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  • It’s time to hear the voice of south Balochistan

    By Fouzia SaeedPublished: May 1, 2013

    The writer is a human rights activist and is currently doing research as a fellow at National Endowment for Democracy in Washington DC


    We have long complained about the feudals and tribal chiefs from Balochistan getting into politics and keeping this an area of dynastic rule. Each province has gone through its own dynamics but the people of Balochistan have suffered the most from the double jeopardy of undemocratic influences from Islamabad and from their own tribal elite. Provincial devolution and autonomy have opened the path for new possibilities for change.

    Balochistan has always been an intriguing place. While Pashtuns in the north have a horizontal tribal power structure, the Baloch in the centre are very hierarchical, with their identities and rank tied strictly to their tribes. The southern Baloch tribal structures are not rigid and for decades, there has been a strong influence of modernism from across the Gulf. The central Baloch people remain stuck in their tribal traditions, ready to react aggressively to any deviation and always tense with Pashtuns. In contrast, the people of the south and west have been neglected by those in the central area.

    Sometimes, being neglected can be a gift. The poor people of southern and western Balochistan have long gone abroad for jobs and sent back remittances for their families. This also resulted in exposure to international ideas which opened up the area to a greater diversity of values. They started educating their girls, involved their youth in productive activities and brought about change in their social hierarchies that could show the province how autonomy and not separation could be a midway to resolve Balochistan’s problems.

    The ideas of the school of visionaries that developed in Balochistan from the times of Ghaus Bakhsh Bazinjo have never died. While the focus of the media has remained on separatists and big tribal leaders, the politics of ethics, vision and nationalism has survived and bloomed in the southern and western parts of Balochistan. Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, the head of the National Party, with his team of middle-class politicians, can be seen as a ray of hope that can significantly change the path of politics in the area and maybe, the nation. He set up thousands of schools when he was the minister for education and continues to groom women to join his party. Yet, he remains in the shadows of our election discussions.

    In the past, such progressive and secular parties were ignored. Close to the elections, their core workers were tied down, blindfolded and thrown into remote areas for a few days to get them out of the way. This time, the Baloch militants are attacking them directly. Dr Malik narrowly escaped an attack just a few days ago and his workers also continue to be attacked. The election commission has to take notice of this and protect such parties there.

    What we have been slow to realise is the change in the Pakistani nation that has gradually taken root over the past five years. Many who previously could not even dream of losing power are now at the mercy of popular opinion against them. Parties have chosen committed, middle-class people as candidates, adjusted seats with the Hazara Democratic Front, taken the risk of giving tickets to women candidates and avoided backing from major Baloch tribal powers. Observing these changes, one starts to gain faith in our democratic process.

    In the coming days, we will see the election campaign unfold to its height. Provided that conditions are made somewhat safe, popular support will culminate in unexpected results. Let’s keep an eye on south Balochistan.
    Published in The Express Tribune, May 1st, 2013.

    It
    Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
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    • Turnout in Balochistan estimated at 35 to 40pc
      From the Newspaper | Saleem Shahid |

      QUETTA: Amid extensive security measures, polling for 14 seats of the National Assembly and 51 of Balochistan Assembly was held in the province on Saturday, with the turnout estimated at between 35 and 40 per cent of registered votes.

      Except a few incidents of violence — including grenade, rocket and bomb attacks — the polling process remained peaceful across the province.

      More than 62,000 security personnel, 7,000 of them from the army, were deployed in Quetta and other sensitive districts. Heavy contingents of army, Frontier Corps, Balochistan Constabulary and police patrolled around polling stations throughout the province.

      In Quetta, a large number of voters, including women, went to polling stations to cast their votes. Long queues of voters were seen at polling stations in central areas of the city since morning.

      The turnout was encouraging in the city and its outskirts. It was estimated at 30 per cent during the first four hours of polling in central areas of the provincial capital.

      “We are having such a huge crowd of voters since morning that polling booths seem insufficient to accommodate them,” a presiding officer in a women’s polling station in Muslimabad told Dawn. During the first four hours of polling, 40 per cent of votes had been cast there, she said.

      In the areas dominated by people of Hazara community, reporters found male and female voters casting their votes with enthusiasm.

      People in large numbers thronged polling stations even in Sariab Road area, where a low turnout had been expected.

      Long queues of voters, including women, were seen at the Polytechnic Institution polling station.

      “We are waiting since morning to cast our votes because of limited number of polling booths,” said Abdullah, who had come from Lahore to cast his vote.

      According to reports, the turnout was higher in Pakhtun areas than in Baloch areas.

      According to observers, 35 to 40 per cent votes were cast in Pakhtun areas where the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and two factions of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam have an impressive vote bank.

      The polling started at 8am and continued till 6pm. However, complaints of late polling were received from some areas.

      Turnout in Kech, Panjgur, Awaran and some others Baloch areas remained low because of a strike call given by the Baloch National Front, which is opposed to elections.

      In the three districts, particularly in Panjgur town, most of government officials assigned polling duties did not report for because of threats issued by banned organisations.

      Reports from Panjgur suggested a very low turnout as voters were apprehensive of attacks on polling stations.

      Similarly, polling staff failed to reach polling stations in some areas of Kech, Awaran and Washuk districts. But the administration made alternative arrangements to start polling.

      In Mand, a town on the border with Iran, polling staff did not arrive at six polling stations till 11am.

      The turnout in Makran division, Kharan and Awaran districts was estimated at 20 per cent.

      A comparatively higher turnout was reported from Jaffarabad, Nasirabad, Kalat, Khuzdar and Sibi districts.

