Introduction to the region and human right

Transcription

Inside Balochistan’s Forgotten Conflict
Understanding Pakistan’s Repressive
Policies & Human Rights Violations
1
2
Balochistan’s Forgotten Conflict
Pakistan’s Repressive Policies
& Human Rights Violations
3
4
Overview:
I.
Balochistan: An Introduction
07
II.
Human Rights Violations in Balochistan
09
III.
Enforced Disappearances
14
IV.
Political Assassinations and Targeted Killings
28
V.
Mass Killings
38
VI.
Abduction, Arrests & Detentions
39
VII.
Displaced Baloch
45
VIII.
Restrictions on Freedom of Expression
48
IX.
Restrictions on Freedom of Association
53
X.
Gender-Based Human Rights Violations
56
XI.
The Neglected Region
59
XII.
Development & Militarization
65
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6
Balochistan: An Introduction
Balochistan is divided between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. It strategically bridges the Middle East and Southwest Asia to
Central Asia and South Asia, and forms the closest oceanic frontage for the land-locked countries of Central Asia.
Balochistan is the largest among
Pakistan's four provinces, comprising
43 per cent of land area.
Around 13 million people inhabit
Balochistan (both in Iran, Pakistan and
Afghanistan). Despite being the richest
province in terms of energy and
mineral
resources,
Balochistan
remains one of the most underdeveloped and impoverished regions.
The Baloch therefore have long been
demanding the national right to selfdetermination and control over their
land and resources.
Although the Balochistan crisis predates General Parvez Musharraf’s
military regime, it still remains
unaddressed.
The denial of the fundamental right to self-determination has been a major cause of the ongoing conflict. Pakistani intelligence
and security forces are using brute and suppressive policies to silence moderate Baloch nationalists. However, the military is
providing comfortable support to pro-Taliban elements to reside, regroup, recruit and plan attacks against NATO forces in
Afghanistan with which Balochistan shares a long border.
7
8
Human Rights
Violations
9
Human Rights Violations in Balochistan:
Human rights situation in Balochistan continues to deteriorate. The Pakistani authorities continuously suppress, violate
and subdue the Baloch people’s right to self-determination and development.
Grave human rights violations have been documented by reputable organizations during the on-going military
operation (2004-2010) against moderate Baloch nationalists in Balochistan. These include indiscriminate and
disproportionate use of force
against civilians, target killings,
displacement and disappearances of
political activists and journalists.
Security forces in Balochistan have
committed hundreds of unlawful
killings1. Islamabad is using brute
force and intimidation, harassment,
arrests; torture is a common
practice by the military and
intelligence agencies against
dissident Baloch. Peaceful
protestors have been suppressed,
political representatives are being
killed with frequency, activists are
detained unlawfully, and freedom of expression and assembly is totally restricted.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Balochistan office chief Zahoor Ahmed Shahwani said in a public
meeting that “The Commission has evidence that several human rights violations are taking place here and prisoners
jailed by the Anti-Terrorist Force are being treated shockingly” He further added: “The number of extra-judicial arrests
1
http://www.hrcp-web.org/images/publication/balochistan%2520report/pdf/balochistan_report.pdf
10
(disappearances) of political activists is increasing, but the government is silent over such violation. Nothing is being
done to dispense justice to the victims’ relatives2.”
A climate of political repression:
Balochistan’s crisis is a political problem which could only be resolved through dialogue. By using brute force, the
government of Pakistan has been trying to
bulldoze provincial autonomy. Hundreds of
Balochs are being detained without having
undergone fair trials at court.
Arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and torture:
A fact-finding team of the HRCP, which visited
Balochistan in December 2005 - January 2006,
reported disappearances, torture, and other rights
violations by the security forces.
Political leaders and party activists were often
the targets. According to a report released on 12
December 2006 by the Balochistan National
Party-Mengal (BNP-M), around 4,000 Baloch
youths, mainly political activists were in custody
of Pakistani intelligence agencies. They were
allegedly tortured by electric shocks, cigarette
and candle burns, blows to sensitive parts of the body and various other methods. The report further alleged that torture
cells and illegal detention centres were run by the intelligence agencies.
Although the government has reportedly admitted that a few Baloch have been detained, it has refused to give the exact
figure of those detained and their whereabouts.
2
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\05\29\story_29-5-2006_pg7_26
11
Some of the political leaders and
activists arrested include Sajid
Tareen, acting chief of Balochistan
National Party (BNP) who was
detained by police under the
Maintenance of Public Order
Ordinance (MPO) from the Quetta
Press Club premises on 1 December
2006; Gulam Mohammad Baloch,
chairman of Baloch National
Movement, and Sher Mohammad
Baloch, a central leader of the
Jamhoori Watan Party, who were
arrested on 3 December 2006 by law
enforcement agencies while trying
to organize a public meeting near
Juna Masjid, Shah Latif Bhitai Road
to condemn the killing of Nawab
Akbar Bugti; 26 members of the
Balochistan National Party (Mengal),
the Jamhoori Watan Party and the National Party who were arrested by police from their houses in Killi Qamrani
suburb in Quetta on 3 March 2005 for opposing the construction of large projects in Balochistan; and 13 leaders and
activists of the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) who were arrested by the University Town police under the
Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance during strike observed by the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement in
Peshawar on 31 March 2005.
The relatives of the nationalist leaders and political workers of Balochistan also suffered violations of their rights by
security agencies.
12
13
Enforced
Disappearances
Human Rights
14
Enforced Disappearances:
The problem of forced disappearances has been significant in Pakistan. The forced disappearance of political opponents by State
intelligence services continues in spite of the end to Musharaf’s military rule.
The state agencies’ alleged involvement in
cases of disappearance drew attention to a
new form of criminal assault on citizen
rights to liberty and due protection of the
law3.
Since the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP)
ascent to power and restoration of the much
talked-about judiciary, no credible and
serious efforts have been made to address
the grave human rights violation inflicted
upon the ethnic Baloch population by the
state authorities. Pakistan’s notorious InterServices Intelligence (ISI) and Military
Intelligence (MI) agencies are largely
responsible for the slow motion genocide
(killing and disappearance) of more than
4,000 Baloch political activists since 2001.
On Pakistan’s Independence Day, 14 August 2010, the family members
of missing persons protesting on Quetta streets.
In the early period of the PPP’s government
only few people resurfaced but during the same period, about 52 persons went missing. Since the elections in February 2008, not
much has improved for the “disappeared” or for their families in Pakistan.
3
HRCP 2005 reporte- page 6, http://hrcp-web.org/HRCP%20AR%202005.pdf
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The country is beset by grave and
widespread human rights violations by
various State-agencies and institutions,
notably by the notorious ISI and the
military. Thousands of persons are
missing as the result of forced
disappearances committed all across
the country, in particular in conflictaffected areas, such as Balochistan
province.
On 28 July 2010, a division bench of
the Balochistan High Court consisting
of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and
Justice Muhammad Noor Miskanzai
expressed serious concern over media
reports of the killing of two young
missing persons, 25 year old Ashfaq
Ahmed Mullahzai and 30 year old Muhammad Farooq Mengal. “We are extremely perturbed with the deaths of Ashfaq Ahmed
and Muhammad Farooq Mengal and the same are of great concern.”
