Geneva: national liberation of Baluchistan is the final solution: Mehran Baluch

GENEVA: MEHRAN BALUCH, of Interfaith International, said Baluchistan was a sovereign independent nation that was forcibly occupied in 1948 by neighbouring Pakistan. Since then the occupying power had used every method to enslave the Baluch, and had exploited and plundered Baluchistan’s resources. The level of international deception by the Occupying Power was not only regrettable but extremely shameful. The world had to acknowledge that the Occupying Power had been deceitfully marketing itself and its importance internationally at Baluchistan’s expense. The continued subjugation and oppression by the Baluch by the occupiers for over 63 years had brought even the weakest Baluch to the conclusion that national liberation of Baluchistan was the final solution.Text of Mehran Baluch's speech at UN Human Rights Council 11th Session
Interfaith International Human Rights Council 11th Session Item Agenda: 4, General Debate Intervention: By Mehran Baluch Dated: 8th June 2009Mr. Chairman, Baluchistan was a sovereign independent nation which was forcibly occupied in 1948 by neighboring Pakistan. Since occupation the Baluch have been struggling for their national liberation. Hoverer the occupying power has used every method to enslave the Baluch, exploit and plunder Baluchistan’s resources in order to sustain - “the occupying Nation”. Mr. Chairman, The level of international deception by the occupying power is not only regrettable but extremely shameful. I say this because it presents it-self in the international community as a strategically important and viable nation where as it’s neither without Baluchistan’s landmass and its resources. Mr. Chairman, The occupying power frequently boasts about its strategic position in South Asia. But what strategic importance does Punjab province have? Not much, because they are land locked, over populated and without any significant natural resources. Mr. Chairman, The world has to acknowledge that the occupying power has been deceitfully marketing itself and its importance internationally only on Baluchistan’s expense. Almost the entire cost line of Pakistan is Baluchistan. Resources such as gas, coal, gold and other natural minerals produced in Baluchistan is looted and plundered by Punjabi Pakistan. Almost 50% of Pakistan’s land is Baluchistan. Mr. Chairman. It is interesting to see that occupying power portrays us as anti-Islam to its own people where as it portrays us as Islamic fundamentalists to the west. Mr. Chairman, The continued subjugation and oppression of the Baluch by the occupiers for over 63 years of occupation has brought even the weakest Baluch to the conclusion that national liberation of Baluchistan is the final solution. The occupying Government has enjoyed a free hand in Baluchistan where it has carried out 5 major military operations over 6 decades , killed tens of thousands, abducted and tortured thousands, Yet it remains champion of Islam and advocate of human rights. Mr. Chairman, I was the first person to bring the case of gross human rights violations committed in Baluchistan by the occupying Pakistani Army, ISI and the establishment to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in 2001. Pakistan has tried to silence me by registering false criminal cases against me and my family. Pakistan through its notorious ISI has intensified an extensive propaganda campaign against Baluch human rights defenders worldwide. They have gone as far as threatening the Head of NGO that accredits me, presented false Interpol papers to international governments, tried to blackmail the British into extraditing me to Pakistan and as well as requesting the Swiss authorities on a number of occasions to arrest me on the false basis of terrorism. Mr. Chairman, The Pakistani establishment is doing its best to break the will of the Baloch for freedom and human rights but it is unstoppable, therefore it is promoting the policy of divide and rule with the promise of autonomy for the Baluch through its so-called democratic government and its agents, in order to disillusion the Baluch nation and the international community into believing that Pakistan is sincere in resolving the Baluch conflict. The struggle of liberty over oppression is the struggle of memory over forgetting. And we have not forgotten that once we were free. The Human Rights Council on 10 Jun 2009, concluded its general debate on human rights situations that require its attention and its general debate on human rights bodies and mechanisms, under which it heard the President of the Council present reports on his visits to Brazil and Bahrain in April and May this year.In the general debate on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention, a series of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) raised a number of issues about violations of human rights in specific countries and regions, and also highlighted thematic violations, including women and women’s rights, violence against women and honour killings, and the right to development and to self determination.The following NGOs took the floor: International Humanist and Ethical Union, Association for World Education, Hawa Society for Women, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, Colombian Commission of Jurists, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH), North-South XXI, Interfaith International, World Muslim Congress, Centrist Democratic International, Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA), Liberation, Human Rights Council of Australia, Federación de Asociaciones de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos, Baha’i International Community, International Institute for Peace, MINBYUN - Lawyers for a Democratic Society, Pax Romana, International Educational Development, Society Studies Centre, Charitable Institute for Protecting Social Victims, Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, Arab Commission for Human Rights, Union de l’action féminine, European Union of Public Relations, Cercle de recherche sur les droits et les devoirs de la personne humaine, Conectas Direitos Humanos, International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies, Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, Amnesty International, Indian Council of Education, Human Rights Council of Australia, in a joint statement with Asian Legal Resource Centre, and Baha’i International Community, International Service for Human Rights, and Arab Commission for Human Rights.Source: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil

conference on Balochistan entitled “Self – DETERMINATION IN BALOCHISTAN – ITS RELATION TO REGIONAL & GLOBAL SECURITY”

Release June 10, 2009: Interfaith International & UNPO with collaboration with Baloch Human Rights Council (UK), World Sindhi Congress and Sindhi Baloch Forum held a conference on Balochistan entitled “Self – DETERMINATION IN BALOCHISTAN – ITS RELATION TO REGIONAL & GLOBAL SECURITY” on 8th June 2009 during the 11th session of the UNHRC in Geneva. The conference was presided over by Dr. Charles Graves of interfaith international. The UNPO representative Ms. Maggie Murphy introduced the Balochistan issue.Tariq Baloch read a statement on behalf of Suleman Daud, the Khan Of Kalat to the conference. The Baloch representative in the UNPO Mr. Noordin Mengal in his presentation gave a graphic detail of atrocities committed by Pakistani state in Balochistan since the occupation of Balochistan by Pakistani forces. He spoke on Gross Human Rights Violation in Balochistan, enforced disappearances, political assassination and target killings, mass arrests, mass Killings and Torture of the Baloch by Pakistani State agencies. He also shed light on Balochistan IDPs, freedom of expression and social and economical discrimination towards the Baloch by the Pakistani state. Pakistan’s fifth army operation in Balochistan is continuing. During the recent military operation 2004-2009 in Balochistan, serious human rights violations have been recorded by various human rights organizations. The Pakistani state is continuously suppressing, violating and subduing the Baloch right of freedom and sovereignty. The ISI and Military Intelligence (MI) agencies are largely responsible for the arrest and disappearances of thousands of Baloch people. Pakistan’s persistent policy to physically eliminate the Baloch political leaders is alarming. Elaborating on the Pakistani atrocities, he said that the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force by the military resulted in killing of hundreds of Baloch civilians national leaders including Baloch national leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and Nawabzada Balach Marri. The Baloch national leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal was illegally detained in solitary confinement and kept in an iron cage for one and half year. A renowned Baloch intellectual, political analysts and writer Mr. Jan Mohammad Dashti was critically injured in an attempt on his life. He said that women have been reported missing and arbitrarily detained including zarrina marri a 23 year old schoolteacher from Kahan. Due to indiscriminate and continuous air and ground offensive by the Pakistani air force and military more than two hundred thousands of people have been displaced from Dera Bugti and kohlu. Mr. Ghulam Muhammad Baloch chairman of BNM Lala Munir Ahmad Baloch vice-chairman of BNM Sher Mohammad joint secretary of BRP were abducted by the Pakistani secret agencies ISI and MI from their solicitor office after a court hearing on 3rd April 2009. They were blind folded, whisked away and killed by pakistani security forces. Their mutilated and decomposed bodies were found in Peedark near Turbat after six days. He said that the Baloch have never accepted the occupation of their land from day one and have resisted it. He said that it is imperative that the Baloch should exercise the universal right of self determination as envisaged by the UN Charter. He appealed to the UN and the international community to help and support the Baloch for their just struggle for freedom, dignity and sovereignty as an independent secular democratic Balochistan can play a pivotal role in the regional and global security.Ms. Suriya Makhdoom of World Sindhi Congress expressed her solidarity with the Baloch nation and said Sindhis are also oppressed by Pakistani establishment. She highlighted the suffering and injustices of Sindhi nation by the Pakistani establishment.Mr Samad Baloch Secretary General Of Baloch Human rights Council (UK) spoke on Baloch right of self determination and its impact on Regional & Global security. He said that the Baloch struggle for the right of self determination by implication has impacts on regional and global peace. The right of self-determination of peoples is a fundamental principle in international law and emergence of democratic and secular sovereign states in the region as a result of granting the right of self determination to the Baloch and other oppressed nations will be a counter check for the religious fundamentalist states of Pakistan and Iran and will contribute to regional and world security. He added that the Baloch consider the occupation of their land by Pakistan and Iran as illegal. The Baloch have never accepted the annexation of their newly independent state into Pakistan and adopted various forms of resistance to illegal occupation. Since the collapse of the organized resistance against the Iranian occupation in 1928, the Baloch in Iranian held territory have been resisting the occupation through political mobilization and low intensity armed movements. He emphasized that allowing the Baloch to exercise their right of self determination will lead to the achievement of this right by the other subjugated nationalities like Sindhis, Kurds, Azeris, Seraikis and other in Iran and Pakistan. He urged the international community to get involved in the conflict between the Baloch and the occupying states as it is imperative for securing a long lasting peace and security situation in the region that the unjust state boundaries should be readjusted and the divided Baloch should be united. Mr. Nasser Boledai of Balochistan Peoples Party (Iran), Mr. Abdullah Baloch of Balochistan national Movement (Iran) Jamshed Amiri of BUFFR spoke on the brutalities of Iranian Shia state in Balochistan. They gave a detailed account of the recent mass arrests, harassment of Baloch people and the execution of innocent Baloch civilians in Zahidan. They said high level of intimidation, harassment arrests, and torture is ongoing in Balochistan by Iranian state. Peaceful protests have been suppressed, political and religious leaders have been detained unlawfully, freedom of expression and assembly is totally restricted. They exposed the crude brutalities and heinous crimes committed against humanity in Balochistan by shia state of Iran and requested the UN to take notice the naked fascism and brutalities of Tehran against the Baloch civilians and asked the UN and the international community to support the Baloch struggle for sovereignty. Munir Mengal, and a Kashmiri representative also spoke on the occasion.

