a national document which could unite all stake holders before the world with a clear political road map in their possession.

Sine 1990s Hyrbyair and his comrades have been actively galvanising the Baloch nation from Kohlu to Mashky for freedom of Balochistan. Among Nawab Marri’s sons he is true follower of Khair Baksh Marri and he was a supporter of Balochistan’s independence long before the others even knew there was a movement for Balochistan’s freedom. If Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri was the architecture of Baloch freedom movement, then Hybyair is the engineer who built this strong foundation and the building designed by Nawab Marri.

However, as the ill-luck would have it, few of his comrades deviated from the broader cause of free Balochistan and internal political rifts emerged among pro-freedom stake holders. After his arrested in London and subsequent imprisonment some of his comrades mismanaged liberation struggle but still he favours negotiation on those misconducts. He wants to address the internal political rifts so that all stake holders can unite and work for the freedom of Balochistan instead of wasting time and energy on blaming each other. He is man of principles who believes that accountability is very first step for an organised and combined movement.

On several occasions he offered world nations to open their Embassies in Balochistan and allow the Baloch people to open embassies of Balochistan around the world. Indeed he is a grand strategist he knows well how to lead the dimensions of a movement he always speaks of geographical importance of Balochistan. Moreover, he rejects the current geographical distribution of Balochistan and considers it obsolete. His personality is unique he selects people on the basis of ideology, his political ideal is his father (late Khair Baksh Marri) and he has been influenced by his brother Hunza Marri as a young boy, he also had great working coordination with his brother late Balach Marri. His hope and ultimate sources of inspiration are Baloch nation.

Today Baloch nation has its eyes on him that how he resolve the prevailing issues in Balochistan and its independence movement. He is abiding by the responsibility on his shoulders and it’s important to bring all Baloch stakeholders on one platform. He should convince Brahumdagh Bugti, Allah Nazar, and rest of the Baloch pro-freedom parties and individuals to come forward and support the “BALOCHISTAN LIBERATION CHARTER” so that it can be presented to the international community unanimously which help Baloch national freedom movement gains more will support internationally. It is the national duty of all these pro-freedom Baloch stakeholders to bury their personal egos and grudges and adopt the charter as a national document. That is because Baloch nation is a nation of Martyrs; thousands of Baloch have sacrificed their lives for independence of Balochistan. The mothers, sisters, bothers and other family members of Baloch martyrs of liberation struggle are asking for the freedom of nation for which their sons and daughters poured their blood.

Making a human chain and holding hands in the air as a show of unity is one thing but for a great vision and having a comprehensive document like the Balochistan Liberation Charter in your hands is quite another thing. Empty handed with no clear vision the unity will remain an empty slogan and rootless cause which will soon fade away with the passage of time and becomes a disappointment for the Baloch nation.

Hyrbyair Marri: A dedicated leader of Baloch freedom struggle

زاہد بلوچ کی رہائی کے لیے ان کے خاندان کا احتجاج

نوشین عباس
بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، اسلام آباد

بلوچ ایک بلوچ کارکن، قوم پرست اور علیحدگی پسند تنظیم بلوچ سٹوڈنٹ آرگنائزیشن (آزاد) کے سربراہ ہیں۔زاہد بلوچ کو کچھ عرصے پہلے اغوا کر کے کسی نا معلوم جگہ پر لے جایا گیا ہے۔

زاہد کی بیوی زرجان بلوچ اور ان کے دو بیٹے یہ نہیں جانتے کہ وہ زاہد بلوچ کو کبھی دوبارہ دیکھ سکیں گے یا نہیں۔

زاہد بلوچ کی بیوی ایک بیٹا اور چند رشتہ دار اور ساتھی اسلام آباد میں موجود ہیں۔ ایک بڑے سے کوکاکولا بل بورڈ کے سامنے ایک گراؤنڈ میں ایک ٹینٹ ہے۔ یہ جگہ پریس کلب کے سامنے ہے اور ٹینٹ کے اندر زرجان ان کے تین سالہ بیٹا، تین رشتہ دار اور چند ساتھی بیٹھے ہیں۔

دوپہر کا وقت ہے، اور بہت گرمی ہے لیکن زرجان بھوک ہڑتال پر ہیں اور وہ یہی چاہتی ہیں کہ ان کے شوہر کو عدالت میں پیش کیا جائے تاکہ ان کو اور ان کے خاندان کو یہ تو پتا چلے کہ وہ کن حالات میں ہیں۔

زرجان کا کہنا ہے: ’میں امید سے آئی ہوں۔ ساری دنیا سے اپیل کرنا چاہتی ہوں، اگر انھوں نے کوئی گناہ کیا ہے تو اس پر مقدمہ چلایا جائے۔

’انھوں نے کوئی گناہ نہیں کیا۔ ہمارا پورا خاندان بہت غم زدہ ہے۔ تین مہینے ہو گئے ہیں اور ہمارے پاس کوئی ثبوت نہیں ہے کہ وہ کیسے ہیں۔‘

