Baloch Human Rights Council's Letter to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives for US intervention in Balochistan

On the occasion of forcible annexation and  illegal occupation of Balochistan by pakistan on 27 March 1948, Baloch Human Rights Council has written a letter (posted by registered mail & faxed) to the speaker of the US House of Representative calling for United States intervention in Balochistan

The Honorable John Boehner,

The Speaker of the House of Representatives
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

USA

Dated:  27 March 2012

Subject: Call for US intervention in Balochistan

Dear Sir,

We would like to draw your attention towards the atrocities and gruesome violations of human rights of the Baloch in Pakistan.

For the last 9 years, the Baloch has been facing the onslaught of the brutal military establishment of Pakistan. The Pakistani state is waging a ruthless war in Balochistan in which thousands of innocent men, women and children have been mercilessly killed, hundreds of thousands have been displaced and thousands are missing. The state security agencies have targeted and physically eliminated a large number of prominent Baloch social, intellectual and political figures.

For many years, different non-governmental organizations and international humanitarian institutions have published the graphic details of human rights violation in Balochistan. Some of the reports are mentioned below:

1. Human Rights Watch report  on 28 July 2011
2. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Pakistan: Displacement ongoing in a number of regions 15^th May, 2008 
3. Amnesty International Annual report, May 2008
4. USSD Country Report on Human Rights Practices, Pakistan 2007  11/03/08
5. International Crisis Group: Pakistan: The Worsening Conflict In Balochistan 14/09/06
6. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan fact finding mission, “Conflict in Balochistan” 2005-2006
7. Balochistan Dossier by Balochistan National Party June 2006
8. Asia Pacific Human Rights Network Report 19/09/06

The role of Pakistani army in the killings and abduction of the Baloch activists has been highlighted in detailed reports from these organisations.

One of the painful aspects of the conflict in Balochistan is the creation of numerous religious terrorist organizations as proxy “Death Squads” comprising of drug peddlers, dacoits and convicted criminals. These are working with different nomenclatures and are given the task of physically eliminating the Baloch intellectuals, political and human rights activists.

The human rights violations of the Baloch by the Pakistani State Establishment are characterized by:

1.      Humiliation of the Baloch socio-political leaders and personalities: in 2001, the respected Baloch nationalist personality and cheif of the Marri Tribe Nawab Khair Bux Marri was insulted, arrested and kept in solitary confinement for more than a year. In 2006, the house of Nawab Akber Bugti a prominent nationalist leader  and president of Jamhoori Watan Pary was bombarded by the armed forces of Pakistan killing and injuring more than 70 people including women and children.   2007, the house of Sardar Attaullah Mengal, prominent nationalist leader and chief of Mengal Tribe was targeted with rocket fire by the security forces. In 2006, president of the Balochistan National Party Sardar Akhtar Mengal was abducted, tortured and held in a small cage. He was kept in solitary confinement for more than a year.

2.      Abduction of political activists and human rights workers by the state security agencies: it is a routine by the security forces to abduct political, human right and student activists. They are usually held for many months tortured and later dumped in a remote area. Dr. Allanazar, Dr. Imdad Baloch and their friends were kidnapped and tortured and released after many months. Journalist Muneer Mengal was abducted from Karachi airport, tortured and kept in solitary imprisonment for many years. Some of the other names are Dr. Haneef Shareef, Professor Hassan Janan, Professor Misri Khan Mari and Abdulnabi Bungulzai.

3.      Extra-judicial killings of political and social leaders and activists: Nawab  Akber Bugti and hundreds of his followers were massacred in August, 2006 by the Pakistani army. His dead body was desecrated. Dr. Khalid a human right activist and his friends   were murdered by the security forces in 2007.

4.      Detention without trials: hundreds of political and social workers and civil rights activists are under detention without trials.

5.      Abduction of the Baloch women by the Pakistani security forces:More then one hundred and forty three Baloch women are missing and believed to be abducted by the security forces.

6.      Burning and bombardment of the Baloch villages: 54 villages and settlements in Balochistan have been burnt by aerial bombardment or ground actions of the armed forces.

7.      Forced Displacements of the Baloch from their settlements: two hundred thousand Baloch have been forcefully dislocated by the armed forces and are living in miserable conditions throughout Balochistan.

Since 2010, there has been a significant rise in the magnitude of the abduction of the Baloch by Pakistani secret agencies. They have killed more than 400 Baloch political, human rights and social activists and intellectuals, and writers. Their mutilated bodies have been dumped in open fields. The recovered  bodies of all victims, without exception, bear signs of extreme torture. They all bear the hallmark of professional torturers. The policy of killing and dumping is premeditated, organized and systematic.

 Dear Mr. Speaker,

These acts implicate serious violations of Pakistan’s obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other applicable norms of international human right laws. These acts also violate peremptory norms of international laws, such as the prevention and prohibition of torture and crimes against humanity.

Heinous crimes against humanity are being committed by the Pakistan State in Balochistan without any witness. Prevention of international media from entering or reporting in Balochistan has created the frightening scenario where the Pakistani state continues to violate human rights on a massive scale without transparency or accountability.

In the face of heinous crimes being committed by the Pakistani security forces in Balochistan, the silence of the international community is incomprehensible. The Baloch are facing a systematic genocide. This is high time for the international community to rise and act before it is too late for the Baloch people.

The Baloch as a positive step has welcomed tabling a resolution in the House of Representatives supporting the right of self-determination of the Baloch. We believe that United States is in a position to pressurize the Pakistani State in order to save the life of thousands of the Baloch.

We request that the House of Representatives may push for a thorough and independent international investigation into the cold blooded murders of the Baloch nationalist leaders and other abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Pakistani Army in Balochistan. We believe that only signals of strong and direct action will persuade Pakistan to immediately stop systematic campaigns of genocide against the Baloch people.

The United States had been in the forefront in international efforts, which saved whole communities and national entities from annihilation in former Yugoslavia, East Timur, Sudan, and in many Arab countries.  We believe that the Baloch need an urgent help from the United States and the international community. Right of self-determination is the inalienable right of the Baloch people. The national question of the Baloch in Pakistan should be negotiated under the auspices of the UN by granting them the universal right of self-determination a sovereign independent Balochistan.

Yours Sincerely,

Samad Baloch

General Secretary

Baloch Human Rights Council