Wahid Qamber Baloch transferred to Islamabad

Quetta: Baloch activists Wahid Qambar is reported to have been transferred to Islamabad. Mr Qamber was facing different anti terror allegation and his next hearing was fixed for on June 13 2009, a court in Balochistan. Two weeks earlier Balochistan high court has ordered that Mr Qamber be transferred to Turbat where he was initially arrested. However, now the media reports say that he has been transferred to Islamabad instead. So far no reasons have been given that why Mr Qamber was transferred outside Balochistan, it has been reported that Mr. Qamber Baloch has been flown to Islamabad. It is assumed that the government might have submitted an application indicating that Mr Qamber should be tried in Islamabad. Wahid Qambar is the brother of Dr Khalid Qamber who was martyred during a gun battle with Pakistani army on 8th August 2007. Wahid Qamber's legal representative Mr Kachkol Ali showed grave concerned over transferring of his client to Islamabad. He said Wahid Qamber’s life is in extreme dangers after he has been shifted to Islamabad. He said the government intentions are still not good after the killing of three Baloch political leaders in Turbat town. “If anything happened to my client in custody the government will be held responsible for that”, he warned

11 june "Shaheed Hameed Day"

Balochistany namdaren o sheer delen bachek Shaheed Hameed Baloch ky haiy beset o shashme sal roch 11 june 2009 a dark botSHAHEED HAMED BALOCH was born in the village of Kunchiti; district Kech (Turbat), Mukaran. He was a student at the Government Degree Collage Turbat now known as Attah Shad Degree Collage. He was a member of the Baloch Students Organization, and was arrested on 9 December 1979 on the charge of firing at a military officer from the Gulf state of Oman who was recruiting Pakistani mercenary soldiers from the Balochistan province. Even though the Omani officer was not hurt in the alleged incident, Special Military Court No. 4 charged and sentenced the 23 year old Baloch to death for killing another person, in spite of the fact that the military prosecutor was not able to establish the identity of this other person. On June 11, 1981 Shaheed Hameed Baloch was hanged to death in Mach jail. His body was flown in by an army helicopter to his native village Kunchiti, where his body was laid to rest.Before going to the gallows Shaheed Hameed Baloch wrote his last will. Following is abstracted from his will.Testament of FreedomHe who avenges himselfSays farewell to his beautiful wifeHas no longing for power or wealthIt does not worry me a bit if this will and testament of mine reaches the great people of the glorious Balochistan or not. As I write these words, there are armed guards all over the place, keeping a watchful eye on every move I make. I have only eight hours to live. Eight from now I shall be proudly walking to the gallows. I have no feeling of remorse, nor am I bothered by the thought that I should have lived longer rather than be dead soon, because to lead a life without any purpose or to live under the yoke of slavery, is a curse.I am neither the first nor the only one to give his blood for Balochistan; hundreds of Baloch have laid down their lives for the fatherland. In my family alone I shall be the second person to kiss the hangman’s noose. And thus sacrifice my life for the great goal, which I am certain, the younger generations of Baloch shall ultimately achieve. The British executed one of my ancestors, Sheran Dad Karim, in 1902.I would like to tell my friends that such a priceless boon like freedom cannot be won without the supreme sacrifice. I know of no precedent in history where nations have achieved freedom without rendering the supreme sacrifice. The path to freedom and independence is admittedly a difficult one. However, the goal awaiting us is truly magnificent. I feel happy and consoled to think that though independence may elude us from a long time to come – my little daughter Bibi Banadi who is now 3 years old may experience it in her life time – my grandchildren and those of my brother Beebagr’s will surely be blessed with it and that day will be the day when my soul will finally rest in peace and receive true comfort.Can you, by severing the heads from the bodies,Kill living thoughts and ideas?Can you, by wrenching the flowers from the branches,Stop their fragrance from spreading?I am certain that every member of my family will take my execution with calmness and fortitude. I wish my mother were alive today, for, she must have sung this lullaby in my ears when I was a child:If you die a hero’s death,I shall visit your grave,In the best of attire and make up.Instead of mourning and lamentingI shall sing you a song of joy.And shall proudly give birthTo another child exactly like you.I am sure dearest sisters will not weep and go into mourning over my death. I ask my grandmother to recall the lullaby she used to sing for all of us:When my flower-like son becomes a youthHe will arm himself with the best of weapons.He shall make the traitors bite the dust,He shall fight and crush his enemies.The lofty mountains and the vast plains of Balochistan are waiting for those who could embrace them and turn them into castles and battlegrounds.Mountains are the fortresses of the BalochImpregnable heights are their treasure housesFlowing springs quench their thirstTheir children are selected arrowsSharp-edged daggers are their sons-in-lawBaloch fathers are broad-bladed swords.Hameed Baloch.10th June 1981Mach jail

Western Balochistan: Two Baloch hanged, four shot dead by Iranian authorities

Zahedan: Two Baloch men were hanged in central prison of Zahedan on Saturday (06-06-2009). They executed men have been named as Abdul Hameed Regi and Raza Qalandani. Abdul Hameed Regi is thought be the brother of Abdul Malik Regi the leader of Jundullah (now known as people republican army of Iran), however, it has not been confirmed yet whether this Abdul Hameed is the brother of Regi or he is another person with same name. Sources reported that Abdul Hameed is one of the four men who were recently extradited from Pakistan.On the other hand Fars news reported that four men have been killed in a gun battle with Iranian security forces in Zahedan. In the past Iranian security force have shot dead innocent Baloch people but ,later, to justify their brutalities they call such incidents “police encounter”.

Source: Fars news
Related link : http://www.africasia.com/services/new ... 090606121107.ds5f79vj

Balochistan: protest against sentencing of Ms. Karima

Mand: A large number Baloch women and youth have protested against sentencing of vice chairperson of BSO (Azaad) Ms. Karima Baloch. Sources from Mand town in Balochistan reported that the protest rally was led by BNM women wing organiser Ms. Hani Baloch and Ms Shari Baloch. The rally before passing different streets in Soro Bazar finally gathered at Shaheed Diljan chowk. Addressing the public gathering the Baloch women strongly condemn the Pakistani court for sentencing Ms. Karima Baloch and others. They said that Pakistani state was succumbing to the pressure of Baloch women’s political struggle and thus involving Baloch women activists in false cases. Protesters were carrying placards and banners and they chanted slogans against the Pakistani state and its intelligence agencies. They said that Baloch women will continue to struggle for Balochistan liberation alongside with their Baloch Sarmachaar brothers. They said that their struggle cannot be weaken by registering false cases against them, infect such tactics of Pakistani government will further their determination. They said that Ms. Karima Baloch was not alone and every Baloch men and women will not hesitate to protect her. They said Baloch women’s struggle will continue with full zeal and further determination. The Baloch women said that the sacrifices of martyrs of Murghab have given great recognition to Baloch liberation struggle. Every Baloch hates the Pakistani state with the depth of their heart and Baloch nation will not tolerate the occupation at any cost. Baloch struggle for liberation will continue until independent Balochistan re-appears on the world map. On the other hand Maandani youth organisation have protest against the arrest of Mir Pasand Khan and thousands of other missing Baloch person. The rally gathered at Mir Gull Khan Naseer Chowk where the leaders of the rally addressed the public and media. In their speeches they said that the states of Iran and Pakistan are committing atrocities against the people of Balochistan but “we want to tell them that our struggle for independence will continue”. They said Baloch political prisoner should be treated according to Geneva Convention as prisoners of war. The Maandani youth organisation said that Baloch nation should unite under the leadership of Sardar Khair Marri and Brahumdagh Bugti and struggle for independence.

Western Balochistan: serious human right violations reports against the Iranian authorities