On 6 August 2010, the bodies of previously disappeared Ghulam Qadir Marri and Bahar Khan Bangulzai from Killi Khali area of
Brewery Road Quetta were found. Baig Muhammad Bangulzai, Bahar Khan’s father, had filed a petition in the Balochistan High
Court saying that his son was whisked away by security personnel on 31 June 2010. Ghulam Qadir Marri, detained twice before
but released after severe torture, was a teacher at the Girl’s Primary School, New Kahan, and had been arrested a month earlier.
Nasrullah Baloch, Chairman of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, says, “We have received six dead bodies of missing persons
within a short span of two weeks and the issue of missing persons is obtaining a new dimension as they are being killed.”
16
Particularly Baloch nationalists are targeted. Tariq Baloch of Baloch Student Organization
(BSO)-Azad was abducted from Quetta and his kidnappers left him unconscious in an
uninhabited place in Wadh on 7 August 2010.
In February 2009, the HRCP has called upon the government to immediately set up a highpowered and independent commission to deal with cases of enforced disappearances in
Balochistan, to release any people in unacknowledged custody of state agencies, and to help
secure the release of the UNHCR official, Mr John Solecki4.
The case of the abduction of UNHCR official Mr Solecki by a militant Baloch group
demanding the release of a large number of Balochistan citizens assumes serious dimensions.
At the same time, the group, that claims to be holding Mr Solecki, issued a list of 867
involuntarily disappeared people, including over a hundred women. They
further produced a separate list of 138 women, containing addresses and dates
of ‘arrests’ for 76 of them.
*Pakistan: In rest of three provinces
(Punjab, Sindh, )WFP) there have been
only 200 cases of disappearances
reported, however only in Balochistan
province more than 4000 man, women and
children have been reported missing.
Whatever one may think of the authenticity of these lists, it is obvious that the
situation created by the claim of disappearance of so many women is far more
serious than previously assumed. It is the first time the people, at least outside
Balochistan, have learnt of the enforced disappearances of Baloch women. Even
in case of the lists’ partial inaccuracies, their existence should make all
politicians and civil society defenders of the oppressed “hang their heads in
shame”, the HRCP stated.
In this situation, the government has to take action. Every effort must be made
to counteract the Baloch people’s feeling of outrage. This should have been a
top priority issue even if Mr Solecki had not been abducted, and it should
4
http://www.hrcp-web.org/showprel.asp?id=60
17
remain so after his case is solved.
The federal government must immediately set up a high powered and independent commission
with adequante Baloch representation to investigate the cases of all missing persons and to
secure the release of all those who are found in unauthorized detention.
Amnesty International (AI), in its July 2008 finding report on Pakistan’s disappearances, calls on
the new government for immdiate action to end this grave human rights violation. But AI, in its
25 February 2009 statements, stated that “Pakistan's new civilian government has failed to
provide information about hundreds of cases of people believed to be held secretly by the
government. Hundreds of people have been detained as part of the so-called war on terror, or in
response to internal opposition, for instance in Baluchistan. Their failure comes despite several
pledges to resolve the country's crisis of enforced disappearances. The Chief Minister of
Baluchistan pledged in April 2008 that resolving the cases of enforced Baluch disappearances
would be a priority”5.
In 2006 the Supreme Court took up regular hearings of petitions filed on behalf of Pakistan's
'disappeared'. However, in November 2007, Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency and
deposed the majority of judges.
According to HRCP, the ethnic Baloch population is the prime victim of enforced disappearances in Pakistan. Practice of enforced
disappearences has created unprecedented level of fear in the society and people are living in state of shock. This fear of abduction
prevents the population from standing up for their legitimate basic human, political and economic rights.
5
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/pakistan-fails-come-clean-secret-detentions-20090225
18
The nationalist forces of Sindh province claim that about 100 persons have disappeared, some of whom were later released
following the intervention of the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court.
In Balochistan province there are dozens of military detention centers, where people are detained and tortured to obtain confession
statements about their alleged activities against the provincial army. These centers supposedly include the safe house of the ISI at
Khuzdar Cantonment area. The Khuzdar district is located in the southeast of the province and all persons from the southern
districts, who are detained or arrested by the state intelligence agencies, are reportedly brought and kept there.
%OTE O% %UMBERS: Enforced disappearances are
subject to a high level of secrecy. As a result, it is difficult to
determine how many people the Pakistani government has
subjected to enforced disappearance. Many people remain
silent about their relatives’ disappearances for fear of
repercussion – either affecting the “disappeared” or
themselves. Their cases neither reach the courts nor attract
media attention.6
The exact number of missing persons and victims of forced
disappearance are difficult to independently verify, notably due
to problems regarding access and security considerations and
the country’s high number of regions. However, different
estimates by nationalist groups, fundamentalist religious
organizations and different human rights organizations,
consistently claim that as many as 8000 cases of missing persons have been reported since the start of the war on terror in different
parts of the country. In Balochistan province alone, over 4000 persons are reportedly missing and disappearances continue to
occur, frequently executed by paramilitary forces. Disappearences are also common in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Azad
Kashmir, where state intelligence agencies allegedly arrest and detain persons who refuse to join the “Jihad” against Indianadministrated Kashmir.
6
Amnesty International July 2008 report on Pakistan Disappearances “Denying the Undeniable”
19
There are hundreds of complaints concerning missing persons before the higher courts, including the Supreme Court of Pakistan,
listing particular cases of persons who have allegedly been abducted by state intelligence agencies – notably the ISI and military
intelligence agencies. They are thought to be held in torture cells for durations of many months, accused of treason including
collaboration with Indian state intelligence agencies, or of involvement with banned militant groups. The Pakistani intelligence
agencies effectively operate beyond the jurisdiction of the courts, which fail to inquire about the fate of missing persons.
Suspections by the relatives of missing persons regarding the state intelligence agencies’ involvement are frequently confirmed in
cases of reappearances. Despite testimonies by resurfaced people, reporting detainment in various torture cells run by state
intelligence agencies, the courts have repeatedly failed to hold the perpetrators accountable.
20
The HRCP’s January 2006
report7 expressed deep concern over
"widespread instances of
'disappearance' and of torture
inflicted on people held in custody”.
The report noted that the government
of Islamabad acknowledged the
4,000 arrests in Balochistan. In its
report, the HRCP recommended that
“all places of irregular detention be
immediately closed down”.
Rehman Malik, adviser to the Prime
Minister of Government of Pakistan
for Interior Affairs, who commented
on the issue of missing people during
his visit to Quetta on 27 August
2008, stated his possession of a list
of 1,102 arrested people from
Balochistan. Balochistan’s political
parties, human rights organizations and families, however, claim that more than 6000 men, women and children have been
missing since 2004 following the military offensives against Baloch political and human rights activists.
"The Herald (a renowned magazine) reported that there had been more than 6,000 disappearances in Balochistan from the
beginning of the hostilities until August 2006. In the town of Dera Bugti alone, there were an estimated 24 disappearances in 2005,
although the figure may be higher, as "families are often hesitant to come forward because of threats by intelligence agencies
warning them to remain silent."