      Turnout in Balochistan estimated at 35 to 40pc | Newspaper | DAWN.COM
      ===============

      If the final turnout figures are around the same level, then the election could be considered a significant setback for the separatist insurgents, given that they did everything possible to prevent the elections and stop the 'peaceful' nationalist Baloch political parties from participating in them.
      Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
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      • The big picture: Who will govern Balochistan?

        By Qaiser ButtPublished: May 13, 2013


        ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League is likely to play a leading role in the formation of a coalition government in Balochistan, according to independent analysts who are closely monitoring the post-poll scenario.

        However, the key to this coalition is in the hands of the Pushtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), which has emerged as a top winner with 9 seats in the 51- member provincial assembly, according to unofficial results. The PkMAP however contends that all of its 11 candidates have won, although officials in the provincial government do not agree and maintain it has only nine seats.

        The PML-N is placed as the second largest parliamentary party with 8 seats, but it has attained the position of the single biggest party in the Baloch dominated areas of Balochistan. Two of its ethnic Baloch candidates, Nawabzada Changaiz Marri and Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch have also managed to win national assembly seats from Dera Bugti cum Kohlu and Kharan .

        However, despite a high number of its members in the assembly it is bit difficult for a Pakhtoon party, the PkMAP, to take over in a Baloch dominated province. Traditionally, it is essential to be a ethnic Baloch to be the chief minister of Balochistan .

        It is expected that Mir Sanaullah Zehri , president of Balochistan chapter of PML-N would be the next chief minister with a nominee of PkMAP as a senior minister. Jan Jamali , a former chief minister who recently joined PML-N is also an aspirant for the top slot.

        The number of PML-N seats could increase as a few MPAs, particularly Mir Sarfraz Bugti who has been elected from Dera Bugti- Kohlu as an independent after defeating Nawab Aali Bugti could join it.

        The National Party (NP) with its 5 to 6 seats can also be part of the coalition, and with the possible support of JUI-F may even be in the running for the cm slot.

        However, for PkMAP, it would be hard to accept its bitter rival JUI-F in the coalition. Baloch nationalist parties would also prefer to keep the ethnic Pakhtoon members of JUI-F out of power. Keeping in view the political understanding between Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mehmood Khan Achakzai, political analysts have ruled out any tug of war between the two parties over the formation of the future government.

        As the top party, the PkMAP has bright possibilities to nominate one of its Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) for the office of the chief minister in a coalition government with Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and other Baloch nationalists parties and few independents .

        It is pertinent to mention here that Mehmood Khan Achakzai is obliged to Nawaz Sharif for his NA victory. Nawaz Sharif had withdrawn two of his candidates, Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch and Nawabzada Lashkari who had filed their nomination papers against Achakzai.

        PkMAP was one of those parties in Balochistan that refused to take part in 2008 general elections under military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf on the appeal of Nawaz Sharif.

        The PML-N initially also had boycotted the elections but suddenly decided to contest leaving PkMAP and other parties out of the election process. Political analysts view Nawaz Sharif’s support to Achakzai as compensation for the political loss PkMAP had to suffer due to the boycott.

        If the PkMAP gets the cm slot, it will be the first time that an ethnic Pakhtun nationalist party will form its government in a province where ethnic Baloch had always dominated the assembly.

        The fate of BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal is still unknown . According to media reports, the ECP has held the results of his constituency. However, it is claimed by BNP-M leaders that Mengal and his two candidates have won their seats from Gwadar and Quetta.
        Published in The Express Tribune, May 13th, 2013.

        The big picture: Who will govern Balochistan? – The Express Tribune
        Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
        https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

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        • Nawaz nominates Abdul Malik Baloch for Balochistan CM

          MURREE: Following an hours long meeting between the coalition partners in Balochistan on Sunday, National Party (NP) President Dr Abdul Malik Baloch was nominated for the slot of provincial chief minister.

          Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif made the announcement during a joint press conference in Murree.

          Nawaz further said that the governor for Balochistan will be from the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).

          The PML-N, despite having most seats in the provincial assembly, gave both the major slots to NP and PkMAP.

          While speaking to the media, the PML-N chief said for him, “this is not a fight for power but for values.”

          Today’s meeting brought the deadlock over the joint selection of a suitable candidate as the next provincial chief minister to an end.

          PkMAP and NP had not directly opposed PML-N’s Balochistan chapter president Sardar Sanaullah Zehri bid for the post, but had specifically told Nawaz’s party officials that those leaders ‘known for their corrupt practices should not be nominated as the future chief minister’.

          Earlier, a petition – co-signed by 172 organisations and individuals – along with two consortiums with 220-member organisations, demanded that Baloch be made the next chief minister of Balochistan.

          To restore peace in Balochistan, petitioners said, it is important to hand over the reins of government to a person who is trustworthy.

          Nawaz nominates Abdul Malik Baloch for Balochistan CM – The Express Tribune

          ======================

          This is an excellent decision in my opinion. Malik Baloch is an ethnic Baloch, leading a nationalis Baloch political party and unlike many of the other Baloch leaders of nationalist political parties, is not in the mold of the usual 'Baloch Sardar's.

          The fact that the PMLN chose to have the two top positions in Balochistan (Chief Minister and Governor) go to its coalition partners from Baloch and Pakhtun nationalist parties speaks highly of the PMLN's sincerity in resolving the problems of Balochistan instead of getting bogged down in haggling over the top positions.