Report by Reza Hossein Borr: “25 Baluch have been killed and hundreds of Baluch people have been arrested since Sunday in Zahedan. Dozens of shops that belonged to the Baluch people have been completely destroyed. The security forces are searching a large area of Zahedan house by house. Anybody who wears Baluchi clothe is searched and possibly arrested. There are security forces everywhere”. According to reports from the activists in BHRAA “the Islamic Republic of Iran still continues arresting people and spreads terror, horror and fear in Zahedan, even several days after Zahedan ‘’Imam Ali’’ mosque bomb attack. Some of local reports suggest that more than 100 persons have been arrested.The most recent report obtained by our reporters in Zahedan suggests that the security police forces arrested more than 25 Baluch in Zahedan on Sunday 31 of May 2009 and transferred them to yet an unknown place. These detainees include people a) who were admitted to the ‘’Khatm-ul-ania’’ hospital in Zahedan because they had been beaten by the pro-regime ultra-conservative groups, the relatives to the wounded while were visiting them.Furthermore, the reports suggest that the relatives dare not ask any investigation into what happened to their family members, as they fear for their own safety and destiny”.Henry Newman of www.guardian.co.uk, writes “Iran, embarrassed by the attacks in Zahedan, has been quick to act. Less than 36 hours after the mosque bombing, three rebels were executed following a rushed trial. The judiciary head of Sistan-Baluchistan has been keen to stress that due process was observed but this trial and previous trials of terrorist suspects have been criticised by human rights organisations. In the case of the Zahedan bombing, statements regarding the trial, the plot itself and even the numbers affected are divergent, even contradictory.The bombings highlight ongoing ethno-religious tensions within Iran and across the broader region. Despite the attempts of Iranian officials to deflect attention onto external scapegoats it is clear that there are serious domestic problems: the country's integrity is not yet in real danger but the Islamic regime and Iranian society at large must seek a more equitable accommodation for its diverse population”.Referring to the Baluch activists, political parties and media The London based Baluch analyst Mr Hossein Borr complains that perhaps media and political parties from Eastern Balochistan are not taking the tention in Westersn Balchistan as seriously. He asks “Can anybody explain why the Baluch activists, political parties and media in different parts of the world and specifically in East Balochistan are silent about the mass arrests and killings of Baluch people in the last few days in Western Baluchistan”? He further writes “This is a very defining moment in our history. The Baluch people want to know who is working to achieve the rights of the Baluch people and whole is doing business in politics.Those who are engaged in politics in every corner of Baluchistan or the world, now face a determining choice which will shape the view of the Baluch people on them. The Baluch people now see with their own eyes, who are working for the achievement of Baluch rights and who are in politics to make a name, find a seat in parliament or in government or benefit from it financially in different ways. This is also a determining phase in the direction of Baluch movement. This is a time to make your stand very clear”. He is optimistic that "The Baluch people will succeed in achieving their rights only if all Baluch intellectuals, political activists, political parties, newspapers and Internet media focus their attention on developments that are taking place right now inside Zahedan. These circumstances are effective test to indicate who is really committed to Baluch cause and who is in politics for financial gains".

London Meeting: The Baluch Martyrs Day 15 July 2009

Shahmiren Balochaane Roch' 15 July”
“The Baluch Martyrs Day 15 July”

Baloch, like many other nations, in their struggle for freedom and democratic rights have endured great sacrifices. In their endeavour to achieve these aims many have encountered and experienced the wrath of the occupying states. In consequence, many Baloch men, women and children in their struggle for their democratic rights including right to FREEDOM have been treated violently and inhumanly by the military and the intelligence services of these occupying states. The very harsh treatment of Baloch people is well recorded, particularly by states such as Pakistan and Iran. Since their illegal occupation of Balochistan these states have been involved in the systematic imprisonment, torture, abduction and execution of Baloch. Currently thousands of Baloch are missing from Pakistani occupied Balochistan; tens of thousands have been displaced. Similarly hundreds of Baloch have been executed by the Iranian regime in Western Balochistan and several are on death row waiting to be executed.

In tribute to sacrifices of the Baloch Martyrs the Baloch community in London have decided to hold a day of remembrance for these victims. The 15th of July of every year is the date designated for the purpose of remembrance, to make sure that their sacrifice for our freedom and our nation has not been lost in vain.

The day is nominated for “Martyrs of Balochistan and Victims of State Terrorism.” On this day there will also be an exhibition of pictures, names, and a brief description on the background of each victim.

The actual day that this Remembrance Day will take place in London is on Sunday 19th July 2009. The Remembrance Day starts from 12 noon to 5pm at:

THE CENTRE FOR POLISH ART AND CULTURE

238 – 246 KINGS STREET, HAMMERSMITH

LONDON W6 0RFClosest Tube station: Hammersmith Station.

We wish to request from all Baloch from Eastern, Western Balochistan or elsewhere to assist us to e-mail pictures, names or any other information regarding the Baloch martyrs and victims of state terror to the following E-mail addresses:

fmbaluch@gmail.com

balochetawaar@yahoo.com

This is a public exhibition and we would like you to encourage your friends and relatives to visit this exhibition.

Balochistan: The Key To Regional Security

Event coinciding with 11th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva (UNHRC) will address human rights violations and propose solutions to simmering tension and conflict in key region straddling Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Event coinciding with 11th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva (UNHRC) will address human rights violations and propose solutions to simmering tension and conflict in key region straddling Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) - Jun 04, 2009 - Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) in partnership with Interfaith International and Baloch representative Mr. Noordin Mengal, will host an event to discuss the deteriorating human rights violations in Baluchistan during the 11th Session of the UNHRC in Geneva on Monday, June 8 from 16h00 (TBC).
Balochistan is a region that makes up 44% of Pakistan's territory but also straddles Iran and Afghanistan. The region is exceptionally rich in natural resources which has encouraged exploitative domestic and external intervention. Speakers at the event will include influential Baloch leaders, security and human rights experts and representatives of Permanent Missions to the UN, each of whom will contribute to discussions of the present situation in the region and possible solutions.
The session, entitled Self-Determination in Baluchistan-its Relation to Regional and Global Security will discuss the repeated human rights violations of the Baloch, a minority community who have been politically and economically marginalized by the Pakistan government. These violations include indiscriminate use of force against civilians, targetted killings and the disappearance of political activists and journalists. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are said to have been displaced across province boundaries into Sindh and Punjab and state boundaries into Afghanistan, underlining the regional and international nature of the problem.
The kidnapping of American citizen and head of the UNHCR in Balochistan, Mr. John Solecki in February of this year brought the attention of the international community to this region but the subsequent killing of three men who were members of the committee that secured his release is evidence that international attention must now turn to international action.
This event will allow assembled leaders, experts, and decision-makers to discuss the current situation, raise awareness of the complexity to the problem, and begin to develop possible solutions to the existing regional turmoil and instability.

The Life Of Recent Detainees In Zahedan In Serious Danger.

According to reports from the activists in BHRAA, the Islamic Republic of Iran still continues arresting people and spreads terror, horror and fear in Zahedan, even several days after Zahedan ��Imam Ali�� mosque bomb attack. Some of local reports[1] suggest that more than 100 persons have been arrested.
The most recent report obtained by our reporters in Zahedan suggests that the security police forces arrested more than 25 baloch in Zahedan on Sunday 31 of may 2009 and transferred them to yet an unknown place. These detainees include people a) who were admitted to the ��Khatm-ul-ania�� hospital in Zahedan because they had been beaten by the pro-regime ultra-conservative groups, b) the relatives to the wounded while were visiting them.
Furthermore, the reports suggest that the relatives dare not address any investigation on what happened to their family members, since they fear for their own destiny.
Ali Mohammad Azad, the Sistan and Balochistan county mayor confirmed the mass-arrests, annonced via Isna News Agency [2] and said that certain ��wahabi and salafi�� groups in this county who play with the feeling of ��shiites�� have been identified or are about to be identfied. Azad announced furthermore that they will be put to the trail after the presidential election.
Bahram Nouroozi ( the deputy general to Rasul-e-akram military center) confirmed the mentioned news in Isna news agency [3] as well and suggested that the persons who were arrested serve as spies for the forign states, and they will be put to trail soon.
Finally, as annonced in the pro-regime news agencies, the regime executed 3 baloch who already had been sentenced, while their executaion was linked to the recent mosque [4] bomb attack.
The official annoncements made by Ali Mohammad Azad and Bahram Nouroozi, taken into account, we in BHRAA have reason to believe that the mentioned detainees are in serious danger, and we fear for their destiny. Therefore we would like to draw all international human rights watch groups� and the international society�s attention to our concern and urge you to call the regime for unconditional stop for further violation of human rights in Balochistan.
Balochistan Human Rights Activists Association (BHRAA) / Radio Balochi FM
http://bhrw.blogspot.com/
2009-06-01[1]
http://taptaan.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post_9248.html
[2]http://sb.isna.ir/mainnews.php?ID=News-23745
[3]
http://sb.isna.ir/mainnews.php?ID=News-23748[4]http://www.hammihannews.com/news/4004Source: http://www.radiobalochi.org/BH_Rights/BHRAA_janeDastgirshodaganeAkhireZahedanDarKhatarAst_eng090601.html

Mine fields increased in Minorities’ areas of Iran‏

Iranian government have increased the number of minefields in South West, Mid West and South East Iran, as well as expanding the minefields which are already there. Minefields in these areas are some of the largest minefields in the Middle-East and include one of the largest minefields in the world, which has more than 20 million mines. The minefields have been left following 8 wars between Iran and Iraq[i].