7
http://www.hrcp-web.org/images/publication/balochistan%2520report/pdf/balochistan_report.pdf
21
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), its sister organization, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), and a local
organization, the Anjumane Ettehad e Marri, have produced a list of missing persons from the province of Balochistan, which
details the cases of 872 missing persons from different districts including 81 women, 151 school girls and 3 infants. Amnesty
International, in its December 2006 statement,8 said that “despite growing anger in Pakistan at the practice of enforced
disappearances, the government has still not acknowledged its responsibility for hundreds of people arbitrarily detained in secret
locations, and reports of enforced disappearance continue to emerge”. The families of the missing persons have resorted to
different types of protest.
For instance, eight children
of a missing tailor master
named Ali Asghar
Bungulzai, all under 20
years of age, started a
hunger strike in the Baloch
capital Quetta after their
father’s disappearance for
371 days. They marched to
the Governor's House and
the Chief Minister's House
but did not have any
success.
Among those missing are
people of different age
groups and varied
professions. Haji Jan Mohmmad Marri, 80, a Marri tribal elder of reportedly poor health, has been missing since July 6, 2005. His
family petitioned the Balochistan High Court but are still waiting for consequences.
8
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/anger-grows-at-enforced-disappearances-in-pakistan-20071208
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As previously mentioned, thousands of disappearances in Balochistan province were allegedly carried out within the context of
the internal conflict between the armed forces of the governmental and those of Baloch nationalists.
Of particular note is the disappearance of over 168 children and 148 women listed by the NGO Voice for Baloch Missing Persons
(VBMP). These were reportedly arrested by the Pakistani intelligence agencies for interrogation regarding alleged links to Baloch
separatists and militant groups. The Provincial Interior Ministry of Balochistan issued a list of 992 missing persons on 10
December 2009, as part of reconciliation efforts by the federal government. The Chief Minister of Balochistan province, Sardar
Aslam Raisani, said on 13 January 2010, that there were 999 people officially missing in Balochistan, only four of whom have
resurfaced to date.
Mr. Zakir Majeed, a student leader, was supposedly abducted by state intelligence agents on June 8, 2009 from Mastung, near
Quetta. Majeed is the senior vice chairperson of the BSO-Azad. The National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) claimed to have
effectuated his subsequent release. The government of Balochistan officially confirmed his release dated back to 22 January 2010,
but his family are still waiting for him to return home.
Mr. Murad Khan Marri resurfaced after a forced disappearance for eight months, effectuated by the Pakistan Frontier Corp (FC).
The FC claim they arrested Mr. Marri on 27 March 2010, although it is believed he was in fact abducted in June 2009. His
subsequent release was supposedly motivated by the interest in the Rs. 3 Million (USD 36,585) reward for his safe return. The
government of Balochistan, however, refused to pay the reward and a wrangle ensued between the two.
Munir Mengal, managing director of a to-be-launched Balochi channel, Baloch Voice, was intercepted at Karachi airport on 4
April 2006, on his return to Pakistan from Bahrain. His alleged crime was to have established a channel for the promotion of
Baloch culture.
In its report, the HRCP noted that among the most disturbing accounts of disappearances was that of 18 labour leaders of Pakistan
Petroleum Limited (PPL) on 9 December 2005 from Karachi.
23
Articles 1 to 4 of the Charter of the United Nations, clearly said that “Any act of enforced disappearance is an offence to human
dignity and is a violation of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
The AHRC, in a report
issued on 5 June 2008,
documented the fact
that the Pakistani
military is running at
least 52 torture and
detention centers
throughout the
country, where people
are detained
incommunicado for
several months and
tortured severely,
leading to deaths or
disappearances. Every
military cantonment
area has at least one
torture cell which is
directly run by the
state intelligence
agencies. The new
government of Mr. Asif
Zardari, the president of Pakistan, has not initiated any serious effort to secure the release of the missing persons, who are thought
to be kept in military torture cells.
24
Ms. Zarina Marri, a 23 year old schoolteacher from the Government Middle School in Kahan, Balochistan province, was arrested
in late 2005, and has been held incommunicado in an army torture cell in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province. Unofficial reports
have emerged about her repeated sexual abuse by military officers and her use as a sex slave, in order to induce arrested
nationalist activists to sign confessions drafted by Islamabad.
Ms. Marri was among 429
men, women and children
who migrated from their
homes in Kahan, Kolu
district, Balochistan
province, after the
October 2005 Pakistani
military and air force
bombardments. It was
believed that many men,
women and children were
killed in that fighting, and
Ms. Marri was then
arrested and detained by
the State.
The current whereabouts
of the young woman are
not known. It has been
asserted that female
activists fighting for
greater autonomy of Balochistan continue to get arrested by the state agencies and forced into sex slavery as part of their custody.
25
The government of Pakistan has still not initiated investigations regarding these allegations of sex slavery against the Pakistani
military or regarding the wider problem of forced disappearances.
Recommendations:
The government is failing to take appropriate actions concerning the many cases of disappearance across the country, even in
cases of high-profile persons, including Dr. Lutfullal Kakakhel, a renowned scientist and university vice chancellor, who was
abducted on 6 November 2009, and who remains missing.
The ALRC urges the government of Pakistan to begin taking all necessary measures to guarantee the right to truth to the relatives
and representatives concerning the fate of all missing persons. Beyond this, the government, judiciary and judicial commission on
disappearances need to ensure that justice is restored in these cases of grave human rights violations, by effectuating effective,
impartial investigations and prosecutions; appropriate punishment of those responsible; and adequate reparation to the victims
and/or their families. The government of Pakistan can provide a clear signal of its intention to take necessary action concerning
this widespread problem by ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,
by criminalizing enforced disappearances in its domestic legislation and by fully implementing the consequent laws. The
government of Pakistan is also urged to cooperate with the United Nations Human Rights Council and its expert mechanisms,
notably by issuing a standing invitation to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to conduct a country
visit.
The HRCP has called upon the government to immediately set up an independent commission to deal with the cases of enforced
disappearances in Balochistan9.
9
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\02\21\story_21-2-2009_pg7_28
26
The United Nation Human Rights Council must
intervene immediately and effectively to ensure that the
government of Pakistan:
1- Constitutes a high-level judicial commission with
wide-ranging powers to investigate the cases of
disappearances throughout Pakistan. All allegations of
arbitrary and/or incommunicado detention, sex slavery,
torture, extra-judicial killings and/or disappearances
must be investigated without delay by an independent
and well-resourced body, and all persons found
responsible should be tried, with adequate reparation to
the victims and/or their families
2- Ensures the immediate release of all disappeared
persons.
3- Ensures access to all places of military detention, and
closes the minimum of 52 illegal torture cells which are
thought to be operating .
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTA) - APRIL 02: )yla, age 5, attends a protest with
family members of alleged victims of forced disappearances in front of the
Pakistani Supreme Court, 2 April 2007, in Islamabad, Pakistan. The group
was protesting against forced disappearances by Pakistani intelligence
agencies, and against the dismissal of the Chief Justice, Iftikhar
Mohammed Chaudhry, on 9 March 2007. Chaudhry had ruled against the
government in a key case concerning forced disappearances and many
Pakistanis speculate that the verdict lay at the root of his dismissal my
President Pervez Musharraf. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
27
Political Assassinations &
Targeted Killings
28
Political Assassinations
and Target Killings:
Pakistan has a history of committing
crimes against humanity. Millions of
innocent unarmed Bengali man and
women, for example, were killed in the
past. The Pakistani authorities are
currently replicating these crimes in the
cases of innocent and unarmed Baloch
people, who peacfully demand equal
rights and freedom.