          That said, I hope the incoming Balochistan government does not engage in a farce like the previous one, of appointing so many provincial ministers that essentially every provincial parliamentarian had a ministry.
          Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
          https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

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          • Balochistan’s fighting chance
            Nazish Brohi | 14 hours ago

            AFTER ages, there is a note of jubilation in the discussions on the future of Balochistan. Till about a year ago, many were convinced it didn’t even have a future.

            The change is the nomination of the National Party’s Dr Abdul Malik Baloch as chief minister. He will be the first ever Baloch chief minister not embedded in the structure and from an educated, middle-class background.

            His credentials as a guard of the province’s interests are apparent in his growth through the ranks of the Baloch Students Organisation, the earlier leadership of the Balochistan National Movement, the foresight of merging with the National Democratic Party to form the NP, and the issues he unflaggingly raised in the Senate during his term.

            Credit is due to Nawaz Sharif for the statesmanship displayed in dealing with the assertive claims to the post made by the leadership of his own party, and placing at the helm someone who was previously a political opponent. It was a potentially fractious, hence bold political decision.


            The nawab of Jhalawan, Sanaullah Zehri, showed political maturity in accepting it and standing by the decision after his own strident claims and not quitting in a huff.

            Had Sardar Mengal agreed earlier to an electoral alliance with the NP, it would have been the crowning triumph. Since the 2002 elections when Gen Musharraf’s regime ushered the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal into power, the Baloch nationalist groups have been on the defensive and outside the electoral fold.

            The rising power of the religio-political alliance was at the cost of the nationalists. Their return to the electoral fold under a non-tribal steered leadership is significant.

            This should have been the PPP’s moment. But the party squandered it in the same manner it did many others, by first showing long-term vision and making important structural changes, but then offsetting these with immediate-term governance disasters.

            Dr Malik’s present nomination would have been a symbolic but politically ineffectual change of face had it not been preceded by the 18th Amendment and the consensually reformulated NFC award. It is devolution of powers and substantive budgets that will give this government political potency.


            In that sense, the PPP paved the way for this historic opportunity, but negated its own potential by putting forward the inept nawab of Sarawan, Aslam Raisani, as its chief minister and the party’s political face in the province.

            This will remain as the outgoing government’s imprint, not President Asif Zardari’s apology to the Baloch people for historic grievances, and not the unimplemented but well-crafted Aghaaz-i-Haqooq-i-Balochistan package.

            Dr Malik now has the democratic mandate to rule, the support and goodwill of the central government, significant fiscal space and financial resources for development via devolution, the ability to take and execute decisions affecting the province, and the credibility to do so.

            The proverbial spanner, or in this case, slammer in the works could be the role of the security establishment. The numbers of enforced disappearances attributed to the state vary wildly, with the outgoing home minister citing 55 and the Voice of the Baloch Missing Persons organisation saying 13,000, whereas former interior minister Rehman Malik acknowledged there to be 1,100.

            Whatever the realistic count, the effect this practice has had has eclipsed Baloch narratives and produced immense hostility, fear and insecurity to the point that even those who disagree with the tactics of the sarmachar (as the nationalist armed fighters are called), concede that breaking away may be the only survival option.

            Continued forced disappearances and recovery of tortured dead bodies as seen over the past five years, would invalidate any perceived forward steps and reassert the image of a predatory and repressive establishment.

            There are signs that there may be a change in this policy as well. The Frontier Corps remain the most reviled of state institutions in Balochistan, along with the proxy death squads attributed to them.

            Yet in post-election interviews, people I spoke to say there was no explicit or implicit coercion to vote for any particular candidate or party by the security apparatus. If anything, they say they were compelled by the sarmachar not to vote.

            While the voter turnout remained relatively low, there was no evident political intrusion by state agencies. According to some people’s accounts, while dumped bodies are still being found, there has been a decline in the number of ‘new disappearances’ over the past few months.

            This cannot be verified because the disappearances are not recorded, as when they happen the police refuse to register FIRs against the FC or security agencies and the media often blocks out such news.

            For the new government to have a chance at healing wounds and ruptures with the state, it is imperative that the political victimisation and kill-and-dump policy halts.
            Without this, no change is possible and Balochistan will remain poised on the brink.

            Even if disappearances do end, it will not resolve all the problems. As in any conflict zone, the general law and order breakdown has led to a phenomenal increase in crime such as kidnappings for ransom and a near-complete collapse of the provincial economy.

            This doesn’t even begin to touch upon the Hazara killings crisis and the impunity with which the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has been able to operate.

            The incoming government has to also panic about the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, the political face of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi being able to poll over 20,000 votes for the National Assembly from within Quetta city under the umbrella of the Muttahida Deeni Mahaz. In others places in the province, people have been able to get elected into parliament with much fewer votes.

            However small and incremental a step, the nomination of new leadership has given Balochistan breathing space and a fighting chance that it hasn’t had for a decade.

            The writer conducts research and analysis in the social and development sector.
            [email protected]


            Balochistan
            Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
            https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

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            • BBC News - Pakistani city of Quetta in shock after double attack

              A day of official mourning has been declared in the Pakistani city of Quetta after 25 people were killed by gunmen in twin attacks on Saturday.

              After a bomb on a bus killed 14 female students and injured 22, militants attacked a hospital treating survivors, where they killed another 11 people.

              Four attackers were also killed and one arrested, officials say.

              No clear motive for the attack has yet been established but a Sunni Muslim militant group is being blamed.

              A man purporting to be a spokesman for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi told the BBC the attacks were revenge for an earlier raid by security forces against the group, in which a woman and children were killed.

              Quetta, a city of 900,000 people in the south-west of the country, has long been troubled by violence mainly targeting the Shia Muslim minority.

