Thursday, May 16, 2013

Toronto Gathering Pays Rich Tribute to Mir Gul Khan Naseer and Resolution Passed for an Independent Sovereign Balochistan




 Toronto, May 12th – A gathering in Toronto remembered Mir Gul Khan Naseer, the revolutionary poet of Balochistan, and paid tribute to a great son of the soil for his exceptional literary work and political struggles dating back to the 1930s. Baloch Human Rights Council (Canada) hosted the event; attended by Baloch, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Bangladeshi, and Ahwazi communities to express solidarity with the Baloch struggle for freedom and rights. 
The Mir Gul Khan Naseer day event commenced with a moment of silent contemplation in the memory of Baloch martyrs of the liberation struggle. Mohammad Ali Baloch initiated the evening with reciting revolutionary verse by the national poet of Balochistan. Mumtaz Baloch welcomed the guests and invited the speakers to shed light on life and struggles of Mir Gul Khan Naseer. She began by speaking on the importance and the relevance of the poet’s literary and political endeavours with today’s Balochistan.
The main theme of the event: “Mir Gul Khan Naseer – A Poet’s Struggle for Baloch Unity, Freedom and Social Change” echoes the challenges Baloch nation is confronting today in their collective struggle for nationhood and freedom from foreign dominance.
Zaffar Baloch – President, BHRC (Canada)
Azam Bhatti – Spokesperson, Sindh Rights, expressed his solidarity with the Baloch struggle and emphasized on the historic ties between the two nations of Sindh and Balochistan. He stated that poets in any society are the visionary individuals who foresee the truth and guide their people to their destiny. He mentioned that the state-sponsored atrocities in Balochistan are now being repeated in Sindh and the nationalist leaders and activists are being disappeared and in some cases killed in custody and their bodies dumped. Mr. Bhatti emphasized on Sindhi-Baloch unity and struggle for a common national cause.
Abu Sufyan – Spokesperson, Ahwazi Democratic Popular Front stated that Ahwaz nation’s struggle against the theocratic fascist state of Iran unites us with Baloch people, currently under occupation of Iran and Pakistan. Mr. Sufyan spoke in Arabic, the national language of the Ahwaz people. He mentioned the atrocities against his people by the fundamentalist regime of Iran that has denied cultural, political, and economic rights to the oppressed nationalities of the country. Mr. Sufyan added that freedom is the birth right of all nations under foreign occupation. 
Mir Akram Baloch – Organizer, BHRC (USA) began by congratulating all present in the hall on Mother’s Day and saluted the Baloch mothers who gave birth to sons and daughters fighting for the rights of their motherland. Mr. Baloch recited poems in praise of Mir Gul Khan Naseer about his great love for his people and the sacrifices he made for the common Baloch – shepherds, peasants, students, and the poor tribal masses facing hardships under tyrant chieftains.
Tahir Gora – Poet and Spokesperson, Punjabi Council of Canada stated that the Punjabi dominance and military occupation of Balochistan must end immediately. Mr. Gora added that Baloch people’s struggle for independence is a just cause and Balochistan will one day become a free nation. He emphasized that the Punjabi nation and its ruling classes have lost their sense of national heritage and don’t feel proud of their language and cultural history – this is the reason why they never understood the significance of Balochi, Bengali, Sindhi, Seraiki, and Pashto as mother tongues and the importance of nationalist struggles as political movements that have challenged the defunct Pakistan Ideology based on “Two Nation Theory.” He expressed his solidarity with the Baloch national liberation movement and added that it will end in victory and freedom. Mr. Gora also recited Punjabi poems including one by the great Sufi poet Buley Shah.
Laurie Deamer (USA) – Human rights activist involved with Baloch struggle. Ms. Deamer presented a paper on Mir Gul Khan Naseer by Dr. Naseer Dashti. (Full text of the paper).  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NnBfwMAYOsVUlwQF8VxSXhg4ArHquv0WFqmRyiYgjR0/edit
Munir Pervaiz Saami – Director, Progressive Writers Association (Canada) expressed his solidarity with the Baloch people in the darkest times of their history. Mr. Saami praised Mir Gul Khan Naseer for his intellectual contributions and steadfastness to the principles of enlightened humanism. He also recited his own poem in Urdu on the subject of struggles for freedom with an English translation of the verse.
Fawad Choudhary – Film Producer, Bangladesh spoke on the subject of struggles of his people that culminated in the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. Mr. Choudhary praised Mir Gul Khan Naseer for his role in developing Balochi language and poetry in relation to modern and progressive trends in literature. He specially mentioned about Mir Gul Khan Naseer’s 1975 poem (written in Hyderabad Jail) on the assassination of Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rehaman, the founder of Bangladesh.
Senge Sering – Director, Gilgit Baltistan National Congress (USA) expressed his solidarity with the Baloch peoples’ struggles for freedom and rights. Mr. Sering praised the Baloch mothers on the occasion of Mother’s Day and saluted them for their bravery in playing a leading role in the movement for raising voice for the missing persons in Balochistan. He also described the political issues facing people of Gilgit Baltistan in their struggle against the occupation forces of Pakistan and China.
Mumtaz Khan – Director, International Centre for Peace & Democracy stated that the conflict in Kashmir and Balochistan originated with the creation of Pakistan by the British Raj. Mr. Khan expressed his solidarity with the people of Balochistan in their endeavours for freedom from foreign occupation and subjugation. He spoke at length on the terrorist nature of the Pakistani state and the army’s role in spreading political chaos and militarism in the region with serious dangers of war and nuclear repercussions. He explained that without the end to the military’s dominant role in Pakistan and the dismantling of the structures of terrorism, the Taliban-linked proxy wars in Kashmir and Balochistan will grow, engulfing the entire region in a never-ending nightmare. 
Tarek Fatah -   Author and Columnist for Toronto Sun. Mr. Fatah described in-depth the challenges Baloch people are facing today in their fifth war of independence from Pakistan. He stressed on the role of Baloch leadership that stands disunited while their people suffer at the hands of the state security forces and army’s proxy death squads with impunity. Moreover, Mr. Fatah maintained that lack of unity is a major drawback in the movement disenchanting Baloch youths and the international community alike. He emphasized that Pakistani authorities whether civilian or military should leave Balochistan immediately because they do not have any legal or moral authority to continue the occupation that began with the invasion of Kalat in 1948. Mr. Fatah, speaking on the issue of general elections 2013, said that the Pakistani establishment has manufactured the results in order to hand over KP and Balochistan to ISI-controlled puppets to manage the post-2014 scenario of withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan. 
The Mir Gul Khan Naseer event concluded with the presentation of a resolution on the independence and sovereignty of Balochistan. The resolution was presented by Zaffar Baloch - President, BHRC (Canada) and was adopted unanimously by the house on May 12, 2013. (Click for the text of the resolution). https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VNO_u92jnzvy-UBaY5z4q-Bz4zRWcvl0J-M0_NbxNs8/edit 
 View the video of  Declaration of independent For a soverign Balochistan, read to the meeting by Zaffar Baloch;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ls0LyzTsdGw
Please click on the link to view the pictures of the event; https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.540438092684908.1073741825.153593348036053&type=3
Mir Gul khan Naseer, An introduction:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b0nRcNGIJCZs25vy5GL5tVtonduZpqaFd1xKUTLDtXc/edit

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