In East Pakistan, these crimes began with
Operation Searchlight, a planned military
operation initiated by the Pakistan Army
on 25 March 1971 to undermine the
Bengali nationalist movement. It took
control of the major cities on 26 March
and then eliminated all opposition,
political or military, within one month.
Prior to the operation, all foreign
journalists were systematically deported
from Bangladesh. Operation Searchlight’s main phase ended with the fall of the last major Bengali town in mid-May 1971.
Pakistan’s persistent policy to physically eliminate moderate Baloch political representatives is alarming. The unrelenting killing
of Baloch political leaders demonstrates the State’s refusal to use logic arguments and political means in response to Baloch
grievances.
29
Over the last five years (2005-2010)
the conflict has resulted in more than
seven thousand deaths of innocent
civilians and in those of more than a
dozen top Baloch leaders, who were
killed systematically by the state
authorities.
On 14 July 2010, a prominent Baloch
leader and Central Secretary-General
of the Balochistan National Party
(BNP) and former senator Habib
Jalib Baloch was shot dead in Quetta.
Jalib had previously escaped a
similar assassination attempt when
unidentified men had opened fire on
a BNP rally in Quetta. Moscow-educated Jalib was a prominent Baloch intellectual and a former chairman of the Baloch Students
Organization (BSO).
On 12 July 2010, Mula Bakhsh Dashti, a central leader of the National Party and former district Nazim of Turbat, was shot dead
in Turbat. Police officials reported that Mr Dashti was on his way home when armed men on a motorcycle opened fire, causing
serious injuries to Mr Dashti and his driver.
On 20 July 2010, Haji Liaquat Ali Mengal, a leader of the Balochistan National Party, was shot dead near his house in Kalat. The
killing of a second BNP leader in a week — Habib Jalib Baloch had been gunned down on 14 July — sparked protests in the
provincial capital and activists of the party held a demonstration near the press club.
30
Addressing the protesters, BNP-M leaders Agha Hasan Baloch, Akhtar Hussain Lango and Ghulam Nabi Marri said the killings
would fail to force the party leadership to abandon their struggle against ‘usurpers’. They further stated the deaths of important
leaders were big losses but that no nation could achieve justice without making sacrifices.
The leaders appealed to party workers and sympathizers to remain peaceful and said that anti-Baloch forces were employing the
means of provocation to fuel violence and thereby weaken their organization.
On 9 July 2010, unidentified gunmen shot and severely injured Vice-Chairman of the BSO, Mr. Rashid Baloch, in Khuzdar. On
his way to the hospital, armed assailants riding motorbikes ambushed him a second time. He obtained multiple bullet wounds and
only arrived in Divisional Headquarters Hospital through the fortunate help of passers-by.
31
A mindset to indiscriminate killings:
On 21 August 2009, a high-ranking Pakistani police official announced the beginning of indiscriminate killings in a press
conference in Balochistan’s capital city Quetta.
Mr. Ghulam Shabbir
Shiekh, the deputy police
inspector of the
Naseerabad range, warned
that the police would kill
40 local persons in
revenge for the alleged
abduction and murder of
20 policemen in July and
August 2009 by militant
activists10. No targets
were specified, and Mr.
Shiekh further threatened
that any bullet fired at the
police would be retaliated
with 100 bullets
indiscriminately fired
back. If any rocket was
fired at police stations, the
police would fire 10
rockets back.
Mr. Shiekh’s announcement was the most recent attempt by Pakistani state agencies to spread fear among Baloch nationalists, and
it clearly exemplifies the police’s mindset as one favourable to violent action enacted indiscriminately and with impunity.
10
http://therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/quetta-policeman-calls-for-tit-for-tat-killings-against-sectarian-killers/
32
In January 2009, journalists received threats from the Director of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) for writing editorials
demanding investigations into the army’s alleged running of torture cells and detainment of female prisoners. The Director, also
holding the rank of the Major General, threatened to withhold official advertisements and payments from public newspapers
should they continue their “malicious” campaigns against the army. When television channels broadcast these threats publicly, the
Federal Minister for Information simply denied that the ISPR Director had ever made any such announcements.
These developments reflect the situation of serious human rights abuse in Balochistan, which continues to deteriorate despite the
government’s promise to reinstate law and order. After
the removal of General Musharraf, the newly elected
government of Asif Zardari announced the halt of
military operations in Balochistan in 2008. Prime
Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and government
parties apologized before the parliament for previous
military operations in the region.
On 7 November 2009, a Baloch human rights and
social activist was killed in Karachi. Mr. Nisar Baloch
was associated with several NGOs as renowned social
worker, and was a school teacher by profession.
Apart from his involvement in educational activities,
Mr. Baloch played a vital role in serving the old
settlers of Karachi. At the time, he was campaigning
against the land mafia for occupying the Tran-Lyari
Park (Gutter Baghicha) land in Site Town. He had
launched several related protest events under the
banner of the Gutter Baghicha Bachao Tehreek,
Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment and the
Karachi NGOs Alliance.
Balochistan )ational Party activists protesting in front of Karachi press club
against the killing of Zaid Baloch, a prominent political activist
33
In his struggle to protect land from encroachers, Mr. Baloch had been imprisoned on several occasions; numerous charges were
registered against him at various police stations, mainly accusing him of inciting violence and damaging public property.
On 4 April 2009, Mr. Ghulam Mohammed Baloch, President of Baloch National Movement, was abducted along with two
colleagues. Their dead bodies were recovered on 9 April 2009, leading to riots all across Balochistan. Due to his political activities,
Mr. Baloch had been detained several times in the past as part of Pakistani intelligence activities. He had for example played an
important role in securing the release of abducted American
UNHCR official John Solecki just days before his death.
The Pakistani military further threatened several journalists
who recently wrote about the fate of Baloch women, including
Zarina Marri, who had gone missing. Jan Muhammad Dashti, a
Baloch newspaper editor and prominent Baloch writer, was
seriously injured in a targeted killing attempt on 23 February
2009.
The international body for journalist Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) was outraged by the attack. “The current level
of violence against Baloch journalists and news media is
unacceptable,” RSF said. “This shooting attack on a newspaper
owner known for defending Baloch rights highlights the
government’s inability to protect journalists. We call for an
investigation and the arrest of those responsible for the
attack.”11
Known for supporting Baloch nationalism and opposing the province’s Islamisation, Dashti had been dismissed as a civil servant
by General Pervez Musharraf in 2000 but was subsequently reinstated by a court. The provincial government put him in charge of
managing the province’s mines in 2008.
11
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=30388
34
He had launched the newspaper Asaap in 2001 to defend Baloch
rights. It achieved high popularity despite having been subject to a
federal government advertising boycott for the past five years.
Zahid Baloch,
Balochistan National
Party (BNP) Karachi
President, was killed
by two unidentified
armed men riding a
bike on 1 November
2008. President
Baloch was a social
worker and the
chairman of an NGO,
the Baloch Tibet
Foundation.
Veteran Baloch leader, )awab Akbar Khan Bugti,
killed by Pakistani Military on 26 August 2006.