جب زاہد بلوچ کی رہائی کی امیدوں کے بارے میں پوچھا تو پاکستان یوتھ الائنس کی سربراہ نور اے مریم نے بتایا: ’صاف بات ہے ہمیں بالکل بھی امید نہیں ہے ایجنسیوں اور حکومت نے کوئی نوٹس یا ایکشن نہیں لیا۔‘

ان کا یہ بھی کہنا تھا کہ رمضان ہونے کی وجہ سے اور گرمی کی وجہ سے ان کی طبیعت خراب ہوتی جا رہی ہے اور کوئی لوگ انھیں اپنے گھر میں رکھنے سے جھجکتے ہیں کیونکہ پھر ایجنسی والے انھیں تنگ کرتے ہیں۔‘

جب زاہد بلوچ کے رشتہ دار سے یہ پوچھا کہ کیا انھیں امید ہے کہ وہ ایک دن زاہد بلوچ سے ملیں گی تو ان کا جواب تھا کہ وہ بہت امیدوں کے ساتھ خضدار سے اسلام آباد آئی ہیں۔

ان کا کہنا تھا کہ ’وہ خاندان کے سرپرست تھے اور جب سرپرست کو لے کر اٹھا لیا جائے تو خاندان اجڑ جاتا ہے، ہم بیان نہیں کر سکتے کہ ہمارے گھر کے حالات کتنے مشکل ہیں۔‘

زاہد بلوچ کی رہائی کے لیے کراچی میں بی ایس او آزاد کے کارکن لطیف جوہر نے بھی چھ ہفتے تک بھوک ہڑتال کی جسے بعد ازاں سینیئر بلوچ رہنماؤں کی اپیل پر ہڑتال ختم کیا۔

انھوں نے تنظیم کے چیئرمین زاہد بلوچ کی مبینہ جبری گمشدگی کے خلاف 22 اپریل کو تا دمِ مرگ بھوک ہڑتال کا آغاز کیا تھا۔

ادھر پاکستان انسانی حقوق کمیشن نے بلوچ سٹوڈنٹس آرگنائزیشن، آزاد کے چیئرمین زاہد بلوچ کی جبری گمشدگی پر شدید تشویش کا اظہار کیا ہے اور ان کی بحفاظت رہائی کا مطالبہ کر رکھا ہے۔ ایچ آر ایس سی پی کا کہنا ہے کہ زاہد بلوچ کو 18 مارچ کو کوئٹہ سے سادہ کپڑوں میں ملبوس سکیورٹی ایجنسیوں کے اہلکاروں نے اغوا کیا تھا۔

تنظیم کے مطابق سب سے زیادہ پریشان کن بات زاہد کی غیر تسلیم شدہ حراست ہے جسے اب کافی عرصہ ہو چکا ہے۔

سرداری راستےپرہم آزاد بھی ہوئے تو ہمارا مستقبل انکولا سے بھی بدتر ہوگا: حیربیار!!!

بلوچ راج دوست رہنماء واجہ حیربیارمری نے کہا ہے کہ نواب خیربخش مری کے وفات کے بعد نوابی کے لیے جنگیز کی دوڑ شروع ہوئی تو میں نے واضع کیا تھا کہ خیر بخش مری ایک فکر اور سوچ کا نام ہے جنہوں نے اپنی زندگی میں مری قوم کی سرداری اور نوابی سے زیادہ بلوچ قوم کی قومی تشخص کی تحفظ قومی یکجہتی اور آزادی کے لیے جدوجہد کی اور مصیبتیں اور تکالیف جھیلے تاکہ بلوچ ایک قوم کی حیثیت سے اپنی مقصد میں کامیاب ہو سکے-

نواب مری کی اسی سوچ اور فکر پر چلتے ہوئے ہزاروں بلوچ نوجوانوں اور بزرگوں نے قربانیاں دیں-

ہزاروں فرزند اب بھی دشمن کے تہہ خانوں اور ٹارچر سیلوں میں قید و بند کی صعوبتیں برداشت کر رہے ہیں-

بلوچ قوم کے مرد خواتین بچے بوڑھے سب کے سب نواب مری کے اس قومی سوچ و فکر اور نظریہ کی خاطرْ قبضہ گیر کی ہولناک وحشیانہ درندگی کا سامنہ کر رہے ہیں-

عام بلوچ اپنی قومی آزادی کی خاطر اپنا سب کچھ تیاگ چکے ہیں-

آزمائش کی بھٹی سے گزرنے کے لیے اب باری قوم کے نام پرجدوجہد کرنے والے لیڈروں کی آئی کہ وہ نوابی کے اختیارات ان جہدکاروں کے حوالے کریں تاکہ وہ قومی مفادات کو مدنظر رکھتے ہوئے مضبوطی سے فیصلے کر سکیں-