              The city is reeling from a deep sense of shock, trying to make sense of Saturday's events, the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani reports.

              'Unjustifiable'

              Funerals are being planned for the victims of the attack while an official day of mourning is being observed across the province of Balochistan, of which Quetta is capital.

              Saturday's bloodshed began when a bomb exploded on a bus carrying students at Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University.

              When survivors were brought to a medical centre, suspected suicide bombers stormed the building and started shooting indiscriminately.

              A five-hour stand-off between the militants and security forces left nurses, security personnel and a senior city official dead.

              UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks in a statement, saying no cause could justify such violence.

              "The secretary general notes with dismay that violence against women and educators has increased in recent years, the aim being to keep girls from attaining the basic right to education," his spokesperson said.

              Groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have carried out major bombings against Shia religious minorities, our correspondent says.

              The group is known for close ties with the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

              Comment


              • From back in April:

                Some in Pakistan fear Taliban resurgence with U.S. Afghan withdrawal looming, others hope for it - CBS News


                A poster praising Osama bin Laden is seen on a wall in Kuchlak, Pakistan, among campaign posters for candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

                Kuchlak, Pakistan Amid the sea of campaign posters plastered on a wall in this suburb of Quetta, Osama Bin Laden's face stares out at passers-by. His image has little to do with the upcoming election. It's straight-forward al Qaeda propaganda. Even a year after his death, Bin Laden remains a local hero to many in this corner of Pakistan.

                Around Quetta, support for Islamic fundamentalism thrives. The city, only about 50 miles from the border with Afghanistan, functions as a haven and command center for the Taliban.

                On May 11, Pakistanis will go to the polls to elect a new parliament in a vote which -- for the first time in the nation's 66-year history -- will not be directly influenced by the country's powerful military. That's a landmark. Pakistani voters tired of corrupt, cynical politics dare to hope this ballot can bring the seeds of real political change.

                But there are few such hopes around Quetta. Here, there are fears that that the Taliban and its allies are poised for a violent comeback, especially with the U.S. and its allies due to pull thousands of troops out of Afghanistan at the end of next year.

                "The elections will only bring fresh hope for people like us if there is security," says Khadija Khudaidad, a 21-year-old psychology student at a Quetta university. "Right now, there is no security."

                Every week, Khudaidad visits her uncle's grave. He was shot along with 10 other minority Shiite Muslims by pro-Taliban gunmen. The Taliban, like the majority of Pakistanis, are of the Sunni Muslim sect. Since the U.S. military operation across the border made attacking NATO forces riskier, the Taliban has increased its attacks on soft targets at home; frequently taking aim at the Shiite minority.

                On January 10, two powerful blasts at a billiards hall frequented by Shiites in Quetta killed 81 people. On February 16, at least 65 people were killed and more than 200 wounded when a bomb hidden inside a tanker blew up at a market in a predominantly Shiite Quetta neighborhood.

                A senior Pakistani intelligence officer tells CBS News both attacks appeared to be the work of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a hardcore militant group with known ties to al Qaeda and the Taliban.

                "If America's mission was to take out the roots of militancy from Afghanistan and Pakistan, that's clearly been a failed mission," one senior Western diplomat in Islamabad told CBS News. He added that, in his view, Islamic militants in the region, "are all over, and they are unfortunately gaining confidence fast."

                At the main bazaar in Kuchlak, men chat in front of traditional roadside cafes and enjoy the spring sunshine. They are casual observers to the daily flow of Taliban militants and supplies that is ferried on trucks, jeeps and motorcycles across the largely un-policed Pakistan-Afghanistan border nearby.

                "Pakistan and Afghanistan are brotherly countries," says Shehzada Ahmedzai, a Pakistani trader who crosses the border regularly himself to sell tobacco and other everyday goods. Speaking to CBS News in Quetta, Ahmedzai calls the Taliban "our brothers."

                "They cannot be stopped from going around freely in Pakistan."

                Not all of Ahmedzai's countrymen are quite so at ease with the militants' presence, However. Fears that they might be poised to try and tighten their grip on the region are of particular concern to members of Baluchistan's Hazara tribe, who, like Khadija Khudaidad, are Shiite Muslims.

                Hazara leaders in Pakistan warn that if the government fails to stop attacks like those in January and February, it will not just further destabilize Pakistan, but also neighboring Afghanistan.

                "If such violence continues, how will you ever have peace?" asks Abdul Khaliq Hazara, a politician in Quetta from the tribe for which he is named. "The authorities know where the militants are coming from, but no one wants to do anything about it."

                Mirza Mohammad Hasan, a Shiite 22-year-old photo journalist in Quetta whose brother was among the victims of the January attack, told CBS News the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, "will encourage these people to go out and kill more of our people."

                On a visit to the billiard club where his brother died, Hasan said that in some parts of Baluchistan, "militants are already out in large numbers. We have no way of dealing with this menace."

                CBS News asked a senior government official in Quetta what could be done to address the festering "menace" in the province. He would only acknowledge the "difficult" challenged posed by the Taliban and its allies in the region.

                Asked about the bin Laden poster displayed prominently on a wall in Kuchlak, another government official in Quetta admitted that it "puts Pakistan in a very negative light."

                He added, however, that "confronting these people would mean that we begin a bloody new war. After more than 10 years in Afghanistan, even the Americans are tired. How can Pakistan, with its limited resources, start another war?"

                Comment


                • Blast in Pakistani city of Quetta kills at least 28

                  By Gul Yousufzai

                  QUETTA, Pakistan | Sun Jun 30, 2013 3:00pm EDT

                  (Reuters) - At least 28 people were killed and dozens wounded in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Sunday when a suicide bomber attacked a largely Shi'ite Muslim neighborhood, police said.

                  The blast appeared to be the latest in an escalating campaign of gun and bomb attacks by militants on ethnic Hazaras in Quetta because they belong to Pakistan's Shi'ite minority.

                  Mir Zubair, Quetta's police chief, said a suicide bomber riding a bicycle had detonated his explosives when he was stopped at a barrier in the Hazara Town district, a Hazara enclave on the western edge of the city.

                  "The dead included nine women, a girl and a 14-year-old boy," Zubair told reporters.

                  Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a militant group which has carried out many gun and bomb attacks on Hazaras in Quetta, said it was behind the bombing. A spokesman for the group called the Express News television channel to make the claim.

                  The group is aligned with the Takfiri Deobandi school of Islam, which sees Shi'ites as infidels.

                  Lashkar has intensified its campaign in Quetta this year. Earlier this month, it claimed responsibility for an attack in which a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying women students in Quetta and then gunmen stormed a hospital treating survivors. More than 20 people were killed from various ethnic groups.

                  Lashkar said it had carried out the hospital assault in retaliation for a police raid on the outskirts of the city in which several militants had been killed.

                  The bus-and-hospital attack was the biggest since bombings in the city at the start of the year killed almost 200 people in Hazara neighborhoods, briefly drawing global attention to the growing campaign of persecution of Hazaras by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

                  Comment


                  • Mengal admits foreign involvement in Balochistan
                    By Qaiser ButtPublished: July 8, 2013

                    ISLAMABAD: Balochistan has been bleeding since 2004. Successive governments tried to stem the bleeding – but to no avail so far. Government and intelligence officials believe some foreign forces are also stoking violence in the province, where ethnic, political, sectarian and militant lines have criss-crossed to further destabilise the province.

                    Baloch nationalists were earlier reluctant to buy this claim. However, veteran Baloch politician Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Sunday admitted to the presence of “death squads sponsored by Pakistan’s neighbours and foreign powers”.

                    In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Mengal also condemned the deadly violence perpetrated by Baloch separatists in the province. A medley of separatist groups – especially Balochistan Liberation Army, Baloch Republican Army and Baloch Liberation Army – have upped their insurgency ante since the killing of Jamhoori Watan Party chief Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation in 2006.

                    He acknowledged that Baloch insurgents have been targeting non-Baloch settlers, mainly those from Punjab, in Balochistan. “However, some government officials also want the settlers to flee the province and sell their properties at throw-away prices,” he added.

                    It is perhaps the first time that Mengal has openly condemned the activities of Baloch insurgents — not easy to do since his younger brother Javed Mengal and two of his nephews – Nooruddin Mengal and Bhawal Mengal – are also allegedly involved in insurgency.


                    For his part, Sardar Akhtar Mengal – the head of his own faction of Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) – said his party has from the beginning renounced violence as a means to achieve political and economic rights of the Baloch people.

                    Mengal ended his four-year self-imposed exile and returned to Pakistan on March 25, 2013 to lead his party in the May 11 general elections. All separatist groups are opposed to parliamentary politics.

                    Mengal spoke about his predicament. “The Baloch militants consider me a traitor while the security establishment also treats me as an enemy,” he said. “I’m being targeted by both.”


                    Asked if he was willing to mediate between the insurgents and the government, Mengal said: “Both [Baloch insurgents and security establishment] speak through the barrel of the gun. They cannot understand my language.”

                    Instead Mengal reiterated that the six-point formula he had spelt out before the May 11 elections to stabilise the situation in Balochistan was still workable. “My six-point formula is within the parameters of the Constitution,” he said. “We are willing for a debate with anyone who thinks my six points are against the interest of Pakistan.”

                    Mengal also strongly criticised the security establishment for targeting ‘Baloch political workers’. He alleged that ‘death squads’ backed by intelligence agencies were eliminating critics of the establishment’s policies. “They [death squads] are killing and kidnapping people because they have been given a licence by the establishment to operate against anyone,” he added.

                    Asked by bloodshed perpetrated by Baloch insurgents, he said: “State agencies should not behave like militants. There should be a difference between the conduct of the state and of militants.”

                    Mengal’s party fared badly in the May 11 elections which he claimed were massively rigged. “The elections were rigged by the establishment to stop my party from coming to power,” he alleged.

                    Mengal, who is in the federal capital, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif besides attending a book launch. He is confident that Nawaz can resolve the Balochistan issue.

                    “I had detailed discussions with Mian Sahib on all important issues after the general elections. “Mian Sahib assured me that he would do all he could to steer Balochistan out of crisis,” said Mengal. “I will try to meet him on his return from China.”

                    Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2013.
                    Mengal admits foreign involvement in Balochistan – The Express Tribune
                    Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
                    https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

                    Comment


                    • Interesting piece

                      Baloch Women Taking More Prominent Role in Fight for Independence from Pakistan
                      July 17, 2013

                      For several years, Pakistan has been facing a separatist insurgency by ethno-nationalist rebels belonging to the Baloch ethnic group. The guerrillas in the southwest province of Balochistan have become increasingly daring with their attacks. Two weeks ago, they shocked the rest of Pakistan by destroying the historic residence of Pakistan’s founding father Mohammed Ali Jinnah in the town of Ziarat.

                      Balochistan is one of the most underdeveloped regions in Pakistan, and has traditionally had a heavily male-dominated patriarchal society. Women have rarely had a role in public life. But things have been changing recently, as increasing numbers of women are taking up active and leading roles in the Baloch nationalist movement.

