PAKISTAN: Government shuts down websites in an effort to suppress news on Balochistan 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has previously reported on the discrimination faced by people in Balochistan, the southern province in Pakistan. In the latest attack on this population by the Government of Pakistan, on 23 April 2006, the government shut down four websites offering information on this area saying that the websites were spreading misinformation.

Supporters of the websites, however, maintain that the websites have not been spreading hatred, religious intolerance or any other such information, as the government alleges, and therefore all four sites, they believe, should be reopened. The supporters also maintain that the reason the sites have been shut down is that the news offered on these sites detail military operations in Balochistan, showing photographs and videos of bombardments by fighter planes and the firing of live ammunition by gunship helicopters. This information, the supporters claim, shows the exploitation the people of Balochistan face and the geo-political situation of their province. Further, international news agencies are said to be taking their information from these websites and the government is apparently not willing to tolerate this.

The websites are as follows:
www.balochvioce.com
www.baloch2000.org
www.balochfront.com
www.sanabaloch.com

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Balochistan was incorporated into the new state of Pakistan, as the Indian subcontinent was split at the end of British rule in 1947. Since then, there have been continuous insurgencies by Baloch nationalists in the province seeking greater autonomy.

The Pakistan Army started military operations in Balochistan province in 2001 to construct the cantonments and to have full control over the sea port of Gwader and routes connecting Central Asian countries with those in South Asia. During this time, the clampdown in Balochistan has become serious. According to a January 2006 statement by Pakistani Senator Sanaullah Baloch, at least 180 people have died in bombings, 122 children have been killed by paramilitary troops and hundreds of people have been arrested since the beginning of the campaign in early 2005. On 8 December 2005, the federal interior minister stated that some 4,000 people had been arrested in Balochistan since the beginning of 2005.

Baloch people also suffer from great poverty. According to the Karachi-based Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), poverty levels in Balochistan are the highest in the country. Every second person in Balochistan lives below the poverty line. Only 50 percent of the province’s 7 million people have access to clean drinking water, only half the children attend primary schools and only a third of children between 12 and 23 months are immunised, according to the SPDC.

Balochistan has in fact very rich mineral resources. However, all the resources in the province are controlled by the federal government and no royalty or compensation has been paid to people in Balochistan. Also, the country’s most populous province, Punjab, is controlling the military, the administration and utilises of all the resources. In addition, the government has provided little resources towards social welfare in comparison with other provinces. People in Balochistan blame the federal government for their plight and point out that the benefits derived from the province’s natural wealth have not been returned to it.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant authorities in Pakistan asking that the five websites be re-instated and that freedom of information laws are respected.

 

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER