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