7 February 2009

Don't cry for me Baluchistan: bride, groom among 13 killed

It's like "Don't cry for me Baluchistan"-- women, children, young old -- no one is being spared in the scorched earth policy..Pakistan army appears to have gone berserk in the area-wise largest and resource-rich province where they have killed a Baluch bride and groom on their wedding day. Pakistan said four people were killed, but the Asian Human Rights Commission, that has been monitoring human rights violations in the blood-soaked province, has said at least 13 people were killed. Due to the ongoing military operations in Balochistan, members of the FC have been given the authority to shoot at sight, any person of suspicion, without further ado. Only a day before on February 2, some unknown persons, riding motorcycles had attacked a check post of the near Dera Bugti Town. It is reliably believed that the indiscriminate shooting at an innocent wedding party -- killing 13 and seriously injuring 21 persons -- was in retaliation of the previous day incident. Source: ahrchk.netMost of the news from Baluchistan is strictly censored as many of the world's key news organization do not have sufficient staff posted in Quetta. An earlier rport had put the death toll at only four.A bride and groom were among at least four people killed in a shootout at a wedding party in Pakistan's restive Baluchistan province, a local official said Tuesday.The incident took place in Dashtgoran village, 18 kilometres (11 miles) east of Dera Bugti town in the gas-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran, and where a regional insurgency has killed hundreds since 2004. Source: arabtimesonline.comThe Frontier Constabulary responsible for the civilian deaths is the same Pakistani force that has helped the Taliban and Al Qaeda launch attacks on US and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan.The Baluch allege Pakistan military and para-military forces, who expressly believe in "Jihad in the name of Allah", are sheltering Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, among other international jihadists.Mumbai Terror Outfit's teachings exposedA leading member of the Pakistan civil society has exposed the war-mongering ideology of the Jamaat ud Daawa, or JuD, the umbrella organization of the Lashkar-i-Toiba or Army of Pure—the terror outfit responsible for the Mumbai mayhem in November that left 200 people dead and over 300 injured.Dr. Rubina Saigol of Action Aid Pakistan has expressed her disgust at the teachings of the jihadist outfit that had tried to show a softer face to the world immediately after the Mumbai attacks by inviting journalists to its headquarters in Muridke, Punjab. The United Nations Security Council on December 11 imposed sanctions on the Pakistan-based terror outfit and declared four of its top leaders Dawaa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, suspected Mumbai terror mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Haji Muhammad Ashraf and Zaki-ur-Bahaziq as global terrorists.Saigol posted her views on a progressive Pakistani public yahoogroups emailing list called SPN, with nearly 5,000 members. She was responding to the views of another liberal Pakistani editor, Omar R. Quraishi, editorial page editor of largest circulation English newspaper The News International. In his article, Quraishi wrote: "Regrettably, this tendency to act superior than the rest of the world, ignore one's own warts and what not and to blame the rest of the world for all that ills the Islamic world is something that is found in many ordinary Pakistanis as well. Whether they have been influenced by organisations such as the JuD or whether the organisations have been influenced by the society that they have grown up in is not the issue but rather that the value system and worldview of the JuD and the LeT is in fact something that a lot of Pakistanis share -- particularly the view that a Hindu/Zionist/ American conspiracy of sorts has been put in motion to annihilate the Muslim world."India still has plans to bomb the Muridke headquarters of the terror outfit and many people in the renegade province of Baluchistan believe New Delhi would be fully justified in doing so. Even Indian Muslims were calling for tit-for-tat against Pakistan's rogue spy service Inter Services Intelligence and elements within the country's omnipotent army--the fourth largest in the world and armed with nuclear weapons."The attacks were India's 911. The terror infrastructure has to be brought down. If the Congress Party will not act, it will lose the elections," the scion of a leading Muslim family from Mumbai said on a request of anonymity.Saigol concurring with Quraishi's view on Jamaat ud Daawa gave some glaring examples from textbooks "that they distribute to their students and which are not available openly in the market." She added the books are published by Jamaat ud Daawa press and are given to students free of charge."The Mullahs [Islamic cleric] say that the books are meant to 'inspire' and to inculcate a truly Islamic spirit among students and to enable them to view Islam as a complete way of life, rather than as a set of rituals," Saigol said. "Through these textbooks children are given inspirational ideas and introduced to the objectives of Islam as seen by the Mullah. They are thus introduced the glorious Muslim past to inspire them to violence to re-create the past."She said Jamaat ud Daawa argues that Muslims alone have right to rule the world and are allowed to kill infidels that stand in the way of Islam and this is being taught in textbooks used by the Jamaat ud Daawa. Saigol said Daawa glorifies violence and hate and teaches the new version of alphabets in which children learn Bandook for Bai, Talwar for Tai, Tank for Ttai, jehaz for jeem and khanjar for khai, rocket for rai and tayyara for To-ay. [In English, all this will translate into G for gun, S for sword, T for tank, J for jet, K for knife, R for rocket and A for airplane.]"In the Urdu textbook, children are told that infidels are cowards by nature and when a holy warrior attacks them, they scream with terror and fear," she said. "Mujahideen are glorified as being on a mission from Allah and they are superheroes that kill Hindus and make infidels cower in fear," she said, referring from the pages of the textbook. She deplored games are organized around violence and killing and the children play with guns and learn to shoot at balloons, adding they play guerilla games of ambushing infidels, and in one story, a ten year old boy kills hundreds of Russians in Afghanistan .She said poems and stories are taught about young boys that wage jihad and children read fictitious letters from jihadis killed in battle. “If I am killed in battle, celebrate”, reads one letter to a mother and sister in the seventh grade textbook, and then admonishes, “Make sure you conceal your body and never wear perfume.” Obscurantists among Muslims call this decadent and sexist practice hijab."India is presented as an enemy and Saudi Arabia as a best friend. Kashmir appears as Pakistani territory forcibly snatched by Hindus and Pakistan as a country created only for Muslims."Saigol said children are instructed to mercilessly beat up non-Muslims and are told in the second grade textbook that every student should become a holy warrior and that they should be willing to lay down their lives for the great nuclear power that is Pakistan.Quraishi notes: "Another (JuD) post is devoted to Mother's Day, or rather to equating it more or less with paganism. In fact, another post is on how Muslims should beware of doing actions that make them equal to kaafirs [infidels] -- such as celebrating their holy days and festivals. Also, it is clearly mentioned that non-Muslims are kaafirs and should not be even befriended."Even after passage of a month, Pakistan was still in self-denial about the identity of the Mumbai terrorists. Though Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari initially admitted his country's non-state actors were involved in the Mumbai attacks, under the rogue army's instructions he has made a U-turn since then and said recently there were no solid proofs the lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab is a Pakistani national.Pakistan's leading English newspaper DAWN--owned by a cousin of Hussain Haroon, Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations-- recently carried an interview of Kasab's father from the Punjab town of Faridkot, confirming his son's identity. Baring one, all the 10 Mumbai terrorists were from Punjab, stronghold of the Pakistan army.