کیونکہ بلوچستان کی آزادی کے بعد یہی اختیارات بلوچ ریاست کو منتقل ہونے ہیں-

لیکن ابتلا کی اس مراحل میں نوابی سرداری اور لیڈری کے ریس میں لگے ان سب کی پوزیشن اور حیثیت قوم کے سامنے طشت ازبام ہوا-

حیربیار نے کہا کہ ایک طرف ہم قوم کی رہنمائی کرنے اور انقلابی جدوجہد کا دعوے کرتے ہیں-

لیکن دوسری طرف کچھ لوگ سرداری اور نوابی کے ٹائٹلز سے دستبردار ہونے کو تیار نہیں اور یہی جواز پیش کرتے ہیں کہ اگر ہم نواب نہیں بنے تو دوسرے بنیں گے جو قوم کو نقصان پہنچا سکتے ہیں-

مہران یا کہ دوسرے نوابی کے دعوایدار لوگوں کے جواز میں اور بی این پی اور نیشنل پارٹی کے پارلیمنٹ میں جانے کے جواز میں ہمیں کوئی فرق نظر نہیں آتا-

نیشنل پارٹی اور بی این پی بھی یہی جواز پیش کرکے پارلیمنٹ میں بیٹھے ہیں کہ اگر ہم نہیں گئے تو دوسرے آئیں گے اور بلوچ قومی مفادات کے خلاف کام کریں گے-

حالانکہ ان کا پارلیمنٹ میں بیٹھنا از خود بلوچ قومی مفادات کے خلاف ہے-

وہ پاکستان کو خود ہی بلوچ قوم کے خلاف اور قبضہ گیریت کو طول دینے کے لیے پارلیمنٹ میں بیٹھ کر جواز اور ایندھن فراہم کر رہے ہیں-

حیربیار نے کہا کہ ہم نے پہلے بھی کہا ور اب بھی اپنے اس بات کو دہراتے ہیں کہ نواب مری کا وارث ان کے بچے یا مری قبیلہ نہیں بلکہ پوری قوم ہے-

قوم کو اس وقت روایتی نواب و سردار سے زیادہ شعوری طور پر پختہ لیڈروں اور رہنماؤں کی ضرورت ہے جو بلوچ قوم کو دنیا کے دوسرے مہذب اقوام کے برابر لا سکیں اور بلوچ قومی شناخت کو مٹانے سے بچا سکیں-

مری نے کہا کہ نوابی کے دعوی دار لوگوں کو یہ بھی واضع کرنا ہوگا کہ اگر وہ نوابی کا دعوی کر رہے ہیں تو سنڈیمن کی دی ہوئی ٹائٹل ان کو مبارک ہو لیکن قوم کے فیصلے کا حق ان کے پاس نہیں ہوگا-

قومی فیصلہ کرنے کا اختیار ان بلوچ فرزندوں کا ہے جو اس وقت بلوچ قومی آزادی کے لیے قیمتی جانوں کا نذرانہ پیش کر رہے ہیں-

حیربیار نے کہا کہ خود ساختہ انقلابی لیڈر کہنے والے ابھی تک سیکنڑوں سال پرانی ٹائٹل کو قربان کرنے کو تیار نہیں ان کے اعمال یہ ثابت کر رہے ہیں کہ ایسے لوگ بلوچ قومی جدوجہد کا حصہ صرف اپنی سرداری اور نوابی کو قائم رکھنے کیلئے بنے ہیں-

جس طرح کے مینگل کے سردار قومی جہد کے لیے تیار نہیں لیکن اپنی سرداری کےلیے مرنے اور مارنے تک تیار ہے-

انہوں نے کہا ہم قبائلی نظام کے خلاف نہیں بلکہ سنڈیمن کی نوابی اور سرداری نظام کے خلاف ہیں جو اس وقت ہمیں ایک قوم کی حیثیت سے اپنی منزل حاصل کر نے میں رکاوٹ بن رہا ہے-

وقت کا تقاضہ ہے کہ بلوچ قوم کو سنڈیمن کی نوابی نظام کو تقویت دینے کے بجائے قومی سوچ و فکر اور نظریہ کو مظبوط کر لینا چاہیے-

کیونکہ آجوئی نظام از خود فرسودہ اور روایتی نظام کے بجائے جدید قومی نظام کو متعارف کروانے کے لیے ہے جو قوم کو فرسودہ سوچ کی حصار سے نکال کر ہم نوع ہم قسم اور یکساں قوم بناتی ہے-

ہم سب کو اگر اکسیویں صدی میں ترقی یافتہ قوموں کے صف میں شامل ہونا ہے تو جدوجہد میں شدت لانی ہوگی-