The continued killings of Baloch political leaders powerfully demonstrate the
government’s hostility towards Baloch nationalism and sentiments. Instead of
using rational arguments and civilized responses to Baloch grievances, the state has
pursued a strategy of eliminating politically conscious Baloch leaders and activists.
On August 26, 2006, indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force by the
military resulted in the killing of hundreds of civilians including 75 year old
Baloch leader, Nawab Mohammed Akbar Khan Bugti in Balochistan12. In
12
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5289880.stm
35
November 2007, another Baloch leader, Balach Marri, was killed by the
Pakistani forces in Balochistan. BNP Chief Sardar Akhter Mengal was
detained illegally and kept in an iron cage for one and half year13.
The establishment uses brutal methods to create fear and insecurity among
the political activists and intellectuals; it supports criminal gangs and
religious extremists against Baloch nationalists.
Only in January 2009, forty five prominent people have been killed
including the party head of the Hazara Community, a moderate Baloch
religious leader, bank manager and business man.14
On 17 September 2007, the trussed-up body of a leader belonging to the
Baloch Republican Party was found in Lea Market. Police said the body,
stuffed in a gunny bag and dumped near the Lea Market bus terminal, was
spotted by some pedestrians in the early morning hours. Subsequently, the
police were informed, who removed the body to the Civil Hospital for a
post-mortem examination.
At the hospital, the victim was identified as Saleem Afshani, a local leader
of the BRP. Hospital sources said the body bore many torture marks.15
13
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20070114.htm
14
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2009/02/090227_baluch_target_killings.shtml
http://www.dawn.com/2008/09/18/local13.htm
15
36
37
Mass Killings
38
Mass Killings:
Pakistan’s military and paramilitary troops, including the Air Force, have been using Western-supplied military hardware against
unarmed civilians in Balochistan. Indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force has resulted in hundreds of unreported killings
of Baloch civilians in remote parts of Balochistan.
In a media statement, the Pakistani Air Force chief Tanwir Mahmood Ahmed confirmed that military jets have been used against
tribal rebels and militants in Balochistan province. He
further announced that the Air Force would continue to be
used whenever and wherever the government desired.
Baloch leaders reported that over the past few months
civilians were targeted by the Air Force, but the
government always rejected such claims.
Central spokesman of the BRP, Mr. Sher Mohammad
Bugti, has strongly condemned the killing of innocent
women and children in Dera Bugti, by Pakistan air and
ground forces. He appealed to the United Nations and
other international organizations to take notice of the
human rights violations in Balochistan.
He said that the government’s reform packages and
attempts of reconciliations were nothing but drama and empty slogans. According to Mr. Bugti, the government force has been
carrying out barbaric acts in Sui, Sori, Azmerdan, Khajori and surrounding areas. “These peoples’ only fault is being Baloch.”
said Mr. Bugti. In the Neelagh region, too, the Pakistani security forces killed four persons including women. Another seven
innocent people including women and children were killed close to Punjab’s bordering area of Nithal. These families were moving
to safer places, where they were planning to work hard in order to support their children.
39
The AHRC has obtained information that military officers arrested four people on 5
April 2008. After refusing to confess, they were put into hot coal tar. There of them
died immediately, whilst the fourth died in custody in the Zainkoh area of the Dera
Bugti district. This was yet another tragic consequence of military operations
contrary to the prime minister's public apology and decision not to take military
action in the Balochistan province16. During 2008, security forces killed around 96
persons only in month of July in Dera Bugti district.
Large numbers of civilian mass killings by the troops were reported from restricted
and military-controlled districts of Dera Bugti, Kolu, Gwadar, Khuzdar, Awaran,
Nushki and Bolan of Balochistan province.
On 17 March 2005, the Pakistan paramilitary troops (Frontier Corps) started
indiscriminate bombing and firing in the district of Dera Bugti, Balochistan, which
resulted in the killing of more then seventy innocent civilians of the Hindu
community.17 The target was Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti who was sitting in
his guestroom with one guest. His one bodyguard died on the spot.
As a result of the attack, a total of 19 children died. Their names were documented
on the List of Martyred Persons of Hindu Minorities on 17 March 2005
at Dera Bugti:
Child’s name, parentage, age
1 Atti Divi D/O Bacha Mal, 1.5 years
2 Quvita Devi D/O Dewan Chand, 3 years
3 Sarkasha Devi D/O Saroon Kumar, 2.5 years
4 Amar Devi D/O Rajesh Kumar, 1.5 years
16
17
Asían Human Rights Comisión http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2008/2980/
http://www.dawn.com/2005/03/18/top8.htm
40
5 Deepak Kumar S/O Narenjan Kumar, 1.5
years
6 Vicky Kumar S/O Tara Kumar, 1.5 years
7 Ajeet Kumar S/O Vicky Kumar, 2 years
8 Washal S/O Manoher Lal, 5.5 years
9 Raveet S/O Manoher Lal, 2.5 years
10 Rekha Devi D/O Rukan Chand, 5 years
11 Ameer Chand S/O Rukan Chand, 2
Years
12 Sant Kumar S/O Nand Lal, 5 Years
13 Sangeeta Davi D/O Nand Lal, 3 Years
14 Narmeeta Devi D/O Moti Lal, 7 Years
15 Vikram S/O Sant lal, 9 Years
16 Barkha Devi D/O Luchhman Singh, 3
Years
17 Ramesh Kumar S/O Preetam Kumar, 1
Year
18 Ravi Kumar S/O Ramesh Lal, 5 Years
19 Ameet kumar S/O Dewan Chand, 16
Years
The casualties also included women whose
names were as follows:
1 Zarka Devi W/O Manoher Lal
2 Sharmeela Deve W/O Rukan Chand
3 Mai Conish Devi W/O Moti Lal
Women and children protesting against killings in Dera Bugti, Balochiostan
41
Furthermore, 11 innocent men lost their lives:
1 Mukhi Mohan Mal S/O Bharma Mals
2 Dewan Chand S/O Tara Chand
3 Saroom Kumar S/O Deyal Dass
4 Laloo Mal S/O Deyal Dass
5 Ram Lal S/O Chander Lal
6 Rajesh Kumar S/O Chander Lal
7 Narjen Kumar S/O Ranjhan Dass
8 Nand Lal S/O Sobha Singh
9 Resha Dass S/O Nand Lal
10 Bacha Mal S/O Mokhi Mohan Mal
11 Suresh Kumar S/O Santu
Many other people were injured but the law enforcement
officials did not allow patients to hospitals located in other towns.
The names of the injured are:
Men:
1 Ashok Kumar S/O Tara Chand
2 Ghulshan Kumar S/O Sunder Lal
3 Jaspal S/O sunder Lal
4 Santosh Kumar S/O Moti Lal
5 Govind Ram S/O Rukan Chand
6 Ramesh Kumar S/O Moti Lal
7 Naresh S/O Tara Chand
8 Mankoo S/O Deyal Dass
Members of Bugti Tribe and political activists
protesting against killings and military operation in
front of Karachi press club.