IRAN WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR ONE MILLION SIGNATURES AGAINST IRAN DISCRIMINATORY LAWS

Iranian women’s rights activists are initiating a wide campaign demanding an end to discriminatory laws against women in the Iranian law. The Campaign “One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws” is a follow-up effort to the peaceful protest of the same aim, which took place on June 12, 2006 in Haft-e Tir Square in Tehran. WUNRN
http://www.wunrn.com , http://www.campaign4equality.info/english/spip.php?article19
SIGN ONE MILLION SIGNATURES CAMPAIGN PETITION

http://learningpartnership.org/advocacy/alerts/iranmillionsigns0207

http://www.we-change.org/spip.php?article19

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http://www.campaignforequality.info/english/spip.php?article452

IRAN - THREE WOMEN OF THE ONE MILLION SIGNATURES CAMPAIGN ARRESTED
30 January 2009
Change for Equality: Three members of the One Million Signatures Campaign, were arrested earlier today in the mountains of Tochal, in the north of Tehran. Nafiseh Azad, Bigard Ebrahimi and another member of the Campaign, were arrested earlier today January 30, 2009 while collecting signatures in support of the Campaign’s petition and engaging in discussion with the public. Initially the members were detained in a police station in the mountains, after which they were transferred to Police Station One in Darband, where they were detained for several hours. These women’s rights activists have since been transferred to Vozara Detention Center. Their family and friends have been told that they can follow up their case with the courts in the morning. Stay tuned to the site of Change for Equality for more information and updates.
http://www.campaignforequality.info:80/english/spip.php?article453

IRAN ARREST ORDER FOR NAFISEH AZAD RENEWED
31 January 2009
Change for Equality: Three members of the One Million Signatures Campaign who were arrested in the mountains north of Tehran yesterday while collecting signatures in support of the Campaign’s petition, were taken to the Revolutionary Courts today, where their cases were tended to by an investigative judge.