ایک قوم کی حیثیت سے تمام مشکلات کا سامنہ کر کے اپنے منزل حاصل کرنا ہوگی-

انہوں نے کہا کہ جن قوموں نے تبدیلی کو قبول کیا اور طاقت عوام کے ہاتھوں میں دیا وہ آج ترقی یافتہ قومیں بن گئی ہیں،جیسا کہ ناروے سویڈن وغیرہ جن لوگوں نے تبدیلی کو قبول نہیں کیا اور اپنے عوام پر سردار،نواب،شیخ یا بادشاہ بن کر ڈکٹیرکی طرح حکومت کر تے رہے وہ آج بھی جنگ و جدل اور تباہی سے گزر رہے ہیں-

حیربیار نے مزید کہا کہ اب بلوچ قوم کے لیے بھی دو راستے ہیں ایک راستہ آزادی جدت اور ترقی و خوشحالی کا ہے جس میں قومی فیصلے کرنے آزادی اور ترقی کے لیے تمام تر اختیارات قوم کے حوالے کرنے ہونگے-

جبکہ دوسرا راستہ فرسودہ جاہلیت نوابی سرداری اور میر معتبری اور روایتی سنڈیمنی نظام ہے جو اختیارات سارے ڈکٹیٹروں کی طرح قوم سے چھین کر فرد کے ہاتھوں میں دیا جاتا ہے-

اگر ہم اس راستے پر چلتے ہوئے آزاد بھی ہوئے تو ہمارا مستقبل انکولا شمالی کوریا سے بھی زیادہ خراب ہوگا-

کیونکہ آج ہم رہبری کے دعویدار نوابی اور سرداری کو قومی جہدکاروں کو سرینڈر کرنے کو تیار نہیں تو کل چھوٹی سی طاقت حاصل کرکے اپنے یہ اختیارات کس طرح قوم کے حوالے کر سکیں گے
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BALOCHISTAN 
Pakistan has attempted to drown the voices of the Balochs for more than sixty years, but they appear to be growing louder and more demanding with each passing day. The behaviour of the powerful elite of Islamabad reminds me of the captain and crew of the RMS Titanic sailing into the night, heading straight towards an iceberg. The civilian, military and judicial authorities are locked up in a tussle coloured by political positions and personal egos. And there is a dangerous disconnect between Islamabad and the enormous problems that loom on the Pakistani horizon.

Pakistan today is facing unprecedented challenges: economic turbulence and rising poverty, a stalemated army operation in the Northern region, law-and-order issues in Sind and Punjab, rising home grown terrorism, rising sectarian violence, an increasingly cold collaboration with the US in the War on Terror, spillover effects of Afghanistan’s insurgency, rising inflation & unemployment and, of course, the enduring rivalry with India.

It cannot afford Balochistan’s never ending uprising, which owing to the province’s vast land, hostile terrain, arid climate, and a population unreconciled to Islamabad’s discriminatory and exploitve policies have been difficult to suppress.

As the Balochs have gotten more serious about independence, the central government has responded with an heavier display of force. Nearly four hundred bullet-ridden bodies of Balochs have been recovered from mountains and roadsides in recent years most likely, casualties of ISI, the powerful Pakistani intelligence service, which has been active in the province. Others suspected of ties to the insurgency have been “disappeared,” according to the Baloch Missing Persons Forum, which claims that some ten thousand individuals are assumed to have been confined and tortured by the Pakistani secret service agencies before being killed.

Law and order appears to have collapsed in many parts of the country. In the north-east, the former Frontier Province, there are daily killings as suicide bombers and the army continuously fight each other. Unemployment is widespread and inflation is sky-high. And there is still a desperate shortage of electricity and gas in much of the country.

But perhaps none of these problems is more pressing than the situation in Balochistan. If the simmering, but widespread movement for independence spins out of control, Pakistan will find it almost impossible to maintain nationhood.

Early in 2012, a small group of US congressmen looking for alternatives to the Obama administration’s AfPak policy made recommendations for two changes in the region. The first, that instead of fantasizing about incorporating the Taliban into the Afghan political system the United States ought to rearm the Northern Alliance, had been discussed previously. The second recommendation was more novel and controversial: instead of trying to normalize relations with Pakistan’s corrupt government and hostile military, the US ought to support the creation of a separate state of Balochistan in the southern part of Pakistan. US Representatives Dana Rohrabacher, Louie Gohmert, and Steve King went so far as to introduce a bill stating that the “Baloch nation” had a historic right to self-determination and called for Congress to recognize Baloch independence.

Although the congressmen involved are not seen as influential members of the foreign affairs establishment, the idea of dismembering the largest of Pakistan’s four provinces, consisting of nearly half of the country’s land mass and having a profound strategic importance because of a shared border with Afghanistan on the north, threw Balochistan into the US foreign-policy calculus almost overnight. Journalists and think tanks began to examine the Baloch nationalist movement and its heterodox idea that because ethnic identity trumps religious identity Muslim Pakistan is therefore not a nation. The controversy that has divided leaders of the Baloch nationalist movement greater autonomy versus outright succession from Pakistan began to receive new scrutiny. As with other sudden policy enthusiasms, however, the subject quickly got ahead of itself, racing past the deeper understanding of Balochistan’s history and its place in Pakistani nationhood that is required to bring the independence movement into clear focus and understand the implications of its demands.