42
9 Krin Kumar S/O Lal Chand
10 Pond Kumar S/O Deyal Dass
11 Bhagwan Dass S/O Meechal Ram
12 Sham Lal S/O Nama Mal
13 Bhagoo Mal S/O Chon Lal
14 Rohan Kumar S/O Moti Lal
15 Vicky S/O Doulat ram
16 Navend lal S/O Mohan Ram
17 Darshan Kumar S/O Bhagwan Dass
18 Jewat Lal S/O Lal Chand
19 Sanjeet S/O Anand Lal
Women:
1 Atti Devi W/O Chander Lal
2 Anjna Devi W/O Rajinder Kumar
3 Aasha Deve W/O Dewan Chand
4 Daughter of Chander Lal
5 Mai Laila W/O Santoo Mal
During this operation, which took place very suddenly, many
innocent tribal men were also killed by the bullets of the FC.
1 Yar M. Karmanzai S/O Hazar Khan
2 Gulzar S/O Raitag Dodazai
3 Shah Jamal alias Tota S/O Molha Moondrani
4 Ali Mohammad S/O Eido Karmanzais
5 Murad Bakhsh S/O Moula Bakhsh Karmanzai
6 Murid S/O Zarak Kmaranzai
7 Sharif S/O Shahwano Phoonja
Saleem Ashani, a Baloch activist, on 17 September
2007;
the trussed-up body of a leader of the Baloch
Republican Party was found in Karachi after he
had been abducted by the security forces.
43
8 Ghouso Ramezai S/O Jango
9 Amin Mandwani S/O Dina Moondwani
10 Janga S/O Mast Ali Chandrazai
11 Wali Dad Marhata
12 Malook Masoori S/O Daryan
13 Ghulam Ali Ranazai S/O Ramoo
14 Udo Sandrani S/O Tangi
15 Nasiban S/O Namal Kamanzai
16 Raman Nothani
17 Gul Bahar Nothani
18 Mohammad Din Joz
19 Ilmuddin Shambani
20 Yar Khan Sianzai
21 Wushdal Dom
22 Amiruddin Dangi
23 Taj Kohli
24 Kool Mir
25 Wasyak Pirbur
26 Nawabuddin Hamzani
27 Gohram Marhata
28 Bari Pahi S/O Raman
To hide this mass killing of innocent people, the roads of the Dera Bugti were blocked by the government officials, and nobody
was allowed to visit the area. Even the media, lawyers, and social workers were not permitted to enter. Even the people who were
going to the Fathia prayer for the souls of the innocent people were stopped.
44
Abductions,
Arrests and
Detentions
45
Abductions, Arrests and Detentions:
Mass arrests of political and human rights activists by
the police and security forces continue unabated. The
police frequently harass and carry out mass arrests in
Baloch populated areas. Countless cases have been
witnessed and reported in newspapers. In remote areas,
however, the majority of cases remain unreported. The
Pakistani constitution and international law oppose any
mass harassment and arrests of innocent citizens. In
Pakistan, however, it is a known practice to suppress
dissent.
As already noted, on 28 July 2010, Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa
and Justice Muhammad Noor Miskanzai declared themselves
“extremely perturbed with the deaths of Ashfaq Ahmed and
Muhammad Farooq Mengal and the same are of great concern”
and the reports carried in the Pakistani media.
According to the Quetta police chief Suleman Sayed, 450
people were arrested in Quetta on 28 August 2006. Security
forces tried to crack down on violence, which spread after the
killing of Baloch nationalist leaders by the military.18
On 27 November 2006 more than 400 activists were arrested
within 72 hours prior to President Musharaf’s visit to Quetta.19
18
19
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=78518&d=28&m=8&y=2006
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2006/2097/
46
A year and a day later, on 28 November 2007 the police arrested 150 Baloch youths from different areas of the provincial capital
and humiliated people during raids on their homes.20
Torture:
Widespread torture by the state security agencies against innocent political and human rights activists is a common practice in
Balochistan. According to the HRCP, torture is “committed with impunity”.
Article 10 of Pakistan’s Constitution guarantees that “No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being
informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest, nor shall they be denied the right to consult and be defended by a
legal practitioner of their choice. Every person who is arres-ted and detained in custody shall be presented before a magistrate
within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest...”21
Despite national and international instruments, Baloch political
activists have been victim of state torture. Seven members of the
BSO were arrested during the night of 24 March and the early
morning of 25 March 2004 from Karachi after attending a
peaceful protest rally against the army operations in Balochistan.
They were kept in an illegal confinement and tortured by
intelligence agencies for more than seven months.22
Sattar Baloch, a school teacher, was arrested and severely
tortured. When released in 2010, he was paralyzed and unable to
walk. Local HRCP representatives interviewed him and released
a videotape of the tortures he had to endure.23
20
http://www.dawn.com/2007/11/29/nat31.htm
Constitution of Pakistan Article 10(1) and (2)
22
HRCP detail reporte on disappearances and tortures in Balochistan , http://www.hrcp-web.org/images/publication/balochistan%2520report/pdf/balochistan_report.pdf
23
Sattar Baloch video recorded by an HRCP activist, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OrRI7ZIkZs&feature=related
21
47
Displaced Baloch
48
Balochistan Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs):
Due to indiscriminate and continuous air and ground
offensives by the Pakistan Air Force24 and military,
hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from the
districts of Dera Bugti and Kolu.25 Recent floods in JuneAugust 2010 in conflict-stricken districts have increased
the vulnerability of tens of thousands of poor families
who were forced to leave their home towns.
The plight of displaced Baloch:
Pakistan's government estimates over one million people
are on the move in Sindh and Balochistan in search of
safety. The waters of the river Sindh keep on rising,
causing some of the worst flash floods the region has ever
seen.
According to the United Nations 2006 report, there were
84,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Balochistan
of which 26,000 were women and 33,000 were children as
of December 2006. According to the statistics of the
HRCP, about 50,000 people have fled their villages and
settlements from Dera Bugti as of July 2006. Government
officials have not provided relief due to claims that the
refugees from Dera Bugti were not in immediate need.
24
25
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5188830.stm
http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/%28httpCountries%29/D927619B0A8659BB802570A7004BDA56?OpenDocument
49
Because of the total blockade of the Marri and Bugti areas by the Pakistani army, approximately 8,000 to 10,000 died due to
malnourishment, lack of shelter and disease. They had reportedly been living under deplorable conditions in makeshift camps with
no access to potable water, food, and other basic necessities. No medicine or medical instruments, doctors, electricity or even fuel
to run water pumps were provided to these areas. The government allegedly offered goats to those who agreed to return to their
damaged homes and leave the overcrowded camps. Unfortunately the plight of the displaced has been overshadowed by the
conflict in the region, which was aggravated by the killing of Baloch chief Akbar Bugti. The government of Pakistan failed to
respond the demands for help by the displaced population due to its occupation with the operation against the tribal militias. It
exacerbated the humanitarian crisis by not even
recognizing the presence of IDPs in the
province. When the government finally asked
for the intervention of the United Nations to
avert the humanitarian crisis on 21 December
2006, it was already too late.
The situation was further aggravated as the
government prevented journalists and aid
groups to reach the affected areas.Even the
assistance sought from the UN was allegedly
conditional as only three districts of
Naseerabad, Jaffarabad and Quetta, which
housed the majority of the IDPs, were given
permission.