Nafiseh Azad, Bigard Ebrahimi and a third person who wishes to remain anonymous at this point, were arrested yesterday and interrogated at Vozara detention center this morning before being transferred to the Revolutionary Courts. The Investigative Judge, Mr. Sobhani renewed the temporary arrest order for Nafiseh Azad, charging her with actions against the state through the spreading of propaganda against the state. Nafiseh Azad objected to the arrest order and the charges against her.

In this same court session Bigard Ebrahimi was issued a third party guarantee bail order. Both Nafiseh Azad and Bigard Ebrahim were then transferred to the Police Station One in Darband and then to Vozara Detention Center. It is expected that Bigard Ebrahimi and the other individual arrested yesterday will be released tomorrow on a third party guarantee, but Nafiseh Azad’s charges will be tended to in the Security Branch of the Revolutionary Courts tomorrow.

It is worth noting that family members and members of the Campaign were present from early morning at Vozara Detention Center and the Revolutionary Courts to follow up on the case of these women’s rights activists.

Protest against Balochistan operation

HYDERABAD: The National Party and the Awami Party staged a demonstration here on Thursday outside the press club against the �ongoing military operation� in Balochistan. The protesters demanded of the authorities to release all the Baloch political prisoners and punish those responsible for assaulting Zarina Marri. The demonstration was led by Mansoor Baloch and Taj Marri. Three FC men injured in Dera Bugti blastQUETTA: Three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were injured when their vehicle hit a landmine which went off in Doba Nokhani area of Dera Bugti district on Thursday, FC sources here told APP. They said unknown men had planted the landmine in the area and FC vehicle hit the landmine which exploded with loud sound. Three FC men in the vehicle got injured as result of the blast. They said the injured were shifted to the hospital for treatment. Police officials were investigating the incident.

BLA denies kidnapping UNHCR head

QUETTA: Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) spokesman Bibarg Baloch on Friday denied any BLA role in the abduction of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) head in Balochistan John Solecki. Talking to Daily Times, Baloch said, "We are not involved in the kidnapping of the US citizen in any way." Unidentified people had kidnapped Solecki on February 2 after murdering his driver. The BLA spokesman confirmed the group had kidnapped six officials of the Mari Indus Gas Company. He said they had not decided about the fate of the kidnapped. Earlier, an official source had told reporters that many groups operating in Quetta were involved in the kidnapping, including the Baloch nationalists fighting for their rights. The other groups were identified as gangs of criminals and the Taliban.

3 February 2009

4 Balochistan ministers threaten to resign

QUETTA: Four provincial ministers and a pro-government member of the Balochistan Assembly (BA) on Saturday staged a walkout against not being allowed to debate the issue of a missing female Baloch schoolteacher . The assembly members (MPAs) also warned of boycotting the ongoing assembly session for an indefinite period.The MPAs who walked out included Irrigation Minister Sardar Aslam Bizenjo, who criticised the House’s lack of interest in the case of Zarina Marri (23). Marri was allegedly taken hostage by security agencies around two years ago.Bizenjo earlier rejected BA Speaker Aslam Bhootani’s request to debate a different matter in the House.“Zarina Marri is a Baloch being kept in the military’s custody and used as a sex-slave. Currently, this is the most burning issue and the BA should first debate on this serous matter,” he demanded.However, the speaker said it would be meaningless to discuss the matter in the absence of Leader of the House Muhammad Aslam Raisani, and Balochistan Home Minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri. Disappointed over the speaker’s ruling, Bizenjo walked out of the assembly in protest, followed by ministers Mir Hamal Kalmati, Mir Zahoor Buledai and Mir Saleem Khosa.Pro-government MPA Mir Zahoor Khosa also joined the group later.The speaker adjourned the session for 15 minutes and asked other House members to ask the protesting MPAs to return.However, the enraged ministers refused to return to the session.Later, the irrigation minister said the BA’s parliamentary resolutions had no significance and passing another resolution for Marri’s release would be in vain.He urged Raisani to urgently raise the issue with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. “Until top level action is taken, we will continue boycotting the assembly session,” he said, adding their protest could result in an eventual quitting from the coalition government.Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Asadullah Baloch, from the Balochistan National Party-Awami, criticised the enraged minister for their ‘double standards’.“It’s unfair to simultaneously enjoy provincial ministries and play the role of the opposition leaders,” he said. Baloch said his party would support any resolution moved in the BA regarding the issue. Resolutions: Also on Saturday, the BA passed two resolutions - demanding the provision of TV boosters in the province’s rural areas and shelter homes for the victims of last year’s earthquake. The house will meet next on February 3.