The Iranian Government have not yet signed the Ottawa Treaty, which includes the following declaration: “Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction”[ii]. 158 countries have signed the Ottawa Treaty so far.
According to sources inside Iran, the government are planning further minefields despite their misleading propaganda which talks about decreasing the number of minefields.
Almost every week somebody becomes the victim of a mine; mainly women and children. Many archaeological sites belonging to minorities have been damaged by minefields, as Government try to wipe out their ancient background. There is also a policy inhibiting the return of indigenous farmers to these areas. The demography of the area is behind Iran’s policy to increase minefields.
IMHRO is very concerned regarding the expansion of minefields in Iran. The problem is not only mines; it is also Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and in particular, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), left behind following war and military maneuvers made by the Iranian army. Many children playing in these areas are at risk of being injured by unexploded ordinance.
Between September 2008 and April 2009 at least 250 people have become victims of minefields, most of them women and children. Local media are banned from reporting mine-related casualties.
Ahwaz
New minefields have added to the large number of minefields already present following 8 wars between Iran and Iraq. The government has only cleared up the minefields in areas surrounding new oil fields that are being developed.
Policy of no return of farmers to their land in Ahwaz area is blamed for not acting to clear up of minefields. (I’m not sure about the policy so don’t know how to re-word this bit)
Azerbaijan
New minefields are being developed alongside the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Minefields increased in new oil development.
Baluchistan
Number of minefields has increased in the areas of Narmshir and Pir Sooran. The Government have been using drug smugglers and armed rebels as an excuse for expanding the minefields. Government also continue to block the news of mine-related casualties from Baluchistan.
Kurdistan
In the Mid and North West there are new minefields. Many villages have suffered casualties and the Government deliberately do not clear up minefields in Kurdish areas. Ghasreh Shirin, Mehran, Dehloran, Sumar, Dashteh Zahab, Azgaleh, Nousood, Baneh, Sardasht, Asbeh Shiler and Mariwan cities are among the areas most highly affected by minefields. Turkmen Sahara
Many people living in rural areas are affected by and become casualties of minefields. Minefields have increased around farms and ports.
Export of mines
Not only has the Iranian Government not stopped the increase of minefields inside Iran but they’ve also increased the illegal export of mines to Afghanistan and Iraq. They have supplied mines to terrorist groups in Afghanistan[iii] and Iraq. The export of mines to African countries has also been reported.
Background
One of the big issues for minorities in Iran who live alongside the border is being surrounded by huge minefields. Despite more than 20 years having passed since the end of the last war, the Iranian government continues to delay clearing minefields and instead have increased minefields, using security as an excuse for not taking action. Iran is a producer of mines. It has been recently reported that landmines made in Iran were found in Afghanistan[iv]. Afghanistan is one of the biggest victims of minefields in the world.
In November 2006 the UN group monitoring the arms embargo on Somalia reported shipments of arms including landmines from Iran to combatants in Somalia in violation of the arms embargo on the country. The November report states that on 25 July 2006 an aircraft carrying arms, including an unknown quantity of mines, from Iran landed at Baldogle airport and was met by senior members of the Courts Union and the Dayniile Islamic Court. The type of mine, antipersonnel or anti vehicle was not specified.[v]
Action
Please write an appeal to UN Mine action bodies and ask them to call on Iran to clear their minefields of mines and UXO. Ask that they halt the increase and expansion of minefields. We urge you also to write to the Iranian government to show your support for Minorities, voice your concerns and ask for mine clearance in Minority areas.
Please send your appeal to:

United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)
Two United Nations Plaza,
6th Floor,
New York, NY 10017,
USA
United Nation Development Programme (UNDP)
Mine Action TeamOne United Nations Plaza,
20th Floor, New York,
NY 10017,
USA

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
United Nations,
Room S-3170,
New York, NY 10017,
USA

Supreme leader of Iran
Sayyed Ali Khamenei
E-mail via web site
http://www.leader.ir/

United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsMs. Navanethem (Navi) Pillay
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland

Western Balochistan: serious human right violations reports against the Iranian authorities

Report by Reza Hossein Borr:
“25 Baluch have been killed and hundreds of Baluch people have been arrested since Sunday in Zahedan. Dozens of shops that belonged to the Baluch people have been completely destroyed. The security forces are searching a large area of Zahedan house by house. Anybody who wears Baluchi clothe is searched and possibly arrested. There are security forces everywhere”.

According to reports from the activists in BHRAA “the Islamic Republic of Iran still continues arresting people and spreads terror, horror and fear in Zahedan, even several days after Zahedan ‘’Imam Ali’’ mosque bomb attack. Some of local reports suggest that more than 100 persons have been arrested.The most recent report obtained by our reporters in Zahedan suggests that the security police forces arrested more than 25 Baluch in Zahedan on Sunday 31 of May 2009 and transferred them to yet an unknown place. These detainees include people a) who were admitted to the ‘’Khatm-ul-ania’’ hospital in Zahedan because they had been beaten by the pro-regime ultra-conservative groups, the relatives to the wounded while were visiting them.

Furthermore, the reports suggest that the relatives dare not ask any investigation into what happened to their family members, as they fear for their own safety and destiny”.

Henry Newman of www.guardian.co.uk, writes “Iran, embarrassed by the attacks in Zahedan, has been quick to act. Less than 36 hours after the mosque bombing, three rebels were executed following a rushed trial. The judiciary head of Sistan-Baluchistan has been keen to stress that due process was observed but this trial and previous trials of terrorist suspects have been criticised by human rights organisations. In the case of the Zahedan bombing, statements regarding the trial, the plot itself and even the numbers affected are divergent, even contradictory.

The bombings highlight ongoing ethno-religious tensions within Iran and across the broader region. Despite the attempts of Iranian officials to deflect attention onto external scapegoats it is clear that there are serious domestic problems: the country's integrity is not yet in real danger but the Islamic regime and Iranian society at large must seek a more equitable accommodation for its diverse population”.

Referring to the Baluch activists, political parties and media The London based Baluch analyst Mr Hossein Borr complains that perhaps media and political parties from Eastern Balochistan are not taking the tention in Westersn Balchistan as seriously.

He asks “Can anybody explain why the Baluch activists, political parties and media in different parts of the world and specifically in East Balochistan are silent about the mass arrests and killings of Baluch people in the last few days in Western Baluchistan”? He further writes “This is a very defining moment in our history. The Baluch people want to know who is working to achieve the rights of the Baluch people and whole is doing business in politics.

Those who are engaged in politics in every corner of Baluchistan or the world, now face a determining choice which will shape the view of the Baluch people on them. The Baluch people now see with their own eyes, who are working for the achievement of Baluch rights and who are in politics to make a name, find a seat in parliament or in government or benefit from it financially in different ways. This is also a determining phase in the direction of Baluch movement. This is a time to make your stand very clear”. He is optimistic that "The Baluch people will succeed in achieving their rights only if all Baluch intellectuals, political activists, political parties, newspapers and Internet media focus their attention on developments that are taking place right now inside Zahedan. These circumstances are effective test to indicate who is really committed to Baluch cause and who is in politics for financial gains".

Iran Official Accuses Us Over Mosque Bomb

A provincial official in Iran has accused the United States of being behind Thursday's bombing of a mosque that killed at least 19 people. Jalal Sayah, deputy governor of Sistan-Baluchestan province, said three people had been arrested following the attack. "According to the information we obtained they were hired by America and the agents of arrogance," he said.
Some 60 people were hurt in the attack during evening prayers at the mosque in Sistan-Baluchestan's capital, Zahedan. The city is mainly Sunni Muslim and the remote province is one of the most deprived in this mostly Shia country. It comes at a time of heightened political sensitivity nationally, with just over two weeks before the first round of the presidential election.
Zahedan's Amir al-Mohini mosque - an important Shia mosque in the city - was crowded with worshippers when the attack happened. They had gathered for prayers on what was a public holiday to mark the death of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter, Fatima. Iranian media said a suicide bomber had carried out the attack, and officials said after the blast that arrests had been made.
Common accusation
Sistan-Baluchestan borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan, making it a key route in the drugs trade. Despite Iran's best efforts, a huge proportion of the world's opiates, such as heroin and morphine, are smuggled by heavily armed drugs gangs, often in large convoys.

There are also a number of militants in the area, many of them with links to the drugs gangs, and clashes with the security forces are common. However, Jalal Sayah, in comments to the semi-official Fars news agency, accused the attackers of being mercenaries hired by the US.
It is a common accusation from the Iranians, the BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says, and the facts of this case may never be known. But it is an open secret that former US President George W Bush directed large amounts of money to try to destabilise Iran and there is no sign the policy is any different under President Barack Obama, our correspondent adds.

Iran Gets A Big Solid From Pakistan

Iran recently test fired a two stage, solid fuel ballistic missile, the Sejil II. This missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers, and can reach Israel. Iran already has dozens of liquid fuel missile with the same range, the Shahab 3. What makes the Sejil II more dangerous is the fact that it can be fired on short notice. The Shahab 3 takes several hours to get ready, as the liquid fuel must be pumped into the missile.
Israeli spies and photo satellites can spot the Shahab 3s being fueled, allowing the Israeli anti-missile systems to be placed on a higher degree of readiness. This makes it more likely that the Iranian missiles would be intercepted. The Sejil II is not really a surprise. A year ago, Iran tested a new IRBM (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile) called the Sejil. This was a solid fuel missile. Two years ago, Iran had a failed test of a solid fuel ballistic missile it called "Ashura." The Sajil appeared to be the Ashura with a new name, and modifications that make it work. Even then, the big question was, who did they get the solid fuel manufacturing technology from? There are many potential vendors (North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, China, or even stolen from the West). The Ashura test failure last year involved some problem with the second stage, not with the solid fuel rocket motors. Iran has been manufacturing solid fuel for smaller rockets for over a decade, but had not yet developed the technology to build larger, and reliable, solid fuel rocket motors. Israel believes that Iran got the advanced solid fuel technology from Pakistan.
For the last five years, Iran has been producing Shahab 3 IRBMs. This missile is basically 1960s technology, with the addition of GPS guidance. Russian and North Korean missile technology has been obtained to make the Shahab 3 work. This has resulted in a missile that apparently will function properly about 80 percent of the time, and deliver a warhead of about one ton, to a range of some 1,700 kilometers, to within a hundred meters of where it was aimed. By world standards, this is a pretty effective weapon. A solid fuel version of this missile would be, if the solid fuel was of reasonable quality, about ten percent more reliable than liquid fuel, and easier to hide and launch.
Iran has continued to refine the Shahab 3 design, and conduct test firings. Iran is believed to have 50-100 Shahab 3s, and is building about one a month. Israel appears to be the main target. Iran has threatened Israel with destruction, rather openly and for several years. Shahab 3's could be fired with high explosive warheads, and hit, with enough accuracy, to kill mostly Jews, and not Israeli Arabs or Palestinians.
Israel has threatened to retaliate with nukes if Israel is hit with chemical or nuclear warheads. Israel has Arrow anti-missile systems that can stop Shahab 3s, but only a few at a time. If Iran launched a dozen or more Shahab 3s simultaneously, some would get through. If Iran had several hundred Shahab 3s, they could launch most of them at Israel, using high explosive warheads, and do a lot of damage. Israel could respond with its own Jericho II missile, but this system was designed for use with nuclear weapons, and Israel apparently only has 20-30 of them. Israel could respond with air strikes, and cruise missiles from submarines in the Persian Gulf or Indian Ocean. But, again, this would appear as a limited response to massive Iranian missile attacks. An Iranian attack with nuclear warheads would kill a large number of Moslems, and even radical Iran might be put off by that, because Israel would likely respond in kind.
A large number of IRBMs could also be used to intimidate nearby Arab countries, as these missiles could damage oil production facilities. If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it would take 5-10 years to develop the complex engineering required to create a nuclear warhead that would survive the stresses of missile launch, and detonate as intended over a distant target. Russia or China might provide such engineering secrets, but given the warlike pronouncements and radical politics of the Iranians, probably not.