                      One such women is Zarina Baloch. When her cousin was found murdered in February, it was a turning point in her life. Baloch’s cousin, Sangat Sana, was a young political activist who supported the idea of Balochistan’s secession from Pakistan. He had been missing for two years before his mutilated body was found.

                      “I was in Karachi when I heard the news that the mutilated body has been found in Turbat. I don’t have words. What can I do?” she says. “I heard there is a protest by BHRO the next day, so I have to join that protest and I joined. I even spoke to many news channels and told them that my brother has been killed. I got his mutilated body.”

                      Zarina Baloch was a high school student then, and it was the first time she became politically active. Since then, attending protest rallies and sit-ins has become a part of her daily routine.

                      She attended a recent protest rally in front of the Karachi Press Club, with other women, young and old. They’re all wearing traditional Balochi dresses with intricate colorful embroidery, and most of their faces are covered with veils.

                      And at the back of the rally are a handful of men straggling along, and hardly as involved in the protest as the women.

                      “Shame on the United Nation’s silence!” the protest leader chants. “Where are you UN?”

                      This protest is about what is known in Pakistan as the “missing persons” issue.

                      In recent years, hundreds of young Baloch men – especially Baloch separatist activists – have “disappeared.” Their bodies have sometimes forcefully disappeared.

                      The dead bodies of many of the missing people have been found days, months or years later, often dumped on the roadside bearing signs of mutilation. Human rights organizations point the finger at the military and intelligence agencies.

                      Baloch nationalists have complained for decades of ethnic discrimination and exploitation by the Pakistani state. But the recent state-sponsored violence has pushed the movement in a new direction. What started as a demand for more rights has turned into a movement for outright secession.

                      And increasingly, women like Zarina are playing more active roles in that movement.

                      Mama Qadeer Baloch heads a rights group called Voice for Baloch Missing Persons. He helped organize this protest rally.

                      “Baloch society has traditionally been heavily segregated,” he says. “Women rarely leave the home, and when they do it is only for education. But ever since this barbarity of abducting and killing, and military operations started, women whose husbands, brothers, or father have been abducted have started taking to the street to raise their voices in protest.”

                      Maybe the most prominent female among the Baloch separatists is 29-year-old Karima Baloch. She is the vice-chair of the Baloch Students Organization. In 2009, she was tried in absentia by an anti-terrorist court for sedition. Officials accused her of defiling a Pakistani flag during a protest. She was sentenced to three years prison and is still on the run from authorities.

                      “And that’s what’s so striking,” she says. “In a region where women are for the most part neither seen nor heard, they are now not just silent supporters of the separatist movement: they’ve become its leaders.”

                      And while Baloch women are very active in Baloch political activism and organizing, there are no confirmed reports yet of women joining the armed struggle as fighters. But some suggest that time is not far off. It may happen eventually.

                      Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch is regarded as the Che Guevara of Balochistan. He’s a gynecologist-turned-guerrilla commander. He’s now leading the armed rebellion in the mountains of Balochistan. He spoke to a student conference a few years ago.
                      I appeal to my sisters. If in Palestine, Leila Khaled can pick up arms then can’t my sisters do the same? They should play Leila Khaled’s role. If the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher can govern over Great Britain, if Tansu Ciller can govern Turkey, if Indira Gandhi can govern India, then don’t my sisters have the same talent and capability? They should play their role because this is the demand of the times. History is not written just for men. Both men and women make up the history of any nation.

                      In the speech, Nazar Baloch cites female revolutionaries from around the world. He exhorts Baloch women to heed their example and join the guerrilla movement.

                      The idea of women joining the guerrillas has entered the public imagination. And Nazar Baloch isn’t the only one putting out that message.

                      A recent Balochi-language feature film called “Jageen” glorifies the Baloch insurgency. It valorizes the insurgents and vilifies the Pakistani military.

                      Near the end of the film, the outnumbered rebels find themselves outnumbered and want to surrender. However, a female character calls them cowards for wanting to surrender and says she’ll take up arms and fight for the cause if the men are unwilling. In a kind of “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid” ending, the band of rebels hold out against the military for three more days before being killed.

                      Naela Quadri used to be an assistant professor at the University of Balochistan and is now one of the most prominent female political activists from Balochistan.

                      At one point, she was hounded by authorities and had to go into hiding. She’s been in exile in Afghanistan since 2010, where she heads the World Baloch Women’s Forum.

                      “In one month there were nine military raids on my home to arrest me,” she says. “Our children were living in hidden places. For five years in Balochistan we were not able to live together as a family. My mother was very sick and my family needed me but all the time I was hiding hear and there and work. It was the first time in Baloch history that a girl was active in politics. Before me there was no one. Many cases were filed against me in different courts.”

                      Quadri says her nationalist struggle isn’t just about changing politics in Balochistan. It’s aiming for a deeper change in Baloch society. She describes how supportive her parents were when she took her first steps into Baloch politics in her student days.

                      “In the other parts of the world, women go for shopping, for education, for jobs,” she says. “But in Baloch society we live in a tribal society where mobility for women is very strict. Here this grand involvement of women in nationalist movement in freedom movement means a lot.

                      Protester Zarina Baloch agrees.

                      “It was the first time in Baloch history that a girl was active in Baloch politics,” she says. “Before me there was no one. My mother and father told me: It’s a big responsibility you are taking on your shoulders. You will make way for millions of Baloch women to participate in politics after you, or you will close the doors for a century.”

                      She knows she, too, is likely a marked woman. But she says, essentially, that it’s a question of, “if not me then who?” As in, who will fight for the rights of Baloch people and of Baloch women?