1 February 2009

Journalists Covering Zarina Mari Case Threatened

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAHRC-STM-023-2009January 31, 2009
PAKISTAN: The Public Relations Department of the Armed Forces threatens the journalists covering the case of Zarina Marri
The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), a public relations department of the armed forces of Pakistan denied the allegations that Ms. Zarina Marri (23) was in a military torture cell and used as a sex slave to induce arrested nationalist activists to sign state concocted confessions.
The ISPR has also asked from the newspapers and other media, who have given coverage about the missing Zarina, to produce the first information report (FIR) about her arrest. In the effort to effectively deny the torture and forcing female prisoners to become sex slaves in army torture cells the officials of the ISPR have threatened newspapers and the electronic media with dire consequences if they continue to report on the issue of Zarina Marri.
The director of ISPR, who holds the rank of Major General, has personally contacted different news papers who had written editorials demanding probe into the allegations that the army is running torture cells and hold female prisoners. He threatened the newspapers that their official advertisements and its payments will be stopped if they continue with their “malicious campaign” against the army. Some television channels came out about the threats but the federal minister for information then denied that director of the ISPR has made any such threats. He told the newspapers not to involve the Pakistan army in such campaign.
It is regretted that, instead of probing the case the army officials have started threatening the editors and column writers to stop reporting on the issue of army torture cells and their inhuman treatment with the women. The government of Mr. Asif Zardari, the President of Pakistan, should start a probe through a judicial commission on the allegations that the army is using torture cells and has been doing so since the Musharaf era. Since so many persons have testified before the courts and media there should be no difficulty for the government to bring the perpetrators who misused their power in the name of national security and war on terror, before the law.
It is the responsibility of the civilian government to come out with the statements on the allegations of military torture cells and not the duty of the army generals which shows that army is still more powerful in state affairs then the elected government. The AHRC urges that officials of the ISPR be instructed to stop threatening the journalists. Furthermore they must issue statements in the presence of ministry of information and government on the allegations of using women as sex slaves in the military custody.