Iran Launches a Missile and a Presidential Race

Test of a new rocket adds to nuclear concerns discussed earlier by Obama and Netanyahu at the White House. Transcript of radio broadcast: 22 May 2009
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. This week, Iran test-fired a new missile. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the launch to a crowd in Semnan province, his birthplace and a base for missile launches.
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD (translator): "The Sejil-2 missile, which has very advanced technology, was launched from Semnan and it landed precisely on the target."
Officials say the solid-fuel rocket could reach Israel, southeastern Europe and American bases in the Middle East.
American Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Iranian missile will be able to travel up to two thousand five hundred kilometers. But because of engine problems, he says, the range right now is probably closer to two thousand kilometers.
Wednesday's test came two days after Benjamin Netanyahu, the new Israeli prime minister, visited President Obama. It was their first meeting as leaders. Next week, the Palestinian and Egyptian presidents visit the White House.
President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu both spoke of the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

President Obama with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White HouseBARACK OBAMA: "I firmly believe it is in Iran's interest not to develop nuclear weapons, because it would trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and be profoundly destabilizing in all sorts of ways."
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: "If Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons, it could give a nuclear umbrella to terrorists, or worse it could actually give terrorists nuclear weapons, and that would put us all in grave peril."
Iran says its nuclear program is for energy. But the latest test only added to concerns about missiles that could one day carry nuclear weapons. Israel points out that President Ahmadinejad has said the Jewish State should be "wiped off the map."
President Obama still has to decide the future of a Bush administration plan to put a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. Russia objects. But the United States says the system would protect Europe from a possible attack by Iran.
President Obama says he is trying to reach out to the Iranians with diplomacy. But he says there must be a "clear timetable" for talks about protecting their security without threatening other people's security.
There should be some sense by the end of the year, he says, whether or not serious progress is being made.
BARACK OBAMA: "We are not going to have talks forever. We are not going to create a situation in which talks become an excuse for inaction while Iran proceeds with developing a nuclear and deploying a nuclear weapon."
Iran's presidential election is June twelfth. President Ahmadinejad is seeking a second term. He will face three other candidates chosen this week from more than four hundred fifty who entered the race.
One of those he will face is Mir Hossein Mousavi. The former prime minister along with former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi are both seen as reformist. Iran's Guardian Council also approved the candidacy of President Ahmadinejad and Mohsen Rezai, former head of the Revolutionary Guards. Both men are conservative.
The president's opponents have criticized his handling of the economy -- inflation is high. But he has won praise at home for his support for developing satellite and rocket technology. Iran launched its first satellite into orbit in February -- the thirtieth anniversary of the Islamic revolution.
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English,
written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

BNF leaders rule out talks with government

QUETTA:The leaders of the Baloch National Front have said that the political parties which believed in parliamentary politics were deceiving the Baloch people and working for the establishment.They were speaking at a public meeting in Panjgur Bazaar held recently to mark the chehlum of Baloch leaders Ghulam Muhammad Baloch, Lala Munir Baloch and Sher Muhammad Baloch who they alleged had been killed by intelligence agencies.Hasa Zafar Baloch, Khalil Baloch and Zahid Kurd said they would not hold dialogue with the government for resolving the Balochistan issue.They demanded a UN probe into the murder of the three Baloch leaders and said the Baloch had no confidence in the local judicial commission.They said the BNF would not allow the so-called nationalists to play with the destiny of the Baloch people who knew that who were their real representatives and who were agents of rulers.They said that Nawab Akbar Bugti, Balaach Marri and hundreds of others had sacrificed their lives for ‘freedom’ of the Baloch people.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/d ... ut+talks+with+govt--za-09

Wahid Qamber Baloch will be killed in custoy, family shows concerned and announced hunger strike

Balochistan: Wahid Qamber Baloch and Fazal Kareem Baloch's sister and niece while addressing a Press conference in front of Turbat press club said that Abdul Wahid Qambar Baloch, along with his two mates Fazal Kareem Baloch and Nako Faiz Baloch, was abducted at gunpoint from his native twon thump (Makuran) on March 14, 2007, by the secret agencies and FC. After 9 months agony and inhuman torture of their arrest on April 21, 2008 they were then given in the custody of bordering town of Panjhpai police and the police have put Qamber Baloch on two days remand. The then IGP was pressurised by MI to lodge fake cases of keeping drugs and illegal arms against Abdul Wahid Qambar but he refused, after Chief Minister Balochistan told the IGP not to lodge any false cases against Mr Qamber Baloch. In fact they released Nako Faiz after sever torture and humiliation at the hand of Pakistani intelligence agencies. (It must be noted that Nako Faiz Baloch has now been abducted for the third time on May 3rd 2009, and he’s still missing). Wahid Qamber and Fazal Kareem were taken into custody on April 28, 2008 by the CID Quetta. Both the men once again suffered inhuman tortured by the Pakistani intelligence agencies.They were then shifted to Turbat from Quetta on May 6, 2008 and then moved to District Jail after a short hearing in an ATF court on the same day. “We visited him and Fazal Haider in Trubat jail, they were very week, and they had obvious sings of torture on their bodies and suffering from diseases” recalls Qamber’s daughter Sahri Baloch. Instead of a medical check up he was put in the jail for over a month where his health further deteriorated. He then was shifted to ATF Jail Quetta again on June 8, 2008 without giving him any notice and all the fake cases against him were also transferred in Anti Terrorist Court-1, Quetta. Interestingly, he was acquitted of all cases except FIR no 6 in which he was sentenced to jail for 25 years. We, however, lodge an appeal against the sentence in Balochistan High Court which was succeeded and the respectable judge of High Court asked the ATC-1 to reopen the case and restart the proceedings, she added. Ironically, the ATC court, which was asked to decide the case in three weeks time, had given my father into police custody on remand by violating high court’s orders, she told. “While, it is the national and international law that the prisoners during a trial in court could not be given into police custody on remand,” she added. The ATC judge under pressure from the intelligence agencies has handed her father to the police on physical remand once again. “The police and the agencies have no prove against my father in the false FIR 6, that is why they pressurised the judge to give my father to the intelligence agencies on physical remand” she added.Shari said that her father with the help of torture in the name of remand would be coerced to accept committing crimes which he did not commit. She said it was more likely that he would be murdered in the custody of intelligence agencies like other Baloch leaders Ghulam Mohammad, Lala Munir, and Shair Mohammad who were abducted during their trial and from their lawyer’s office in broad day light. They too were killed in cold blood. “I fear same will happen to my father” she said. The family members of Wahid Qamber and Fazal Kareem have appealed to the United Nations, ICRC, International Human Rights Commission, Asian Human Rights Commission and other organisations to help her in her father’s release. They announced to go on a week’s strike from May 20 in front of Karachi Press Club against the remand and arrest of Abdul Wahid Qambar and Fazal Kareem. Wahid Qamber’s and Fazal Kareem’s sister and nieces are on strike at Turbat Press Club from May 19 (today). They warned that if their loved one are not released, they would take any harmful step and the responsibility would solely be relies on Balochistan Governor, Balochistan Chief Minister, and heads of secret service meaning intelligence agencies.

Wahid Qamber’s health deteriorated in jail

Quetta: Baluchistan’s local news papers and sources from the jail reported that Baloch leader Wahid Qamber is seriously ill from last few months. He has stopped eating food and the jail authorities are not providing him with any medicines. His health is deteriorating day by day. Reports said that he lost weight and is very weak. He has not yet been medically checked to diagnose his illness. Source from the jail reported that Mr Qambar Baloch needs to be admitted in an outside hospital for proper treatment. His friend and family members are very concerned about his health. They said that Wahid Qamber must be given the opportunity for his treatment.Warning the government and the jail authorities they said that looking after Mr Qambar’s health and safety is the responsibility of the jail authorities and the relevant government agencies who have arrested him. “if anything happened to Qambar in prison the provincial government and the personals of intelligence will be held responsible”, they warned. They however appealed to the National and International human rights organizations to put pressure on Pakistani authorities to immediately release Wahid Qambar.

