PAKISTAN: Open Letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on crimes against humanity in Balochistan

Mr Ban Ki-moon

Secretary General, United Nation

1 United Nations Plaza,

New York, NY 10017

Dated: 28/07/2013

Dear Sir, The Baloch Social Media Activists forum would like to draw your kind attention towards the heinous crimes that the occupying Pakistani army is committing against humanity in Balochistan on daily basis. In order to contain the Baloch Freedom Movement, the Pakistani state has adopted a sinister strategy of eliminating the intellectuals and activists of Baloch society –with its systematic ‘dirty war’ which generally is called “kill and dump policy”. Pakistan’s notorious spy agencies, ISI and MI abduct Baloch political activists and subject them to untold agonizing tortures and subsequently throw their mutilated dead bodies on deserted areas across Balochistan.

Since September, 2011 more than 700 mutilated dead bodies of around 18000 abducted Baloch political activists have been gifted to Baloch nation. The fates of the rest are unknown as Pakistani Guantanamo Bays abound in Balochistan and are off-limits to Human rights organizations and local as well as international media. Despite respected internal and international human right organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reports and courts orders, Pakistani state adamantly refuses to acknowledge and own the crimes against humanity that its security apparatus have committed and are committing in Balochistan.

Pakistani state’s failure to observe universal human rights declaration is evident from the fact that no Baloch political activist accused of terrorist activities that Pakistan army alleges has been brought before courts to date. In Balochistan Pakistani state sponsored terrorism goes on unabated since it was unleashed during Musharraf era despite the fact that almost all international human rights organizations, including America, Canada and Members of European Union expressed their deep concern about grave human rights situation in Balochistan. Pakistani state policies have never changed on Baloch human rights issues, regardless of the fact that it was a dictator in the form of Gen Musharraf or so called democrats like Zardari or Nawaz Sharif. All are pursuing an oppressive containment policy devised by dominant Punjabi military establishment to suppress Baloch nation’s sovereign democratic rights to govern themselves. Within this month alone more than 28 people have been abducted and 23 mutilated dead bodies have been thrown on deserted areas by security agencies from different parts of Balochistan.

Military operations have internally forced Baloch people to seek refuge in Sindh, Punjab and Afghanistan. But in these areas too Baloch refugees are not spared of Pakistani atrocities. On July 12, 2013 the family of a political worker, Reyaz Gul Bugti, in a refugee camp in Spin Boldik of Afghanistan was attacked by ISI agents recently with grenades in which children and an elderly woman got injured critically. Baloch media reported that in Sindh City of Gohtki, the Pakistan army attacked the house of Hasil Bugti and abducted his aged mother Hani Bibi, his wife Murad Khatun and his infant son Abdul Rehman.

An educator from Khuzdar, Prof Razzaq Zehri, was gunned down by Pakistani sponsored death squad, and his fellow Professor Hakeem Baloch was also critically injured during the shootout. On July 6th of this month, Master Yaqoob was intercepted on his way from his car by security forces and taken to an unknown place. He was on his way from Karachi to Mashkay with his family, and on resistance his family members were also beaten up and left stranded on the highway. At the beginning of this month, within three days more than 65 people were abducted during army operation in Mastung, Isplengi, Kabo and in adjacent areas, and nothing is known about their whereabouts and fate. Khudad Marri, the elder brother of a London based Baloch social media activist, Nobat Marri, was abducted along with his friend Bijjar Marri at Korbi Checkpost on 24th June, and his mutilated dead body was found in a deserted area of Dera Allahyar, Balochistan.

The Pakistani army of Islamic republic consists of more than 700,000 thousands personnel and armed with all imagined sophisticated weapons and one third of it is deployed in Balochistan. It is an occupying army and acts like one. Its savagery is well-known in the history of mankind. It is now repeating the brutalities it committed in Bangladesh during 1971 Bangladesh independence war in Balochistan. The current Nawaz Sharif’s so called democratic government is no better than the previous dictators and pseudo democrats. It has now setup a new task force to resolve the missing persons’ crisis.

Ironically this task force is comprised of those people and institutions who themselves are involved in crimes against humanity in Balochistan. The Chairman of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), Nasurullah Baloch has rejected it and clarified that it was a hoodwinking attempt on the part of Nawaz government to put the issue of Baloch missing persons forever in abeyance. Pakistan’s dirty war against humanity in Balochistan is all about the containment of Baloch nation from regaining their lost sovereignty.

Baloch Social Media Activists (BSMA), the association of Baloch social media campaigners across the world representing the collective voice of Baloch nation gagged by Pakistan, urges the United Nations Human Rights Council to intervene in Balochistan crisis and stop Pakistan occupying forces from committing further Baloch genocide.

Sincerely,

Mir Balach, Baloch Social Media Activists a global voice for the Voiceless people of Balochistan

Document Type : Forwarded Open Letter
Document ID : AHRC-FOL-008-2013
Countries : Pakistan,
Issues : Child rights, Extrajudicial killings, Judicial system, Torture,