Among the ancient inhabitants of the central Caspian region, the Balochs were an independent tribal union until the nineteenth century. In 1893, the British drew the Durand Line, which divided British India and Afghanistan, as well as the Pashtun and the Baloch tribes on both sides of the new border. Indian independence in 1947 gave the tribes the choice of joining either Pakistan or India. Baloch leaders agitated for a third way: independence. Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, believed that Balochistan would not be able to survive on its own and forced it to join Pakistan. One of the Baloch leaders at that time, Suleiman Khan, later said: “We had no desire to be part of Pakistan but we were ignored and the agreement was eventually forced down our throats. Till the very last moment, they kept us in the dark. All the time we were assured that the Baluch would keep their independent state but instead we were sold down the river.”

The alignment with Pakistan was initially based on an agreement that Balochistan would be autonomous and retain authority over land, resources, and political matters while the Pakistani government would oversee currency, foreign relations, and defense. But almost from the beginning, the central government aimed at control, leading to violence between Baloch guerrillas and the Pakistani army sent into the province to subdue them.

One of the more dramatic confrontations came in 1963 when Baloch leader Sher Mohammad Marri resisted the central government’s intention to establish military bases in the province, giving rise to an insurgency ranging over forty-five thousand miles. The insurgency ended after five years with a cease-fire agreement that promised greater political autonomy for Balochistan. But these promises were not kept and Baloch separatists mounted another insurgency in 1973, fighting for greater social and political rights and an end to exploitation of Balochistan’s resources. Pakistan’s military operations in the area, supported by forces of the Shah of Iran, exacted a high toll on Baloch insurgents. In 1973, an assault by the Pakistani Air Force ordered by General Tikka Khan, later referred to as the “Butcher of Balochistan,” led to the deaths of five thousand guerrillas and more than three thousand soldiers.

A truce finally came after Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto fell to a coup by General Zia-ul-Haq. General Zia initiated a policy of development that temporarily quelled that insurgency of Balochistan’s people. But after three decades of unfulfilled promises for more effective local government and a greater share of state resources, another one broke out in 2005 and has yet to be contained.

It is obvious why the central Pakistani government has been obsessed with keeping tight control of Balochistan. It is not only the largest province in Pakistan in terms of area, with a population of roughly seven and a half million, but it has vast natural resources, especially energy resources, including an estimated nineteen trillion cubic feet of natural gas and six trillion barrels of oil reserves.

The central government controls tourism, environment, population, labor, welfare, the newspapers, and even the educational curriculum, which rigorously excludes the use of the Balochi language, which Pakistan’s political elites ridicule as primitive.

Not surprisingly, Balochistan’s literacy is the lowest among the four provinces. Despite being the major supplier of natural resources to other Pakistani provinces, the Balochs are behind the rest of the country not only in terms of education, but also in social development. They have the lowest per capita income among the four provinces, with sixty-three percent living below the poverty line, eighty-five percent lacking safe drinking water, and eighty percent without electricity. There are very few government civil servants from Balochistan working in Islamabad, moreover, and not even one Baloch in the Pakistani Foreign Service.

This deprivation has fueled the ongoing spirit of insurgency, whose causes scholar Frederic Grare summarizes as three-fold: expropriation, marginalization, and dispossession. Expropriation relates to the Balochs’ claim that their resources are exploited by the Punjabi-dominated central government. Marginalization particularly relates to discrimination against Baloch labor in ongoing development projects, with workers often imported from the other provinces rather than hired locally. Dispossession is an issue because Balochs see the best of their land being taken over by “foreigners” from Islamabad.

The province is now in the middle of its fourth major episode of insurgency, following major outbreaks in 1948, 1963–69, and 1973–78. The central government has always claimed that these eruptions were the result of conspiracies to dismember Pakistan between Baloch leaders, the Soviet Union, and Iraq. It has used military force to deal with the guerrillas who have damaged gas pipelines, blocked coal shipment to Punjab, and made life tough for the Pakistani army in the mountains despite numbering at best some fifty thousand against the army’s force of more than eighty thousand.

The current wave of insurgency began with the gang rape of a female doctor by army officers. The late veteran politician Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti voiced his anger and demanded punishment of the rapists. In response, the army launched an attack on Dera Bugti, the country’s largest natural gas reservoir. Baloch guerrillas countered by firing rocket launchers at then President General Pervez Musharraf’s helicopter during a visit to Quetta, Balochistan’s largest city. A full operation by the Pakistani army then began in the province, particularly in Kohlu and Dera Bugti, in 2005. Several Bugti and Marri militants were killed, further fueling an insurgency that had already been complicated by the simultaneous rise of the Taliban, the War on Terror, and the decline of law and order in Punjab and Karachi. Taking advantage of the rapidly changing (and deteriorating) situation, the Baloch movement gained momentum, popularity, and support, locally and internationally, setting up a government in exile in 2006.