Help IDPs From Swat, But Why Ignored the IDPs from Kohlu and Dera Bugti

By a patriot Baloch brotherSince the Start of Fresh Military operation in Swat more than 1.3 Million Civilians from Swat fled to save their lives and are forced to take refuge in other parts of NWFP. The condition of the Refugees is really bad, no water, no food, no shelter and no medicine.
The civil Societies, NGO’s Government and Common people are try to contribute in relief work for the IDP’s of Swat. I too Appealed for the help, but Question is that Why all these organization, govt officials and Civil Societies never raised the issue of IDP’s From Dear Bugti and Kohlu, even Pakistani media showed the Height of Hypocrisy regarding the IDPs of Balochistan and never showed a single news related to them, except OXFAM and UNICEF none of the NGO;s Donors or Civil Society ever tried to mobilise any help for these victims. Instead the Pakistani forces refused to Allow OXFAM and UNICEF to provide any sort of help to the Baloch IDP’s.
Even today when i asked my Pakistani friends about the issue, instead of answering my concern they tried to call me a traitor and a racist.
I had a simple question, and no one replied me. Every one shouting to help the IDP’s of Swat, but no one ever tried to focus the IDP’s of Kohlu andDera Bugti.
Should i Call it hypocrisy, Should i call the calls for help for Swat victims a business tactic, as the world focus is on Taliban and huge amount of Funds can come on the name of war on terror, Or should i call it the biased policy of Pakistanis towards Balochs, as NWFP or swat is a Part of Pakistan and Balochistan is a occupied colony of Pakistan, and Pakistanis are more concerned about the land owned by Balochs than the lives of Baloch Civilians.
This attitude shows that not only the military establishment of Pakistan but the Pakistani civil societies and general public too are against the Baloch Nation and want to get rid of the Baloch Nation and occupy their lands for ever.
Its the Time for the Baloch Nation to rethink about her status under Pakistani occupation and get united against the occupiers.
Shame to the UN(HCR)
While I woke up this fine morning, I learnt I had begun to hate the UN(HCR). The UN(HCR) has, by its deeds, proved that it is racially discriminating the Baloch internally displaced persons (IDPs). It has been almost two years that we have been continuously appealing to the international community to approach the two hundred thousand Baloch Marri and Bugti tribesmen who were driven out of their homes following a devastating military operation unleashed by the Pakistan army.
Shamelessly, the UN(HCR) deliberately ignored this serious humanitarian disaster in the Baloch areas. Worst still, we have been aggressively campaigning that the UN(HCR) should stop assisting the Afghan refugees in Quetta but repatriate them back to their country because they are criminals who have imported drugs, weapons, extremism and suicide bombing to the Baloch province. Only for the sake of pursuing its own interests, the UN(HCR) extended the stay of the Afghan refugees in Balochistan under one pretext to the other. They did not move an inch forward to help the Baloch IDPs.
Now, we see the UN(HCR) actively operating in the NWFP to assist the IDPs of the fresh conflict. If this is not racial discrimination then what else can we describe it?
Last week, I approached a few Baloch IDP settlements (not camps, because the government of Pakistan and the UN(HCR) have not recognized them as IDPs yet) somewhere in Jaffarabad. I was startled to learn that three kids, below the age of ten, had sold their kidneys because of poverty. [See pictures].
To the world community, I must say they are once again making a huge blunder by blindly approaching the IDPs of NWFP and ignoring the Baloch IDPs. This mass exodus that is moving towards Islamabad and Rawalpindi will only assist the Islamic militants from the NWFP to reach the nuclear-armed country’s capital

Foreign Mining Venture Seeks Investment Guarantees

ISLAMABAD: A joint venture of western mining giants has sought sovereign guarantees from Pakistan for protection of its estimated investment of over $5 billion in the resource-rich field of Reko Diq, having known deposits of around 4 billion tons of copper, it is learnt.
Tethyan Copper Company, a joint venture between Antofagasta of Chile and Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada, holds a 75 per cent interest in the exploration licence concerning Reko Diq field in the Chaghi hills of Balochistan while the remaining 25 per cent share is held by the Balochistan government.
Balochistan would earn billions of dollars in profits and royalty over the life of the mine, sources said, adding there was a need to set a good precedent so that the country could become an attractive place for investors in future.
"Negotiations are in progress among three parties including the federal government, the provincial government of Balochistan and Tethyan Company for reaching a mineral agreement to establish a framework for future investment," said a high-level official of the Ministry of Petroleum when asked for comments.
In case an agreement is finalised, Tethyan is expected to invest around $5 billion till 2013. The agreement is proposed to be for 13 years and each year an investment of around $1 billion will be made, taking total investment to $13 billion.
When Director General Mineral, Ministry of Petroleum, was contacted for comments, he confirmed to The News that negotiations were under way to finalise a framework for future investment, which was expected to be finalised in a few months.
Under the Mining Act 1948, provinces give concession grants to the parties concerned. Reko Diq field holds large copper and gold reserves on the Tethyan belt in the remote and sparsely populated province of Balochistan.
At the end of 2008, combined deposits of resources at Reko Diq were estimated at over four billion tonnes. A feasibility study for the project was initiated in December 2007 and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2009. An additional 146,000 meters were drilled in 2008, which mainly related to infill drilling to upgrade the existing resources.
Costs incurred by Tethyan in 2008 amounted to $100 million, including expenditures on feasibility study and acquisition of additional surface rights. When Tethyan was contacted at its office in the federal capital for comments, a written reply was sent which states: "In our negotiations with the government, the sovereign guarantees that we are seeking are already being provided to foreign investors in Pakistan, particularly in the oil and gas sector.
"According to the terms of the agreement for the exploration licence of which the government of Balochistan is 25pc partner, TCC has made 100pc investment for exploration and feasibility of Reko Diq project.
"At present, negotiations are in progress with the government of Balochistan and the federal government for a mineral exploration agreement to establish a framework for future investment. We hope to conclude this agreement soon and are keen to make this a win-win deal for all the parties involved."

Magsi for action against those burning pakistan's flag

QUETTA: Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi said on Monday it was the responsibility of the provincial government to take action against elements who removed national flag from educational institutions and stopped recitation of national anthem by their students.‘Nobody should be allowed to challenge the writ of the government,’ the governor said, adding that removing national flag and not allowing recitation of national anthem did not mean that the government had no control over the province.The governor, who was talking to reporters during a visit to the Frontier Corps Headquarters here, said the provincial government should take notice of the issue.The federal government would intervene if the situation went out of control of the provincial government, Mr Magsi added.He said the government would restore its writ and institutions responsible for maintaining law and order were working effectively.He said that people raising the slogan of independence of Balochistan were not living in the province. ‘Only a few people are raising this slogan and they are living abroad and we don’t accept this slogan.’He expressed the hope that the situation in the province would soon improve and nationalists would be ready for talks and said the federal government should hold talks with nationalist leaders to resolve the Balochistan issue.‘The federal government can resolve the issue by accepting the genuine demands of the people of Balochistan, including provincial autonomy, control over provincial resources and increase in province’s quota in federal services and other institutions,’ he added.The governor held the Musharraf government responsible for the law and order situation in the province.Earlier, the governor was briefed on responsibilities and performance of the Frontier Corps in Balochistan. A senior FC officer said that the FC was deployed to secure borders, prevent smuggling of arms and narcotics, protect national installations and maintain law and order if asked by the provincial government

Balochistan Is The Ultimate Prize

Balochistan is totally under the radar of Western corporate media. But not the Pentagon's. An immense desert comprising almost 48% of Pakistan's area, rich in uranium and copper, potentially very rich in oil, and producing more than one-third of Pakistan's natural gas