The other districts, Sibi and Bolan, were not considered. Furthermore, the UN was asked to carry out its relief operation through
health facilities in the districts and under the supervision of local authorities. The aid workers, who had visited the area earlier,
reported that military trucks rounded up displaced people and hid them before their visits.
There have been reports of severe malnutrition crises among the IDPs. UNICEF in its internal assessment report on nutritional
status of women and children among the IDPs revealed that 28% of the children under the age of five were ‘acutely
50
undernourished'. Out of those, six per cent were in the state of ‘severely acute malnutrition', and eighty percent of the deaths
among the IDPs were children under the age of five. Six percent of the children were so underfed that they would die without
immediate medical attention.
In December 2006, the United Nations
approved a $1 million humanitarian relief
package for six months to address this crisis.
The package included the immediate
establishment of 57 supplementary feeding
centers and three therapeutic feeding centers in
the three districts, provision of food, medicine
and special nutrition for children, blankets,
water purification and sanitation equipment,
and technical assistance. However, the relief
package was insufficient considering the large
presence of IDPs.
Besides, development projects in the Gwadar
area could also result in the displacement of
about 70,000 people. Given that those who have
been displaced by previous development projects
like those in Mangla Dam and Tarbela Dam, have
not been rehabilitated, it is highly unlikely that any
future IDPs will be adequately rehabilitated.
A displaced Baloch family – Security forces banned all aid
organization to provide shelter and relief to the displaced population.
51
According to international law it is the government’s obligation to take care of the humanitarian needs of the region’s displaced
population, but security forces denied any access to local and foreign agencies including UN humanitarian aid agencies to assist
the homeless Baloch people.26
Due to constant shelling and bombing,
people are forced to live in small groups
and moved to the neighboring province
of Sindh.
UN agency assessments also revealed
that 80 percent of the hundreds of deaths
among the IDP’s were those of children
under the age of five. The report
concluded that, according to World
Health Organization (WHO) standards,
the "situation is critical.” The
government of Pakistan has failed to
respond adequately to this humanitarian
crisis. People are willing to move back to
their houses, but there is no standard
policy or system in place to encourage, assist or rehabilitate victims of military operations.
26
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1221/p01s04-wosc.html
52
Restrictions on
Freedom of Expression
53
Freedom of Expression:
Freedom of expression is guaranteed in domestic and international charters but denied in Balochistan. Although signatory to
international covenants, domestic laws and guarantees, the government of Pakistan has nevertheless blocked almost all of
Balochistan’s 34 websites,27 which contain social, cultural and political information about Baloch people and their region.
Pakistan telecommunication authorities also banned the websites of elected political representatives of Balochistan without any
justification.28
The Pakistani military has threatened several journalists who wrote about the fate of Baloch women, including Zarina Marri,
recently gone missing. Jan Muhammad Dashti, a Baloch newspaper editor and prominent Baloch writer, was seriously injured in a
targeted killing attempt on
23 February 2009. Two
Baloch journalists have
been killed and several
news media have been
attacked in Quetta since the
start of 2008.
The international body for
journalists, Reporters
Without Borders, was outraged by the attack: “The current level of violence
against Baloch journalists and news media is unacceptable…This shooting
attack on a newspaper owner known for defending Baloch rights highlights
the government’s inability to protect journalists. We call for an investigation
and the arrest of those responsible for the attack.”29
27
28
29
Baloch children protesting against ban on Baloch website and
arrests of Baloch writers-Quetta, Balochistan
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%255C07%255C11%255Cstory_11-7-2006_pg7_10
54
A Baloch journalist, Munir Mengal, disappeared for one and a half years because of his efforts to establish a Baloch language TV
channel in Pakistan.30 Mubarak Qazi, a renowned Balochi poet, was detained for several months for writing a national poem in the
Baloch language.31 The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in its May 2007 news report also
mentioned the details of hundreds of missing people including the Baloch short story writer Hanif Sharif, who disappeared for two
years.32 Samiullah Baloch, brother of the senior Baloch politician Senator Sanaullah Baloch, disappeared because of his brother’s
human rights campaign and meeting with senior OHCHR officials in Geneva in July 2006.33
Numerous other cases were documented by Amnesty International, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Asian
Human Rights Commission of Hong Kong, where journalists, human rights activists, opposition party members and peaceful
demonstrators faced arrest, arbitrary detention, abduction, ill-treatment and other forms of human rights abuse. There are
systematic restrictions on independent local and foreign broadcast media to visit Balochistan and parts of regions that are badly
affected by military operations.
30
http://www.amnesty.org/en/report/info/ASA33/011/2006
32
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72078
33
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/nl0107.pdf
31
55
Restriction on
Freedom of Association
56
Freedom of Association:
In Balochistan,
Baloch nationalists
are not allowed to
hold rallies and
processions,34 but
pro-Taliban groups,
who receive support
from state
authorities, are
permitted to freely
campaign and
promote fundamentalist ideas.
The Balochistan National Party’s (BNP) peaceful long march against the ongoing
military operations, establishment of military cantonments, killings and the
humanitarian crisis was disrupted by the authorities.35 Police and military
personnel arrested more than 400 activists within 72 hours on 27 November
2006.36 Over the last three years, moderate Baloch nationalist parties have been
barred from freedom of assembly and association. Political activists have been
tortured and jailed for political mass mobilization to promote their rights.
Taliban and Al-Qaeda supporters are allowed to
run religious schools, training camps, and protest
rallies. Baloch nationalists, however, are restricted
from holding peaceful political processions.
34
35
36
http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/19/top17.htm
http://www.dawn.com/2006/10/30/nat1.htm
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2006/2097/
57
58
Gender-Based Human
Rights Violations
59
Gender-based Human Rights Violations:
The conflict in Balochistan has shattered the lives of women and children; 58
percent of those displaced are women and 26 percent are children. Women have
been reported missing and arbitrarily detained. Hundreds of women protest and are
on hunger strikes in Quetta and Karachi to effectuate the release and recovery of
their love ones.37
Ms. Zarina Marri, a 23-year-old schoolteacher from the Government Middle School
at Kahan, in
Balochistan
province, was
arrested in late 2005,
and has been held
incommunicado in
an army torture cell
in Karachi, the
capital of Sindh
province. She has
allegedly endured
repeated sexual
abuse by military
officers and is being used as a sex slave to induce arrested nationalist activists to sign state-concocted confessions.
The current whereabouts of the young woman are not known. It has been asserted that women who are campaigning for
the greater autonomy of Balochistan are being arrested by the state agencies and forced into sex slavery during their
custody.
37
60
The Neglected Region
61
Social and Economic Discrimination:
The resource-rich province today is marked by a high rate of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and infant and maternal mortality.
In addition to the years of military operations, ill-conceived and discriminatory policies and poor governance have resulted in
extreme underdevelopment of the region.
Islamabad’s neglectful policies have deteriorated the lives of a helpless population. Meaningful development can only occur if
there is political empowerment, local participation,
adequate healthcare, sufficient educational and vocational
opportunities, reasonable income levels, and peace in the
region. However, the elite in Islamabad seems to support a
controlled model of development which is in conflict with
the globally accepted idea of participatory development.
The establishment’s development plans with regard to
Balochistan emphasizes troop deployments, military and
paramilitary cantonments check posts and policing to
suppress politically active Baloch people.
