PAKISTAN: Appeal for international intervention in Balochistan 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following open letter from Baloch Human Rights Council (UK).

Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong

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An Open Letter from Baloch Human Rights Council (UK) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

His Excellency
Ban Ki-moon
Secretary General United Nation
United Nations Plaza, New York,
NY 10017

PAKISTAN: Appeal for international intervention in Balochistan

Dear Sir,

On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, we would like to draw your kind attention towards the gruesome violations of human rights by the Pakistani security agencies in Balochistan in recent months.

A ruthless war has been going on in the Pakistani controlled Balochistan for the last five years, in which thousands of innocent men, women and children have been mercilessly killed, hundreds of thousands have been displaced and thousands are missing. The war against the Baloch is being waged without witnesses. The authorities are refusing access to foreign observers, journalists and humanitarian organizations.

Abductions of students, doctors, teachers, journalists and human rights activists are going on daily basis in Balochistan. Whereabouts of thousands of the Baloch civil activists are still unknown. Pakistani officials have accepted of more than 1000 missing person and we genuinely believe that their lives are in grave danger.

The Pakistani military establishment has created numerous religious terrorist organizations as proxy “Hit Squads” and with the help of these organizations consisting of drug peddlers, dacoits and social outcasts. These are working with different nomenclatures and are given the task of physically eliminating the Baloch intellectuals, political and human rights activists.

The graphic details of human rights violation in Balochistan have been published by different non-governmental organizations and international humanitarian’s institutions affiliated with the United Nations. There has been a steady rise in the magnitude of the abduction of the Baloch by Pakistani secret agencies for the last many months. From August 2010, the Pakistani intelligence agencies have dumped the bodies of more than 50 Baloch political and social activists after brutally torturing and killing them. The role of Pakistani army in the killings and abduction of the Baloch activists has been highlighted by the Amnesty International in its report of 25 October 2010 on Balochistan. Some of the important killings are being listed below:

• Habib Jalib, the General Secretary of the Balochistan National Party and another prominent leader of the party Haji Liaguat Ali Mengal were assassinated by the death squads of the Pakistani army in July 2010.
• Vice President of Balochistan National party, Mr. Noordin Mengal was killed by the security agencies in Kalat in August 2010.
• Lala Hameed a journalist from Gwadur was killed by security agencies along with one of his friend Hasil Baloch in October, 2010.
• The house of Balochistan National Party leader Ayub Gichki, one of the uncles of the Party president Sardar Akhtar Mengal was bombarded by the army and his two sons and three of other family friends were killed on 1st Decembr 2010.
• Mr Zaman Khan Marri and renowned Baloch Lawyer, columnist and poet, Mr Ali Sher Kurd were abducted during August and September. Their bodies were later found.
• Munir Mirwani an advocate of Balochistan High Court has been abducted in 2010 is still missing.
• Sami Baloch aged 20 years, a student of Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology was abducted by Pakistani agencies on 1 October 2010 from Khuzdar. His bullet-riddled body was recovered on 17 November 2010 in Mastung town.
• Bashir Ahmad Baloch, a student, was abducted during the last week of August 2010 from Mastung and his bullet riddled body bearing torture marks was found on 17 November 2010 in Mastung.
• Asmatullah Baloch, another student from Mastung was abducted by Pakistani paramilitary forces on 22 September and his body was discovered 17 November 2010.
• Nasrullah Baloch was abducted from Kalat in September 2010 and his body was recovered from Kapotho area of Kalat after two months.
• Asmatullah Sarparah Baloch, a student of Balochistan University was abducted by Pakistani security services on 22 September 2010 and his mutilated body was recovered on 17 November 2010.
• Basheer Ahmad Lehri Baloch, a social worker was abducted from Mastung Bazaar on 23 August 2010. His body was recovered on 17 November 2010.
• Zahoor Baloch was also abducted by Pakistani intelligence agencies from Maustung Bazaar on 23 August 2010 and his body was found in Mastung on 21 October 2010.
• Asim Karim Baloch was a student of Multan Polytechnic College was abducted and killed on 1st November, 2010 in Khanozai.
• The body of Tariq Karim Baloch who had been abducted on 26 October 2010 was found in Khanozia area on 1 November 2010.
• Samiullah Mengal, a student, was abducted by Pakistani security forces and after 45 days of being missing his body was found near Ferozabad area of Khuzdar region in Balochistan.
• On 23rd of November, two students of IT University Quetta Qamber Chaker and Irshad Nasser were picked by the security agencies and since then their whereabouts is unknown.

Dear Secretary General,

In the face of heinous crimes being committed by the Pakistani security forces in Balochistan and the unchecked violations of the basic human rights of the Baloch, the silence of the international community is incomprehensible. Despite the repeated presentation to international organizations including the UN by the representatives of the Baloch people, the international community is watching silently while a whole nation is systematically being wiped out by the Pakistani state through military aggression. This is high time for the international community to rise and act before it is too late for the Baloch.

Excellency,

The situation for the Baloch is alarming. Pakistani State Establishment is committing heinous crimes against humanity in Balochistan. The Baloch are facing a systematic genocide. They need urgent help from the civilized and democratic world. We hope that the honorable Secretary General may kindly take a personal interest in pushing for a thorough and independent international investigation into the cold-blooded murders of the Baloch nationalist leaders and other serious abuses of human rights and humanitarian laws by the Pakistani Army in Balochistan.

We believe that no individual or state should be above International Laws. Those who are responsible for grave violation of human rights must be held accountable and in this respect we are justified in asking for the immediate intervention of international community in order to pressurize the Pakistani state for an immediate end to genocide acts being committed on the Baloch. We strongly request you to press the Pakistani army establishment to stop all atrocities against the Baloch political, social and human rights activists and civilians.

We request that this petition be taken as an urgent humanitarian appeal. Your immediate intervention could save not only countless innocent lives but could also prevent the present situation from developing into a total genocide of the defenceless Baloch people.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours sincerely,

Samad Baloch
General Secretary
Baloch Human Rights Council (UK)
info_bhrc@yahoo.co.uk

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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

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