                      “Some of my family they scared,” says Baloch. “They say, ‘Hey a girl what are you going to do?’ I say ‘I have to do’ because I have to do something for my nation. I have to do something for my father for my brother. If today I will not do then the time will come that I will be killed by Pakistan army. I will weep that what did I do in my whole life.”

                      For Naela Quadri, it’s as though she paved the way for many other young women to follow in her footsteps and enter Baloch politics. Quadri insists that for the nationalist movement in Balochistan to succeed, it must also bring about a change in gender relations in society.

                      “Most of the time for any other nation, it may be easier for women to go out, in other parts of the world, women go for shopping, for education, for jobs,” says Quadri. “But in Baloch society it is tribal, where mobility for women is very strict. Here this grand involvement of women in nationalist movement in freedom movement means a lot. It means many chains of patriarchy, breaking many chains of slavery. It’s not just slavery from Pakistan. Slavery from the patriarchal chains also.”

                      That may be the case, but protester Zarina Baloch says her involvement is fundamentally an existential question.

                      “Some of my family, they scared,” she says. “They say, ‘Hey a girl what are you going to do?’ I say I have to do. ‘Why you are stopping me?’ I say to my families. If you will stop me, next is yours. I say this is the good things. I have to do something for my family. I have to do something for my father for my brother. If today I will not do then tomorrow the time will come that I will be killed by Pakistan. I will weep that what did I do in my whole life.”

                      Comment


                      • More than 100 tonnes of explosive material seized in Quetta raid
                        By AFP
                        Published: August 20, 2013
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                        Pakistani paramilitary soldiers stand beside seized bomb making material in Quetta on August 20, 2013. Paramilitary forces on August 20 seized more than 100 tonnes of bomb-making chemicals from a truck and a compound in southwest Pakistan and detained 10 suspects, officials said.

                        QUETTA: Paramilitary forces seized more than 100 tonnes of bomb-making chemicals from a truck and a compound near Quetta and detained 10 suspects on Tuesday, officials said.

                        Paramilitary Colonel Maqbool Ahmed said forces also found wires, detonators and mixers used to prepare bombs out of the chemicals.

                        “We have arrested 10 people during the raid at the compound and the truck and seized 100.5 tons of explosive material with detonators,” Ahmed said.

                        Suspects told investigators that potassium chlorate and ammonium chlorate were packed with wires and detonators into vehicles at the compound, said Ahmed.

                        Balochistan and its capital Quetta are frequently hit by bomb attacks.

                        The province has been a flashpoint for violence and insurgency.

                        More than 100 tonnes of explosive material seized in Quetta raid – The Express Tribune

                        =====
                        That is a huge haul.
                        Attached Files
                        Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission - Jinnah
                        https://twitter.com/AgnosticMuslim

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                        • what groups are linked to it sunni, shia, seperatist? This seems to be right up LeJ's alley.

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                          • Dr Allah Nazar On Balochistan - An Exclusive Interview with Naked Punch

                            by Interviewer:Sajid Hussain Interviewee: Dr Allah Nazar
                            First Posted: 09-12-13 01:32 PM | Updated: 09-12-13

                            Dr Allah Nazar is Balochistan’s most popular middle-class nationalist leader. Belonging from a modest family in Balochistan’s town of Mashkay, he started his political career from Baloch Students Organization (BSO). He founded his own faction of BSO in February 2002 that openly advocated an armed struggle for liberating Balochistan. In 2003, he went underground to organize his own militant group. His Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) made headlines when it claimed responsibility for killing three Chinese engineers in Gwadar on May 2, 2004.

                            He was picked up by intelligence agencies on March 25, 2005 from an apartment in Karachi where he had secretly come to meet his old BSO comrades. He remained missing for a year. Meanwhile, the BSO initiated mass protests throughout Balochistan and Karachi for his release. On August 12, 2006, Pakistan’s intelligence agencies shifted him to the jail ward of the Bolan Medical Complex in Balochistan’s capital city of Quetta. During his incommunicado detention, he had been subjected to severe mental and physical torture. The photo of a frail Dr Nazar lying on an ambulance stature in the Bolan Medical Complex went viral among the Baloch youth and he soon became an iconic leader. After his release on bail, he went into hiding again and he now leads the BLF.

                            Question: When you decided to turn to militancy, why in spite of joining Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) you and your comrades formed Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF)? Many believe that you wanted a middle-class organization as BLA was being led by a tribal chief?

                            Answer: Not really. For now, our struggle is for national independence and it’s not class-based. At this time, we need unity among all the classes to get our independence. We are all –be it a sardar or a common man – slaves. Once the Baloch get their independence, they will be free to choose a social and political system for themselves through a democratic process.

                            I agree that tribal system has lost its significance in today’s world. The current tribal system is not the one our ancestors practiced. The Baloch cultural tribal system was distorted by Robert Sandeman during the British rule. He introduced a new system by allocating absolute powers to sardars in order to control the Baloch masses.

                            After the withdrawal of the British, Pakistan nourished the so-called Sandeman System. Authorities used sardars to counter the Baloch uprising against Balochistan’s forcible accession with Pakistan. Still, most Baloch tribal chiefs, except for Khair Bux Marri, are the stooges of the ruling establishment. So people have lost faith in this system and tribalism is dying a natural death. In many areas of Balochistan, it has vanished for good.

                            Question: What’s your idea of an independent Balochistan?

                            Answer: I want it to be a democratic, secular and welfare state where every citizen – irrespective of their class, gender, religion or caste -- has access to free education and healthcare. Every citizen should enjoy equal rights without any discrimination.

                            Also, an independent Balochistan would not enter into the nuclear arms’ race and it would promote peaceful co-existence among neighbouring countries.

                            The state would promote arts, science and literature under the policy of free-speech. I strongly believe in free-speech and it’s one thing that can guarantee the prosperity and success of a nation.

                            Question: The divisions among the once-united Baloch separatist leaders are no longer a secret. Don’t you think it will help Pakistan to counter the Baloch insurgency?

                            Answer: Honestly, I don’t see any major differences on the ground. We have joint guerilla camps and we are cooperating with each other. In fact, one BLF fighter and one from BLA were killed by Pakistani forces recently when they were on a joint mission.

                            Question: But Hairbiyar Marri’s supporters are openly criticizing you on social media and similarly your supporters are speaking against Mr Marri.

                            Answer: I’m aware that some people have been saying things on the social media that they shouldn’t. I’ve asked my supporters not to use such a language against any Baloch leader who’s part of the Baloch independence movement. But, as I said, we are one on the ground despite these differences on social media. Efforts are being made to sort out these minor differences.

                            Also, I believe that Pakistan’s atrocities against the Baloch people will keep us united. Pakistani forces are out to kill every Baloch, irrespective of their affiliation with organizations. So the Baloch groups will eventually realize that this enemy can only be defeated with unity in our ranks.

                            Question: The BLF is the dominant group in the strategically important Makran region which is home to the Gwadar port and borders Iran. But it’s also a fact that the BLF is the most cash-starved group and many think that it won’t survive in the long run?

                            Answer: The BLF has sustained for the past 12 years on the donations of the Baloch nation. We’ve a huge Baloch Diaspora who has been funding our struggle. And I’ve faith in them. We rely on their moral and financial support.

                            Apart from BLF, other groups are also operating in Makran. Similarly, BLF is expanding to other regions of Balochistan. So I don’t think that the struggle will die anytime soon because of financial restraints. We always have an alternative strategy and we’ll survive.

                            Question: The Nato forces plan to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014 and talks are in the process with Taliban to give them a share in Afghan government. Don’t you think it will seriously affect the Baloch armed struggle as a Taliban government will be more sympathetic to Pakistan than the Baloch?

                            Answer: The withdrawal of Nato forces will affect the entire region, and Balochistan is no exception. But it’s a wrong impression that the Baloch armed struggle started after the arrival of Nato forces in Afghanistan and that it will end after their withdrawal.

                            However, I don’t think the United States should make the same mistake in Afghanistan that the USSR did. Leaving Afghanistan at Taliban’s mercy who are controlled by Pakistan will plunge the entire region to an era of unprecedented instability and chaos. We’ll see worse than we have seen before. My study of the recent developments tell me that the US is not withdrawing completely from Afghanistan and it will be keeping nine military bases.

                            At the same time, I think Afghanistan is not the root-cause of extremism in the region. Instead, Pakistan is the breeding ground for extremists. The trouble in Afghanistan is because of Pakistani establishment’s policy of blackmailing the world through extremist Jihadis. Be it Afghanistan, Africa or Middle East, Pakistan is exporting extremists there. So Pakistan needs to be tackled first.

                            If the world powers want stability and peace in the region, they should help us create a secular and moderate state of Balochistan which would serve as a buffer zone between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. I think it’s the only formula for sustainable peace in the region.

                            Comment


                            • 1980:

                              Do you agree with Nazar that an independent, secular Balochistan would be a stabilizing force in the region?

                              He cites Pakistan as the prime exporter of destabilizing forces. What does Pakistan have to gain by nurturing and giving sanctuary to groups like the Taliban when they are a threat to its own stability?
                              To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by JAD_333 View Post
                                1980:

                                Do you agree with Nazar that an independent, secular Balochistan would be a stabilizing force in the region?

                                He cites Pakistan as the prime exporter of destabilizing forces. What does Pakistan have to gain by nurturing and giving sanctuary to groups like the Taliban when they are a threat to its own stability?
                                I think if Balochistan were to become independent from Pakistan it would have a positive effect on curbing that countries nuclear weapons program, as to my understanding, Pakistan uses Balochistan as a testing ground for its nuclear weapons, despite the opposition to these tests and the overall development of nuclear weapons by Baloch nationalists. I believe also that an independent Balochistan could potentially play a stabilizing role for Afghanistan if it would mean the elimination of Taliban and other extremist sanctuaries in Quetta and elsewhere there, altho it could also serve as a source of friction with Afghanistan and Iran given overlapping ethnic boundaries. It would also likely require massive foreign aid to tackle poverty and developmental issues (clean water, health, security etc) lest it continues to be a region full of crime and Islamic militancy (altho eliminating Pakistan from the picture would certainly help in regards to the latter).

                                As for your last question, that is like the million dollar question everyone wants answered. Other than being a thoroughly reckless and dysfunctional state, i agree with those that call Pakistan an army with a country, not a country with an army. Pakistan has no logic and i expect none from it.

                                So i doubt we'll be getting any answers to that question for a long time, if ever. However, we do already know the facts that Pakistan does (and has done for decades) nurtured and supported radical Islamic militant groups as instruments of its foreign and domestic policies. These links have included relationships with foreign terrorist networks, including Al-Qaeda, and the whole AQ Khan proliferation network scandal (altho not seen as a scandal in Pakistan, of course). Whether or not it does so purposefully or recklessly (or both) i feel has become irrelevant now as there is more than enough evidence to point that it does do so anyway, with or without foresight as to the consquences for itself.

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