“I can co-exist with a pig but not with a Punjabi”, says Nawab Khair Baksh Marri

89-year old Nawab Khair Baksh Marri’s meaningful silence over the past many decades has been a constant source of inspiration and guidance for the armed Baloch groups. Lapsing age has not crippled Marri’s attachment to the idea of an independent Balochistan. As the head of the largest Baloch tribe, the Marris, Khair Baksh has become a legendary figure even in his life time.Along with late Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Sardar Attaullah Mengal, Nawab Marri forms Islamabad’s axis of ‘three anti-development sardars in Balochistan’. Khair Baksh Marri remains a mysterious figure because of his unadulterated silence; the belief that he is in fact leading the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and that he is a staunch proponent of the idea of a Greater Balochistan, a free Baloch state comprising of present day Pakistani Balochistan province and the Baloch areas controlled by Iran and Afghanistan. A rare communicator with the media, Nawab Marri recently spoke to this blog at his Karachi residence.
An ardent advocate of militant Baloch nationalism, Nawab Marri admitted being a ‘late-comer’ into politics due to the comfortable life he spent at Lahore’s Aitcheson’s College. Though the Marris were widely regarded for their aggressive battles against colonial Briton generations after generations, flamboyant Khair Baksh, the son of Meherullah Khan Marri, was indifferent towards politics in the early days of his life. It was President Ayub Khan’s gas and oil explorations in the Marri tribal areas which aroused his political consciousness. He has always been opposed to the idea of ‘outsiders’ coming to Balochistan and developing the local Baloch population.
Instead of buying the argument that the Baloch tribal chiefs are anti-development, Marri accuses the government of being simultaneously the accuser as well as the judge. Since the very inception, he had been offered ministries, the post of governor but he spurned such offers. “If I were mad for money then I would not go to Afghanistan [on exile] or spend time in jail. I was offered all comforts of life by successive governments. Even some people get sold in return of minor amounts. I don’t want to glorify myself but these comforts never attracted me,” he clarified.
The white-bearded and red-skinned Marri believes that the present Balcoh movement is far more matured than the ones waged in the past. The Baloch have been under suppression of the state for the past sixty years. Every ruler, he said, tried his utmost to muzzle the dissenting Baloch voice. Today, the Baloch have, nonetheless, become cognizant of their future. One can see maturity in Baloch politics, the guerilla warfare-tactics and availability of more information.
“Our movement has constantly been making headway. We are unlikely to compromise on any thing less than the freedom of the Baloch nation. We are optimistic to achieve our goals, though gradually,” said the veteran nationalist leader.
The hardliner Baloch said none of the present day political parties in Balochistan qualified as a true ‘Baloch nationalist party’ because they did not have what it took to be ‘a true son of the soil’. In his views, when the Baloch parties begin operating like the Tamil Tigers, Hamas or the Irish Republican Army (IRA) then they truly qualify as nationalist parties. The only force in Balochistan which today qualifies as a nationalist more than the others is the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).“I am pleased with the BLA. It expresses the desire of the oppressed people. They (the BLA) are truer and ‘better sons of the soil’ than many others because they are sacrificing their lives for the Baloch freedom,” he remarked, adding that the Balochistan National Party (BNP) of Sardar Akhtar Mengal was merely a political party but it was not right to bill it as a Baloch ‘nationalist’ party. “The BNP only talks of Balochistan, which is today a province of Pakistan, while a nationalist party should speak of Baloch people as a whole. Baloch live in Iran and Afghanistan as well. How can you ignore them and only talk of the rights of a Baloch land controlled by Pakistan?”
When Marri was asked how he would respond to the impression that he was the real man behind Balochistan’s armed movement, he retorted with a loud laughter: Why are you asking me to confess my guilt at this old age? If I were younger, I would not be sitting and giving you an interview. I have always said that the real fighters are the ones who are doing it with weapons. I wish I were younger so that I would go straight to the hill and fight for the Baloch cause.
“Baloch are a big nation. We are fighting for Baloch national liberation. We want a Baloch state which is not dependent and subservient to any other nation. Within the Baloch, some people are fighting on the political front who believe that they can achieve their goals by participating in parliamentary politics but I subscribe to the other school of thought which talks of independence and supports the armed groups.”
Citing his immaturity and lack of political sagacity at an earlier age, a disappointed Marri said now he regretted his participation in parliamentary politics on the platform of the National Awami Party (NAP) as it did not yield any fruits in terms of achieving the rights of his people.
Marri was asked if he would agree to talk to the government provided that all Baloch forces, including the BLA, nominated him as their chief negotiator for talks with Islamabad, he moved his thumbs down (meaning no way would he talk to Islamabad). Immediately, however, he said if the BLA viewed him as the elder of Baloch nation and asked him to sit on their behalf to talk to Islamabad then he would present his terms and conditions. When asked what those terms and conditions were, he replied with a single term: Punjabis must vacate Balochistan.