Over the past few months, a faction of American congressmen, minority Afghan groups, Baloch nationalists, and supporters have outlined a framework for an alternative US policy to Southwest Asia. US advocates for an independent Balochistan have yet to receive wide support, but their campaign, which now centers around secession, is receiving more attention among policymakers particularly because of three recent high-profile events: the congressional hearing on Baluchistan; the introduction of a Baloch self-determination bill in Congress; and a highly publicized meeting of the Balochistan National Front in Berlin earlier this year.

Supporters of the new approach note redrawing of Southwest Asia’s political borders through Balochistan independence would advance American interests on several fronts, especially by creating valuable new economic opportunities that could offset the costs of the failed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and spur economic growth after the global recession.

Meanwhile, the insurgents, particularly those in the government in exile, are reinventing themselves to attract more attention from the US. In its earlier phases, the insurgency was dominated by a Marxist ideology and to some extent (enough to be an irritant to Islamabad, but not enough to involve an expensive commitment) supported by Russia. Many of the leading figures studied in Russia and styled themselves Marxist-Leninists. However, the latest outbreak of hostilities occurred after the death of the Soviet Union and has looked toward India, Great Britain, and especially America for support. That it now sees itself as a democratic movement is reflected in the recently drafted Charter for the Liberation of Balochistan: Article 1 stipulates “one person one vote.”

There is also a new sophistication about international opinion on the part of the insurgency’s leaders, especially Allah Nazar Baloch, the forty-four-year-old leader of the Balochistan Liberation Front. The eponymously named rebel trained as a medical doctor and is part of a new generation that has taken the cause of independence global, successfully espousing the cause in the British House of Lords and the American Congress.

The liberation movement has also been buoyed by the tides of war in the region. Pakistan’s hidden agenda has always involved secretly supporting the Taliban for its own strategic purposes. But the Karzai government in Afghanistan has found a chance to pay it back by providing safe haven to the Baloch guerrillas who shelter and train in camps there.

Pakistan today is facing unprecedented challenges: economic turbulence and rising poverty, a stalemated army operation in the Northern region, law-and-order issues in Sind and Punjab, an increasingly cold collaboration with the US in the War on Terror, spillover effects of Afghanistan’s insurgency, and, of course, the enduring rivalry with India. It cannot afford Balochistan’s insurgencies, which owing to the province’s vast land, hostile terrain, arid climate, and a population unreconciled to Islamabad’s discriminatory and exploitve policies have been difficult to suppress. 

World should support Baloch freedom struggle instead of relying on fundamentalist states like Pakistan: Hyrbyair Marri

London : 

Baloch National leader Hyrbyair Marri termed the Israeli Prime minister Mr Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement in support of an independent Kurdish state as a positive step. He said that Baloch and Kurdish people have endured immense sufferings and exploitation at the hands of regional powers because of the wrong policies of international powers as they divided the Baloch and Kurd homelands against their will and encouraged the regional powers occupy them.

He said the Kurd and Baloch are tolerant and peace loving people but they have never succumbed to illegal demands of regional or international powers to distort their national identity and national integrity. Balochistan is the only place where the Hindus found safety and peace when thousands of people were being killed in war between Pakistan and India. The Baloch people gave refuge to Hindus because Baloch were against religious madness and they had respect and tolerance toward people of other religions.

Hyrbyair Marri said despite the tolerant and secular nature of Baloch and Kurdish people, the international and regional powers have divided the Baloch and Kurdish people and put them under occupation of extremist states which have become a headache for the region and entire world now. He said it was the wrong policies of the West that they ignored the Baloch and Kurdish people and become dependent on fundamentalist and double standard states like Pakistan which is using the religious extremists against West and for the instability in the region.

He said, “Pakistan seemingly accepted all the demands of the Western powers but in reality it has been developing its own evil designs such as the spread of religious extremism around the world and blackmailing the West in the name of fight against extremism.”

Mr Marri said today the time has proved that Kurds are a very important factor for the peace and stability in the Middle East. Similarly Baloch are indispensable to establish peace and stability in the region situated between Strait of Hormoz, Central Asia and Middle East. He said it is impossible to establish peace and stability in the region without establishing independent Baloch and Kurd states.

Hyrbyair Marri said that the Islamic countries and their media have never reported the barbarism of Islamic states against Kurdish and Baloch people despite the fact that Baloch and Kurd are Muslims as well. “The media of Muslims nations have always sided with oppressive states and tried to distort Baloch culture and history,” said Mr Marri. He said we [Baloch] will have diplomatic relations with all nations including Israel and as a responsible and dignified state Balochistan will strive for peace and stability in the world alongside other peace loving nations.