PART 1: Obama does his Bush impression
It's a classic case of calm before the storm. The AfPak chapter of Obama's brand new OCO ("Overseas Contingency Operations"), formerly GWOT ("global war on terror") does not imply only a surge in the Pashtun Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). A surge in Balochistan as well may be virtually inevitable. Balochistan is totally under the radar of Western corporate media. But not the Pentagon's. An immense desert comprising almost 48% of Pakistan's area, rich in uranium and copper, potentially very rich in oil, and producing more than one-third of Pakistan's natural gas, it accounts for less than 4% of Pakistan's 173 million citizens. Balochs are the majority, followed by Pashtuns. Quetta, the provincial capital, is considered Taliban Central by the Pentagon, which for all its high-tech wizardry mysteriously has not been able to locate Quetta resident "The Shadow", historic Taliban emir Mullah Omar himself. Strategically, Balochistan is mouth-watering: east of Iran, south of Afghanistan, and boasting three Arabian sea ports, including Gwadar, practically at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. Gwadar - a port built by China - is the absolute key. It is the essential node in the crucial, ongoing, and still virtual Pipelineistan war between IPI and TAPI. IPI is the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, also known as the "peace pipeline", which is planned to cross from Iranian to Pakistani Balochistan - an anathema to Washington. TAPI is the perennially troubled, US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, which is planned to cross western Afghanistan via Herat and branch out to Kandahar and Gwadar. Washington's dream scenario is Gwadar as the new Dubai - while China would need Gwadar as a port and also as a base for pumping gas via a long pipeline to China. One way or another, it will all depend on local grievances being taken very seriously. Islamabad pays a pittance in royalties for the Balochis, and development aid is negligible; Balochistan is treated as a backwater. Gwadar as the new Dubai would not necessarily mean local Balochis benefiting from the boom; in many cases they could even be stripped of their local land. To top it all, there's the New Great Game in Eurasia fact that Pakistan is a key pivot to both NATO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), of which Pakistan is an observer. So whoever "wins" Balochistan incorporates Pakistan as a key transit corridor to either Iranian gas from the monster South Pars field or a great deal of the Caspian wealth of "gas republic" Turkmenistan. The cavalry to the rescueNow imagine thousands of mobile US troops - backed by supreme air power and hardcore artillery - pouring into this desert across the immense, 800-kilometer-long, empty southern Afghanistan-Balochistan border. These are Obama's surge troops who will be in theory destroying opium crops in Helmand province in Afghanistan. They will also try to establish a meaningful presence in the ultra-remote, southwest Afghanistan, Baloch-majority province of Nimruz. It would take nothing for them to hit Pakistani Balochistan in hot pursuit of Taliban bands. And this would certainly be a prelude for a de facto US invasion of Balochistan. What would the Balochis do? That's a very complex question. Balochistan is of course tribal - just as the FATA. Local tribal chiefs can be as backward as Islamabad is neglectful (and they are not exactly paragons of human rights either). A parallel could be made with the Swat valley. Most Baloch tribes bow to Islamabad's authority - except, first and foremost, the Bugti. And then there's the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) - which both Washington and London brand as a terrorist group. Its leader is Brahamdagh Bugti, operating out of Kandahar (only two hours away from Quetta). In a recent Pakistani TV interview he could not be more sectarian, stressing the BLA is getting ready to attack non-Balochis. The Balochis are inclined to consider the BLA as a resistance group. But Islamabad denies it, saying their support is not beyond 10% of the provincial population. It does not help that Islamabad tends to be not only neglectful but heavy-handed; in August 2006, Musharraf's troops killed ultra-respected local leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, a former provincial governor. There's ample controversy on whether the BLA is being hijacked by foreign intelligence agencies - everyone from the CIA and the British MI6 to the Israeli Mossad. In a 2006 visit to Iran, I was prevented from going to Sistan-Balochistan in southeast Iran because, according to Tehran's version, infiltrated CIA from Pakistani Balochistan were involved in covert, cross-border attacks. And it's no secret to anyone in the region that since 9/11 the US virtually controls the Baloch air bases in Dalbandin and Panjgur. In October 2001, while I was waiting for an opening to cross to Kandahar from Quetta, and apart from tracking the whereabouts of President Hamid Karzai and his brother, I spent quite some time with a number of BLA associates and sympathizers. They described themselves as "progressive, nationalist, anti-imperialist" (and that makes them difficult to be co-opted by the US). They were heavily critical of "Punjabi chauvinism", and always insisted the region's resources belong to Balochis first; that was the rationale for attacks on gas pipelines. Stressing an atrocious, provincial literacy rate of only 16% ("It's government policy to keep Balochistan backward"), they resented the fact that most people still lacked drinking water. They claimed support from at least 70% of the Baloch population ("Whenever the BLA fires a rocket, it's the talk of the bazaars"). They also claimed to be united, and in coordination with Iranian Balochis. And they insisted that "Pakistan had turned Balochistan into a US cantonment, which affected a lot the relationship between the Afghan and Baloch peoples". As a whole, not only BLA sympathizers but the Balochis in general are adamant: although prepared to remain within a Pakistani confederation, they want infinitely more autonomy. Game onHow crucial Balochistan is to Washington can be assessed by the study "Baloch Nationalism and the Politics of Energy Resources: the Changing Context of Separatism in Pakistan" by Robert Wirsing of the US Army think-tank Strategic Studies Institute. Predictably, it all revolves around Pipelineistan. China - which built Gwadar and needs gas from Iran - must be sidelined by all means necessary. The added paranoid Pentagon component is that China could turn Gwadar into a naval base and thus "threaten" the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. The only acceptable scenario for the Pentagon would be for the US to take over Gwadar. Once again, that would be a prime confluence of Pipelineistan and the US empire of bases. Not only in terms of blocking the IPI pipeline and using Gwadar for TAPI, control of Gwadar would open the mouth-watering opportunity of a long land route across Balochistan into Helmand, Nimruz, Kandahar or, better yet, all of these three provinces in southwest Afghanistan. From a Pentagon/NATO perspective, after the "loss" of the Khyber Pass, that would be the ideal supply route for Western troops in the perennial, now rebranded, GWOT ("global war on terror"). During the Asif Ali Zardari administration in Islamabad the BLA, though still a fringe group with a political wing and a military wing, has been regrouping and rearming, while the current chief minister of Balochistan, Nawab Raisani, is suspected of being a CIA asset (there's no conclusive proof). There's fear in Islamabad that the government has taken its eye off the Balochistan ball - and that the BLA may be effectively used by the US for balkanization purposes. But Islamabad still seems not to have listened to the key Baloch grievance: we want to profit from our natural wealth, and we want autonomy. So what's gonna be the future of "Dubai" Gwadar? IPI or TAPI? The die is cast. Under the radar of the Obama/Karzai/Zardari photo-op in Washington, all's still to play in this crucial front in the New Great Game in Eurasia.

We are victims of war on terror: Faiz, Hyarbyar

LONDON: Faiz Baloch and Hyarbyar Marri, the two Baloch youths who had recently been found not guilty after having undergone the harrowing experience of a long-drawn prosecution on terror charges, went public late on Tuesday evening at the House of Lords declaring that they were in one way ‘the invisible victims of the war on terror’. Organised by their lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy and attended by human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce and human rights campaigner Peter Tetchell, the ‘public meeting’ indicted both the former Pakistani military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and the British government for using the excuse of war on terror to victimise ‘freedom fighters’.
Faiz Baloch who had done nothing more than run a website dedicated to what he said the struggle of Baloch people for their rights ridiculed the prosecution’s unsubstantiated charge that they were al Qaeda men.
‘The prosecution was deceived into charging us as al Qaeda members. We are everything that al Qaeda hates. We are not extremists, we are secular and we are Muslims but that has got nothing to do with our struggle for our freedom,’ he said.
According to Faiz, the media has so far failed to report on the continuing tragedy of Balochistan because of the blanket censor imposed by the Pakistani security forces. ‘They had recently expelled two ‘nosey’ foreign journalists.’
He said development projects in Balochistan launched by the Musharraf regime were a curse instead of a blessing because he thought these projects were pretence to change the demography of the province and turn the native Baloch into Red Indians.
He was also very bitter about the nuclear tests carried out on May 28, 1998 in Chaghai and said so far the government had not allowed the WHO representatives to visit the area to find out the impact of the test on the environment and the health of the people.
Hyarbyar in his presentation said he, his brothers and their father was implicated in the murder of a judge, ‘at the time of the murder of the judge my brothers and I were in the UK. My father was arrested and his case was sent to a terrorist court but even after ten years they had not been able to unearth any evidence to get a guilty verdict’.
He traced the current intensification in what he said the security establishment’s repression in Balochistan to the alleged rape of Dr Shazia Khalid by army Captain Hammad in 2005 which he said triggered a massive public protest to quell which the army ‘went berserk’.
‘A Hindu temple in the Bugti area was attacked during this campaign in which 32 Hindus were killed,’ he alleged.
Ms Kennedy, Ms Gareth Peirce and Peter Tetchell took the UK government to task for collaborating with a military dictator and what Mr Tetchell called caving in to the blackmail of Gen Musharraf.
‘Musharraf told the UK, if you don’t cooperate with me I will not cooperate with you on terror war. So if you want Rashid Rauf then you hand me over the two Baloch youths,’ Mr Tetchell said.

Speaker Baloch protests Zardari arrival at White House

The DC-based American Friends of Baluchistan has congratulated the brotherly Baloch International League for the rally in front of the White House on Wednesday to expose Pakistan army brutalities against Baluchistan."Former Speaker Waheed Baloch, government minister Dr. Tara Chand and Waja Razzaq Baloch, must be commended for their decision to bring the Baluch issue to the attention of the world. The A.F.B. will side with Speaker Waheed Baloch or any other secular Baluch organization through thick and thin," AFB presiding council members Mohammed Ali Baloch and Waja Karim Bakhsh, formerly of Qatar,said in a statement on Thursday.Speaker Baloch had planned the rally at the UN headquarters in New York against the killing of his close friend Waja Ghulam Mohammed Baloch by Pakistan's secret services, but shifted the venue to Washington DC in view of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's arrival, along with the chief of the infamous Inter Services Intelligence Lt. Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, in Washington D.C. for talks with President Barack Obama.Ghulam Mohammed Baloch, 45, was abducted along with Lala Munir Baloch, 50, and Sher Mohammed Baloch, 35, by Pakistan's infamous Inter Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence, shot in the head and their bodies dropped from a military helicopter in the outskirts of Turbat last month.Speaker Waheed Baloch and Dr. Tara Chand were close friends of the slain leader Ghulam Mohammed and had worked with him in the secular and progressive Baloch Students Organization, the main voice of Baluch youths and students. The BSO has thousands of supporters."Passers-by showed great interest in the rally," said Professor Jawaid Bhutto, a friend of Baluchistan in Washington DC, who attended the rally.Bhutto said Afghan President Hamid Karzai turned around to look at the protesters curiously.The two A.F.B. leaders said the Baluch have to be vigilant against paid agents who try to erect a fifth column in the Baluch international movement for their personal gain. "The A.F.B. vows to unmask the faces of such elements," the two leaders said.The A.F.B. also thanked Munnawar Laghari, former director of the World Sindhi Institute, for his help, attendance and speech at the Baloch International League rally.The A.F.B. has a simple two-point agenda: right of national self determination for the Baluch people and ending Pakistani and Iranian military occupation of Baluchistan.

Please, join the protest outside White house on 6 May 2009

Washington, DC: On May 06th, 2009, Baloch International League for Peace & Freedom and Baloch Sindhi Front of United States will hold a demonstration at Lafayette Park in front of the White House and lodge their protest and handover a memorandum to officials at the White House against:- The genocide of Baloch people in Balochistan- Disappearances of Baloch youth, women, intellectuals, and political activists by the notorious Inter Services Intelligence- Cold blooded killings of Baloch leadership, and gross human rights violations- Against the plundering of natural resources of Sindh and Balochistan.The protest will coincide with President Barak Obama's meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.The Baloch International League for Peace & Freedom and Baloch Sindhi Front appeal to all concerned citizens of the world to join their voices to ours and protest against state terrorism in Balochistan and for a peaceful and nuclear free South Asia.This is an updated version of earlier press releases concerning the planned May 6, 2009 demonstration and rally in front of the
White House.Program venueWhen:
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Time: 1:00 PM
Where: Lafayette Park1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC

People, not arsenal, to ensure country’s survival: Sen Raisani

Pakistan People’s Party Balochistan chapter President and Senator Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani on Friday linked the survival of a country to the well-being of its people and not in building heaps of arms and ammunition. Talking to The News here, before leaving for Quetta, he said the formula of a survival and thriving of a nation was very simple, just take care of your people, their well-being and give them justice. “Today is May Day and let me say here that Pakistan, the land of opportunities, can only be saved by the labourers and workers,” the senator from Balochistan maintained. He strongly advocated a sustained dialogue backed by a series of confidence-building measures to defuse the very dangerous situation Balochistan was facing today. Referring to the disturbing reports emanating from Pakistan’s largest but the poorest province, Raisani said it was hunger, which had led to the break-up of the USSR, which possessed a huge arsenal of nuclear warheads and the largest army. “In the disintegration of the USSR, there is a lesson for all of us: Feed your people and count on them. If you are internally strong, no power on the earth can harm you,” the senator emphasised. Raisani did not resign as a senator and as the provincial chief of the PPP, following persuasion by the party’s top leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari, who promised to give good news upon his return from the United States. Raisani, who is the younger brother of Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, agreed to continue as a member of the upper house of parliament for a month. He is not expected to attend a session during this period. Among others who met him and tried to convince him not to resign as senator included Minister for Labour and Manpower Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, PPP Secretary General Senator Jehangir Badr and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, PPP sources said when approached for comments. They claimed that Raisani was among a very few party people who had not expressed their desire or talked to the top PPP leadership to become a senator. Raisani during his first speech in the session, after being elected as a senator in March, had raised his voice against the interior minister’s giving a clean chit to the intelligence agencies on the murder of Baloch leaders. He said President Zardari had promised him to give the nation good news with reference to Balochistan after his return from the United States. “I feel strongly for my people. When I found myself unable to play any role in mitigating their miseries, I decided to step down,” he said.