“The others issues are all domestic which could be discussed later on but the foremost thing is that Punjabis should quit Balochistan… I can coexist with a pig but not with a Punjabi,” he revealed, explaining, “The Punjabis view the Baloch as a very inferior people. They think we are not competitive in any domain of life. They say the Baloch can’t fly an airplane. Thus, they justify their involvement in our maters by saying that they want to develop us. I keep asking who the hell they are to develop us. We are the masters of our land. Who are you to come and teach us? If we can’t fly an airplane today, we will learn it after ten years. If we don’t have qualified doctors today, we will have them tomorrow. But this does not provide you an excuse to exploit our resources on the name of development.”
Alluding to a recent meeting of his with the recently released Sardar Akhtar Mengal of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), Nawab Marri said he had asked Mengal to identify the ‘mother issue’ before the Baloch people due to which the Baloch were regularly going to jail. According to Nawab Marri, Mengal said if step “A” was taken then the men fighting in the mountains would give up arms. “I don’t think they [Sardar Akhtar Mengal and his father, Sardar Attaullah Mengal] have magical powers to disarm the men in the hills. The BNP does not have a majority on the mountains. God knows it is not the BNP giving arms, shoes, support and money to those fighting in the mountains. I asked Akhtar Jan to stop beating drums. We should know what we are fighting for.”
Nawab Marri, whose well-known hobby of cockfighting has somewhat been replaced by internet browsing these days, explained the reasons for Baloch distrust with the federation of Pakistan. “Here, we are ruled by a class which does not recognize logic, history, ground realities, democracy. The only language it knows is that of violence and brute force,” he maintained, “The Baloch claim ownership on their land and the state does not accept our logic. Our ancestors have been living on this land for ages. They faced hardships and poverty but did not quit their land. Now, the rulers come to us and say they want to develop us. They want to populate our cities. Our argument is: Can’t we develop ourselves? When the State can’t respond logically to our commonsensical stance, it resorts to use of force. Even the supporters of democracy should see that the just demand of the Bengalis was not conceded by this state despite all logical arguments supporting them. On the top of it, they say the Baloch are rebels, getting money from the outside world.”
According to Marri tribal chief, a number of internal as well as external factors have heavily contributed to the failure of the Baloch movement(s) to successfully achieve all targeted goals: Internally, the Baloch living in Iran and Afghanistan were not politically as mature as their Pakistani counterparts. “Some Baloch are oblivious of their freedom. They have sold their loyalties in return of minor amounts, ministries and other facilities. Now there is an effort being made by the State to present the fake representatives as the real preventatives of the people… These people (referring to Balochistan governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi and chief minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani) were born in Baloch households but they have become the salaried men of Pakistan. They do not act like Baloch.”
On the external front, Nawab Marri said the Baloch movement was being suppressed by ‘colonial America’ which was following the footsteps of England. “The US wants the people world over to be subservient. The kind of damage the external forces have caused to the movements of smaller nations has no parallel in the world,” he said. Giving the example of the Gwadar Port, Marri said the very idea of excluding the Baloch in the development process was the brainchild of the United States. “Give them a share,” was what the Americans told the government of Pakistan because “they are opposed to freedom. We have warned the US that you can’t win guerrilla warfare. Therefore, you should not involve yourself, regardless of the fact how fair or unfair a war is. Baloch people will not suffice with a ‘share’ we want ownership on our land, resources and our sovereignty.”
Replying to a question as to which of the old comrades of the Baloch movement he remembered the most, an old Marri suddenly busted into tears. “I remember those who sacrificed their lives for the Baloch land,” Marri referred to his son Nawabzada Balaach Marri, the suspected head of the BLA, who was killed last November in mysterious circumstances. There was complete silence for around three to five minutes. Then he resumed, “In the past we often used to say that the Baloch are very brave men. They do not cry. But sometimes pain becomes so prickly that tears naturally come out– even sometimes in public.”
Another son of Nawab Marri, Nawabzada Harbayar Marri, was arrested last December by the police in London on the charges of possessing illegal weapons; he was released on April 17 this year. In addition, the government of Balochistan froze the bank accounts of Nawab Marri and his sons. On July 10, 2007, the Intentional Police (Interpol) on the request of the Balochistan police issued the Red warrants of five sons of Nawab Marri, namely Hamza Marri, Zamari Marri, Harbayar Marri, Gazeen Marri and Balach Marri.
Squinting at his past, Marri, who is currently the topmost Baloch political and tribal leader, said he wished he was remembered in the history as a real son of the soil. Though some Marris consider themselves as the vanguard of Baloch rights, Khair Baksh Marri says he is not contended with his contributions. “I occasionally feel ashamed of not having done enough for the Baloch land. What my children and I have done so far is a minor contribution. We are all indebted to the land.”