Mr Marri said the fundamentalist group ISIS is trying to take control of entire Iraq and it is expanding itself to become a power in that region. In future Pakistani military and ISI backed religious groups will also grow more powerful and could try to get their hand on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. “The day Pakistan become an Atomic power, it had become a threat to world’s safety,” He added.

The Baloch leader said, “If the religious extremists get hold of Pakistan’s atomic bomb, it will be no less than a disaster for the world. That is why the civilised world and Western powers should stop relying on these fundamentalist states any more and support the tolerant and peace loving Baloch peoples’ struggle for their independence.” 

Mehran Marri has been chosen by those ideologically, practically aligned with Baba Marri: Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Marri Peoples’ decision to choose Mehran Marri as the Political Successor of Nawab Khair Bakhsh Khan Legacy.

Marris who have been in the thick of Baloch National Struggle and were politically and ideologically aligned to Nawab Khair Bakhsh Khan have chosen his youngest son Mehran Marri as his political successor which also translates as him succeeding the mantle of Chieftainship of the Marri tribe.

Those who have taken this important political decision were trusted by Nawab Sahib and remained in the national struggle arena in spite of the heavy price they have had to pay in human and material for staying committed to his ideals.

Their decision should be respected by all those who support the Baloch cause and be seen in the context of the situation that has arisen from the political and tribal vacuum created by death of Nawab Sahib.

I fully and unequivocally support and endorse this momentous decision taken by these committed and dedicated nationalists who I have had the opportunity to work with and associate with for the past 43 years and trust their honesty towards and commitment to the Baloch National Struggle.

At this critical juncture of Baloch history this decision has put the burden of history on shoulders of Mehran Marri. All Baloch, friends of Baloch including myself expect and hope that he, Mehran Marri, will live up to the expectations and the confidence reposed in him by the Marri people and will keep the candle of Baloch struggle lit in the same brave and intelligent way that his Respected father had. He will have to rise above all considerations and serve all equally and without discrimination. He will have to be brave but tolerant, audacious but careful and outspoken but truthful. I wish him success and assure him of my support.

Thank you
Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

جب تک پاکستانی فو ج بلوچستان میں مکمل انخلاء کرکے اپنی قبضہ گیریت ختم نہیں کرتا ہم اپنی جنگ جاری رکھیں گے-
ڈاکٹر اللہ نذر بلوچ
30جون2014
بلوچ قومی پرست لیڈر ڈاکٹر اللہ نذر بلوچ نے اپنے جاری کردہ بیان میں کہا ہے کہ جب تک پاکستانی فو ج بلوچستان میں مکمل انخلاء کرکے اپنی قبضہ گیریت ختم نہیں کرتا ہم اپنی جنگ جاری رکھیں گے۔ بلوچستان کی آزادی ہماری منزل ہے۔ پاکستانی فوج اور اسکی ایجنسیوں نے فوجی آپریشن ، کل اینڈڈمپ کے ذریعے سیاسی کارکنان کی اغواء کاری اور بہیمانہ قتل ، نام نہاد بلوچ وفاق پرستوں کو اقتدار اور مراعات سے نوازنے اور ڈیتھ اسکواڈ کے قیام جیسے تمام حربے استعمال کئے ہیں مگر اسکے باجود تحریک آزادی اسی جوش و جزبے کے ساتھ جاری وساری ہے کیوں کہ بلوچ عوام کی مکمل ہمدردی و حمایت ہمارے ساتھ ہیں۔
بلوچ رہنما نے کہا پاکستانی ایجنسیاں بلوچستان میں مذہبی شدت پسند ی کے جس نئے منصوبے پر عمل در آمد کررہی وہ انکی بھوکلاہٹ کی نشانی ہے ۔
بلوچستان سیکولر بلوچی ثقافت اور رسم و رواج کی بنیادوں پر قائم سماج ہے۔
بلوچستان کو وزیرستان اور فاٹا بنانے والے فوجی جرنیل شاید بلوچستان کی معاشرتی اساس سے ناواقف ہیں۔
اس سے قبل بھی ایجنسیوں نے بلوچستان کے اندر مذہبی فرقہ واریت کو ہوا دینے کی کئی کوششیں کیں مگر اسے ہر دفعہ ناکامی کا سامنا کرنا پڑھا۔ آج ایک دفعہ پھر بلوچ عوام کی خون ریزی کے لئے مذہب کو اپنے گناؤنے مقاصد کے لئے بطور، اوزار استعمال کرنے کی کوشش کی جارہی ہے ۔ ڈاکٹر نے کہا دنیا کی مہذب اقوام کے لئے یہ لمحہ فکریہ ہے جو پاکستان جیسی غیرذمہ دار اور ناکام ریاست کو بجائے سبق سکھانے الٹا اسکی مدد کررہے ہیں۔ اس میں کوئی دورائے نہیں کہ پاکستان مذہبی انتہاء پسندی کا بریڈنگ گراونڈ ہے جس نے نہ صرف خطے کی اقوام بلکہ دنیاکی تمام اقوام کے لئے مسائل پیداکئے ہیں۔ انہوں کہا کہ پاکستان ایک طرف دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ میں مغربی قوتوں کا نام نہاد اتحادی ہے تاکہ ان سے ڈالر وصول کرتا رہے جبکہ دوسری طرف چین کے ساتھ اتحاد میں انکی معاشی بندش کے لئے صف بندی میں مصروف ہے۔ بلوچستان میں ڈیپ سی پورٹ کا قیام ان ہی وسیع ترصف بندی کا حصہ ہے۔ بلوچ رہنماء نے کہا عالمی صف بندیوں سے قطع نظر پاکستان اس منتازعہ پورٹ کے ذریعے بلوچستان میں ڈیموگرافک تبدیلی بھی لانا چاہتی ہے مگر بلوچ قوم نے اس پورٹ کی خلاف پہلے ہی دن سے مزاحمت کی ہے اور ہمیشہ کرتے رہیں گے۔
جب تک پاکستانی فو ج بلوچستان میں مکمل انخلاء کرکے اپنی قبضہ گیریت ختم نہیں کرتا ہم اپنی جنگ جاری رکھیں گے-
ڈاکٹر اللہ نذر بلوچ
30جون2014