Pakistan's Self Defeating Army

Rather than serve as a bulwark against chaos, the Army has helped destabilize Pakistan. For far too long, the myth that Pakistan's army is the only thing holding the country together-and keeping the terrorists at bay-has held sway in Washington. Now two bills making their way through Congress suggest the United States is finally starting to reconsider these assumptions. Both bills would set benchmarks that Pakistan has to meet in order to keep qualifying for U.S. economic and military assistance. But the two measures don't go far enough. Pakistan will never be saved from the threat of religious extremists until it fundamentally restructures its deeply dysfunctional government. And that will require addressing the overwhelming influence of the military on Pakistani politics.
In four critical ways, the Army has undermined constitutional governance in Pakistan ever since Mohammed Ali Jinnah led it to independence some 60 years ago. First, repeated coups have ensured that civilian governments never developed firm roots. Second, successive military rulers, in attempts to boost their legitimacy, have promoted religious radicalism, either directly (as in the case of Zia ul Haq, who did this over the span of a decade) or by marginalizing mainstream political parties and allowing the religious right to fill the vacuum (Pervez Musharraf's strategy before his ouster last year). Third, the Army became and remains a parasite feeding on the body politic by extracting "rent" in the form of land, bureaucratic appointments and other spoils of office in exchange for supposedly keeping Pakistan safe.
Finally, in a misbegotten quest for "strategic depth" against India, the Army has promoted the radicalization of Afghanistan, which has now spilled back onto its own territory and spun out of control. All of these missteps point to the same conclusion: rather than serve as a bulwark against chaos, the Army has helped to destabilize Pakistan. There's only one way to turn things around today: demilitarize Pakistani politics.
Doing so won't be easy. While there is significant popular support for democracy in Pakistan, the country's mainstream civilian parties have hardly distinguished themselves in their brief periods at the helm, and the current government of Asif Ali Zardari is no exception. Still, the military bears most of the blame for blocking the evolution of a true democratic process. And such a process-for all its inevitable flaws and inefficiencies-is the only way Pakistan will ever get a government truly responsive to the needs of its ordinary citizens, and one likely to crack down on the Taliban, which most Pakistanis disdain.
So how can Pakistan's government be "civilianized"? Useful lessons can be drawn from the democratization of other Praetorian states. The first thing to recognize is that depoliticizing the Army won't mean weakening it. Pakistan's senior officers must know that they have never been less popular than they are today; returning to their barracks for good would be the best way to revive their prestige.
This process has in fact already begun. It was started by the Army itself in early 2008, when the new chief of staff General Ashfaq Kayani forbade officers from holding civilian posts in government. But much more needs to be done. Parliament and the prime minister must steadily assert themselves to limit the Army's involvement in internal affairs. The military will resist. But the recent victory of the lawyers' movement-which forced the government to restore the Supreme Court's former chief justice, who'd been deposed by Musharraf-shows that civilians can take on the generals and win. Over time, the civilian government must shift national-intelligence functions from the military to a civilian organization, curb the reach of the infamous Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) and strip the military of its responsibilities for maintaining security inside Pakistan, giving that duty to a paramilitary force governed by the ministry of Interior (as in neighboring India). Such a step was critical to the transitions from military to civilian government in Chile in 1990 and Indonesia in 1998.
Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure, meanwhile, should be split into military and civilian components, both under civilian authority. And most important, civilians must begin making critical national-security policy decisions. Implementation should still fall to the military, which should also retain a voice in defense policy-but not the final one.
While some of the generals are likely to object to any reduction in their powers, it's in their own interests to accept a fundamental change. Letting the Army maintain a degree of autonomy regarding its internal functions should also help bring it around. And Washington can contribute by demanding reforms of the sort outlined above. Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. has a great deal of leverage over Pakistan thanks to the enormous amounts of aid Washington disburses (likely to total $7.5 billion over the next five years). Making these changes may still seem like a tall order. It is. But Pakistan's problems at this point are massive in scope-and so must be the solution.
Basrur is associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Ganguly is a professor of political science and is director of research at the Center on American and Global Security at Indiana University.
URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/195094

Iran 'Leading Terrorism Sponsor'

Iran remains the "most active state sponsor of terrorism" in the world, a report by the US state department says. It says Iran's role in the planning and financing of terror-related activities in the Middle East and Afghanistan threatens efforts to promote peace. Al-Qaeda remains the biggest danger to the US and the West, the annual report states, noting that terror attacks are rising in Pakistan. Iran rejected the report, saying the US was guilty of double standards. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the US had no right to accuse others in light of its actions at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.
'Existential threat'
The BBC's state department correspondent, Kim Ghattas, says the new US administration may be trying to engage Tehran, but, just like last year, Iran is still described as the most active state sponsor of terrorism.
The report charges that Iran's involvement in countries like Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and in the Palestinian territories threatens efforts to promote peace, economic stability in the Gulf and democracy.
The report singles out the Quds force, an elite branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as the channel through which Iran supports terrorist activities and groups abroad.
The report also takes to task Syria, an Iranian ally in the region.
Of equal concern, our correspondent notes, is the advance of al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan where terrorist attacks are sharply on the rise while the rest of the world, including Iraq, has seen terrorist attacks decrease.
The acting coordinator for counter-terrorism for the state department, Ronald Schlicher, told journalists that al-Qaeda was using border areas of Pakistan to regroup.
"Al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda associated networks remain the greatest terrorist threat to the US and its partners," he said.
Mr Schlicher said they were using the Afghan-Pakistan border area "as a safe haven where they can hide, where they can train, where they can communicate with their followers, where they can plot attacks and where they can make plans to send fighters to support the insurgency in Afghanistan".
Washington is worried that the government in Islamabad might collapse, and last week US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Taleban fighters posed an existential threat to Pakistan, which is a nuclear power, our correspondent adds.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8028064.stm
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8028064.stm

APC demands resolution of Balochistan issues, US appears split over Balochistan

KARACHI: Karachi-based leaders of various political parties have demanded at an All Parties Conference (APC) on Wednesday that Baloch tribal chiefs should not punish the entire country for mistakes made by the incompetent military and civilian bureaucracy. ‘The APC requests the Baloch tribal chiefs to join hands with patriot political parties and people of Pakistan to sort out their problems and to remove their sense of deprivation,’ read a resolution. Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Chapter hosted the APC on ‘Balochistan Operation and Conspiracies’ and it was addressed by JI Deputy Chief Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, PML-N member and lawyer Mir Nawaz Khan Marwat, JUP leader Siddique Rathore, National People’s Party leader Zia Abbas, NWP leader Yousuf Masti Khan, National Party leader Yousuf Buledi, PDP’s Basharat Mirza, Pakistan Islami Tehrik’s Allama Nazir Abbas Taqvi, JI Karachi chief Mohammad Hussain Mehanti, Sunni Teheek leader Aftab Qadri and Waqas Baloch son of Sher Mohammad Baloch. The APC rejected Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s statement that Sher Mohammad Baloch was an Iranian citizen and termed it a cruel joke with the nation. It demanded that a judicial probe be conducted about the murders of Akbar Bugti, Sher Mohammad Baloch, Ghulam Mohammad Baloch and Lala Muneer. The JI-sponsored APC also demanded capital punishment for those involved in the murder of Bugti and other Baloch leaders. The APC demanded that natural resources of Balochistan not be given under multinational companies’ control. The colonialist approach towards Balochistan should end, urged the APC. It demanded an end to the military operation and the withdrawal of unnecessary deployment in Balochistan, along with the rehabilitation of the people of Kohlu and Dera Bugti. Demanding the release and recovery of detained missing persons of Balochistan, the APC demanded employment opportunities and infrastructure development in the province. The replacement of the present authority with the Gawadar Port Trust was also proposed. On one hand, the APC made an appeal to the Baloch tribal chiefs and on the other, the APC also demanded of the government to abrogate the concurrent list in the constitution and grant due rights to all the provinces under the Constitution of Pakistan. The APC resolution stated that the concurrent list was applicable for 10 years. “Provincial autonomy is every province’s right and all the provinces should be given the power to exercise their rights,” said JI Deputy Chief and former senior legislator Prof Ghafoor Ahmed. He said that the entire country is with the Baloch compatriots and warned that the country’s integrity would be at stake if the issue of Balochistan is not resolved. “Injustice with Baloch Pakistanis will be considered injustice with us. They are loyal citizens of Pakistan like the rest of us,” he said. Ahmed said that the Baloch were denied their due rights. irfan alihttp://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\04\30\story_30-4-2009_pg7_20