The insufficiency of Islamabad’s policies for development
is obvious. The Human Development Index (HDI) is the
best-known measure of development and has three basic
dimensions: (i) a long healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth; (ii) knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate;
and (iii) a decent standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita.
According to the Pakistan National Human Development Report 2003, conducted for the first time by the UN Development
Programme (UNDP), wide variations in HDI measures exist across the provinces and districts. According to the report, there is
considerable variation across provinces with respect to literacy rates, ranging from 51 percent in Sindh to 36 percent in
Balochistan. Across the districts, Jhelum has the highest HDI rank (0.703) and Dera Bugti the lowest (0.285).
62
Not surprisingly, Balochistan and its districts were assessed to be the least developed in Pakistan. Among the top 31 districts with
the highest HDI, Punjab had by far the largest share at 59 percent, while Balochistan lagged far behind with 9 percent. To compare,
Sindh had a 13 percent share and NWFP 19 percent.
According to the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), the developmental overview of Balochistan is very worrying
and the extent of relative deprivation in the province is extremely high. 92 percent of Balochistan’s districts are classified as
highly deprived compared to 50 percent in Sindh and 29 percent in Punjab.
The situation at the population level is equally alarming. The Pakistan
Integrated Household Survey 2001-02 revealed that Balochistan had
the highest proportion of poor people (48 percent of the province
population) and the highest level of rural poverty (51 percent).
According to a study conducted by Dr. Talat Anwar, a senior
development expert, rural poverty in Balochistan increased by 15
percent between 1999 and 2005. This contrasts for example with the
experience of urban Punjab, which saw a nearly four percent drop of
poverty between 1999 and 2005, with a current proportion of 20.6
percent. Sindh and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP),
however, also experienced growing poverty during this period.
The most devastating consequence of underdevelopment in any society
are high death rates. Balochistan has the highest infant and maternal
mortality ratio in South Asia. According to a Ministry of Health policy
paper, the Gender Awareness Policy Appraisal 2006, one of the main reasons for this high maternal mortality rate is hunger and
malnutrition, which affects 34 percent of pregnant women.
The infant mortality statistics are equally disconcerting. Successive findings indicate that infant mortality in Balochistan has
reached the number of 130 deaths per 1,000 live births. Compared to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s average of 126 and
Pakistans national average of 70, the statistics convey a worrying picture. Only 25 percent of the population have access to
63
electricity (national average, 75 per cent). The male literary rate is 18.3 percent and the female literacy rate 7 percent (Punjab,
overall: 63.6 percent).
The regional gender disparity regarding educational institutes is high. Punjab has 111 vocational institutes for women; Balochistan
has one. Only 23 percent of girls in rural areas in Balochistan are fortunate enough to be enrolled in primary schools, compared to
twice this ratio in rural Punjab. This discriminatory policy is not only resulting in a slowdown of female empowerment but is also
affecting the overall development of the province.
Even the existing educational institutions suffer from an acute lack of resources. 67 percent of schools in the province have no
adequate building, while 60 percent of primary schools are restricted to one untrained and unqualified teacher. What has grown, is
the number of religious schools in the province during the tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) and Muttahida
Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) coalition government.
The Baloch youth have been deliberately deprived of all forms
of contemporary education. Compared to the 340 polytechnic,
computer science, women vocational institutes and commercial
and law colleges in Punjab, Balochistan has only nine such
centres, all poorly developed and limited to urban areas. Hence,
rural Baloch youths are completely deprived of modern practical
education.
The systematic denial of basic education and education-related
facilities in Balochistan indicates disrespect and discriminatory
policies of Islamabad. The only development Balochistan has
witnessed during Musharraf’s regime is the 62 perccent increase
of police stations in the province to suppress the Baloch
A Baloch family in Pakistan’s gas-rich Dera Bugti district
people’s activism.
64
Development and
Militarization A Carrot and Stick Approach
65
Development and Militarization - A Carrot and Stick Approach:
Regional tensions were provoked by President Pervez Musharraf’s determination to develop the area's oil and gas fields and his
establishment of new army cantonments in the province without taking into account local and provincial circumstances. General
Musharaff adopted a
‘carrot and stick'
policy to increase the
military’s presence
and the pace of
development in the
province in an effort
to weaken political
resistance.
The Federal
government has been
using regular troops
and paramilitary
forces for
“strengthening the
federation,”
Islamabad reportedly
established one
paramilitary post for every 500 people. Overall, four major military cantonments, 52 paramilitary cantonments, five naval bases,
including the Jinnah naval base in Gwadar and six missile-testing ranges in Balochistan, were instated. Balochistan continues to
be under siege due to the building of army cantonments that began in 2006.
66
In January 2005, a military operation was carried out to suppress the armed protests by the tribal militias following the alleged
army gang rape of female doctor Shazia Khalid on 7 January 2005. However, the Balochistan crisis intensified after Pakistan’s
government launched full-scale military operations in December 2005 following the firing of eight rockets at a paramilitary base
on the outskirts of the town of Kohlu, a stronghold of the Marri tribe during President Musharraf’s visit to the area on 14
December 2005. On 17
December 2005, paramilitary
forces began air force
bombardments in Kohlu. By
mid-June 2006, about 400 to
500 innocent Baloch people
had reportedly been killed as
a consequence of the army
operations including the air
raids, especially in the Marri
and Bugti areas.
About 80-85 percent of those
either killed or injured were
women and children. The
fighting caused widespread
damage to buildings, and 85
percent people of Dera Bugti
were forced to flee the town.
The Pakistani Air Force chief
Tanwir Mahmood Ahmed
stated that the air force would continue to be used whenever and wherever considered necessary. The killing of Nawab Akbar
Bugti, president of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) during a massive military operation in the Bhambore Hills between Kohlu
and Dera Bugti districts on 26 August 2006 further escalated the spate of violence. In July 2006, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz
ruled out a general amnesty for “miscreants” in Balochistan.
67
In 2005, Baloch leaders presented a 15-point agenda to the government that included greater control of resources, protection for
the Baloch minority and a halt to the building of military bases. President Musharraf , however, showed little interest in their
concerns. In 2006, shares of Rs 4 billion under the interim National Finance Commission were consumed by additional
expenditure on law and order, reduction
in oil and gas production and higher pay
and pension bills imposed by the federal
government.
Lack of development:
The government of Pakistan claimed that
ongoing development projects will
benefit the Baloch in addition to creating
job opportunities for them. However the
government’s track record does not
evoke any confidence.
On 28 August 2006, General Pervez
Musharraf warned that any opposition to
the Balochistan development plans
would be defeated. Monitoring cells were established in the Planning Commission of Islamabad and Quetta to follow the projects.
Several major projects in Balochistan including the Gwadar deep sea port, coastal highways between Karachi and Gwadar, Mirani
and Subakzai dams, costing more than Rs 135 billion were started.
The Baloch population, however, fears that most of the jobs created as part of the new port city of Gwadar and the Saindak copper
mining project will be given to non-Balochis. They reported that 75% of their lands had been given to serving military officers at
throwaway prices. Furthermore, Balochis continue to miss out on the huge reserves of mineral resources despite Balochistan’s
production of about 36 percent Pakistan’s total amount of natural gas.
68
69
70

Introduction to the region and human right

Transcription

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