بلوچ قومی پرست لیڈر ڈاکٹر اللہ نذر بلوچ نے اپنے جاری کردہ بیان میں کہا ہے کہ جب تک پاکستانی فو ج بلوچستان میں مکمل انخلاء کرکے اپنی قبضہ گیریت ختم نہیں کرتا ہم اپنی جنگ جاری رکھیں گے۔ بلوچستان کی آزادی ہماری منزل ہے۔ پاکستانی فوج اور اسکی ایجنسیوں نے فوجی آپریشن ، کل اینڈڈمپ کے ذریعے سیاسی کارکنان کی اغواء کاری اور بہیمانہ قتل ، نام نہاد بلوچ وفاق پرستوں کو اقتدار اور مراعات سے نوازنے اور ڈیتھ اسکواڈ کے قیام جیسے تمام حربے استعمال کئے ہیں مگر اسکے باجود تحریک آزادی اسی جوش و جزبے کے ساتھ جاری وساری ہے کیوں کہ بلوچ عوام کی مکمل ہمدردی و حمایت ہمارے ساتھ ہیں۔

بلوچ رہنما نے کہا پاکستانی ایجنسیاں بلوچستان میں مذہبی شدت پسند ی کے جس نئے منصوبے پر عمل در آمد کررہی وہ انکی بھوکلاہٹ کی نشانی ہے ۔

بلوچستان سیکولر بلوچی ثقافت اور رسم و رواج کی بنیادوں پر قائم سماج ہے۔
بلوچستان کو وزیرستان اور فاٹا بنانے والے فوجی جرنیل شاید بلوچستان کی معاشرتی اساس سے ناواقف ہیں۔

اس سے قبل بھی ایجنسیوں نے بلوچستان کے اندر مذہبی فرقہ واریت کو ہوا دینے کی کئی کوششیں کیں مگر اسے ہر دفعہ ناکامی کا سامنا کرنا پڑھا۔ آج ایک دفعہ پھر بلوچ عوام کی خون ریزی کے لئے مذہب کو اپنے گناؤنے مقاصد کے لئے بطور، اوزار استعمال کرنے کی کوشش کی جارہی ہے ۔ ڈاکٹر نے کہا دنیا کی مہذب اقوام کے لئے یہ لمحہ فکریہ ہے جو پاکستان جیسی غیرذمہ دار اور ناکام ریاست کو بجائے سبق سکھانے الٹا اسکی مدد کررہے ہیں۔ اس میں کوئی دورائے نہیں کہ پاکستان مذہبی انتہاء پسندی کا بریڈنگ گراونڈ ہے جس نے نہ صرف خطے کی اقوام بلکہ دنیاکی تمام اقوام کے لئے مسائل پیداکئے ہیں۔ انہوں کہا کہ پاکستان ایک طرف دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ میں مغربی قوتوں کا نام نہاد اتحادی ہے تاکہ ان سے ڈالر وصول کرتا رہے جبکہ دوسری طرف چین کے ساتھ اتحاد میں انکی معاشی بندش کے لئے صف بندی میں مصروف ہے۔ بلوچستان میں ڈیپ سی پورٹ کا قیام ان ہی وسیع ترصف بندی کا حصہ ہے۔ بلوچ رہنماء نے کہا عالمی صف بندیوں سے قطع نظر پاکستان اس منتازعہ پورٹ کے ذریعے بلوچستان میں ڈیموگرافک تبدیلی بھی لانا چاہتی ہے مگر بلوچ قوم نے اس پورٹ کی خلاف پہلے ہی دن سے مزاحمت کی ہے اور ہمیشہ کرتے رہیں گے۔