By M K Dhar
Denied basic human and democratic rights for decades, the long-oppressed people of Baluchistan, Pakistan’s largest province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, have succeeded in attracting international attention by having the issue discussed in a US Congressional committee. The statement by several Congressmen supporting the Baloch demand for independence from Pakistan and tabling of a resolution to that effect have violently shaken the military-cum-political establishment in Islamabad and further soured US-Pakistan relations. In retaliation, Pakistan intelligence agencies are killing Baloch nationalists and prominent tribal leaders in a way that resembles what happened during the 1971 revolt in erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) that led to the birth of a new nation.
Through the decades successive military and civilian regimes in Pakistan have tried to suppress by military force the demand for self-determination of the people of Baluchistan — the most exploited and least developed province but have not succeeded in their mission. The first insurgency broke out in 1948 to resist the illegal and forcible annexation of Baloch-dominated Kalat State with Pakistan. The idea of Pakistan never attracted its secular and freedom-loving people and Islamabad adopted a multi-pronged approach to deal with the revolt. Apart from brutal military operations in 1948, 1958, 1962, 1973 and 2002 to quash the rebellion, it adopted political and economic means to sideline the people. The province provides Pakistan its natural gas and oil and precious metals like gold, which are being fully exploited without giving any benefit to the people, who were denied basic social services like healthcare and education and suffer from abject poverty and the lowest literacy rate.
The Baloch have been systematically denied representation in the Army, federal services, profitable corporations, customs, railways and other key government institutions. The province has been run by the Pakistan Army Corps Commander and Director General of Frontier Corps, who by-pass the chief minister while taking decisions. The intelligence agencies have remained active in manipulating elections (as in the rest of Pakistan) to the National Assembly and provincial legislature in order to keep out “undesirable” elements. A state of terror was created through repeated and brutal military operations, which have taken the lives of thousands of nationalists, as well as, soldiers battling them; establishing military checkpoints to harass the people and restrict their movement and denying access to the media to suppress the facts about the sufferings of the people. Local as well as, international human rights orgnisations have been barred from inquiring into the plight of some 5,000 “ missing persons” and existence of over 200,000 internally displaced people in Balochistan.
The Government has been engaged in systematic target killing of Baloch nationalist leaders including Nawab Akbar Bugti, against whom a full-fledged military operation was conducted; Balach Marri, Ghulam Mohammad Baloch, chairman of Baluchistan National Movement (BNM); Baloch Students Organisation (BSO); Balochistan Liberation Army, Baloch Republican Army and Balcoh Liberation Front. Though some of the moderate parties announced a cease-fire in 2008, the Pakistan Government refused to concede their demands, such as, withdrawal of security forces form Balochistan, release of thousands of political prisoners and “missing persons” (if not already killed in custody) and end to construction of more military cantonments as confidence building measures, but, the PPP government refused — bowing to military pressure — to concede any of these demands and continued to whisk away political workers and target killing of leaders.
Last month the wife of a Pakistani MP Zamur Domki and her 12-year old daughter were murdered in broad daylight in Karachi. Baloch politicians allege that the murders were carried out by Pakistan’s intelligence services to send a message to Ms. Domki’s brother, Brahmdagh Bugti – grandson of Nawab Akhar Bugti — who, from exile in Geneva, leads the region’s largest secessionist party. Last month the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has reported over 110 cases of enforced disappearances who were increasingly turning up dead. Baloch leaders have, once again, called for action, but without state response though the United States Department and Congressmen have expressed concern over denial of fundamental rights of the Baloch people and their right of self determination.
In the US Congressional sub-committee hearing Dana Rohrabacker, who also tabled a resolution, Louie Gohmert, Ted Poe and others sought Balochistan’s independence from Pakistan and expressed anguish over the misuse of American weapons against Baloch nationalists, who have been waging a struggle to get their democratic and fundamental rights. Ralph Peters, a retired Army officer and author said it was an “incontrovertible fact” that Balochistan was “occupied territory” which had never acceded to Pakistan and now does not want to be part of that country. Tad Poe defended the right of the Balcoh people “to separate themselves from an abusive government”. The Baloch had suffered at least five deadly military operations by the Pakistan Army since their “illegal and forcible occupation” by Pakistan in 1948. The Baloch blame Pakistan’s dominant Punjabi ethnic minority, who outnumber the rest of the communities in the Army, bureaucracy and civil and foreign services, for exploiting their natural resources for their own benefit without compensating the local people in any — way in cash royalties or economic development.
The result is that the situation remains as explosive as ever, with resentment against the government and secessionists feeling growing and the nationalists being forced to target troops and sabotage gas and oil supply lines and killing soldiers and Frontier Constabulary. Even now the Army is conducting operations against the insurgents in Balochistan, which presumably motivated some US Congressmen to take up the issue of the right of self-determination of the Baloch people and gross human rights violations against them committed by the security forces and intelligence agencies. Brahamdagh Bugti insists that the Pakistan Government does not believe in discussing the issue of Balochistan’s rights and is one with the Army in suppressing the freedom urge of the people. The Army, however, makes deals with Jihadis and fundamentalists who are targeting US and NATO forces in Afghanistan and some even killing Pakistanis themselves.
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