Balochistan - A Global Issue !

 

 

 

United Nations/ Geneva. April 30 (PTI): UN Human Rights experts have asked Pakistan to address human rights violations in Balochistan, expressing alarm at the unrelenting use of enforced disappearances in the province and condemning reports of widespread torture, extra-judicial killings, and indiscriminate violence by its security forces. The experts expressed serious concern over the “excessive and harmful impacts” of Pakistan’s counter-insurgency measures in Balochistan and called for full respect for international law, according to a statement issued by the UN Human Rights body. “Pakistan appears to conflate legitimate human rights advocacy and public demonstrations with terrorism, threatening freedoms of expression, assembly, and association”, experts said. THIS is a bloody serious indictment of Pakistan on its Human Rights record which the world can ill-afford to ignore.

 

The United Nations, thus, has put Pakistan in the dock for its brazen violation of Human rights of Baloch people who have been fighting for freedom for the past seven-plus decades after their country was taken over by force by Pakistan. It is time for the world, therefore, to take a serious note of what is happening in Balochistan and take appropriate steps to ensure that those shameless violations of Human rights are stopped immediately. But this expectation, actually, does not say anything sensible. For, what is expected of the world is not just an appeal to Pakistan to stop abuse of Human Rights of the Baloch people, but also an effort to pressure Pakistan to give up its illegal control of Balochistan.

 

In fact, time it is for the United Nations to think actively on this count. For, when UN Human Rights experts can ask Pakistan not to conflate legitimate human rights advocacy and public demonstrations with terrorism, threatening freedoms of expression, assembly, and association, then it must also insist that Pakistan has no right to exercise an illegal control of Balochistan whose freedom has been snatched away by force when that region was never a part of that country. In fact, the story of the struggle of the Baloch people for freedom is unique in many ways. They are citizens of Balochistan which has immense mineral wealth -- which Pakistan has been exploiting without giving the region absolutely anything in return. The region has seen no development worth the name in the past several decades. Instead, it has seen literally thousands of its people mysteriously disappearing -- about which the UN experts have expressed their concern. All Pakistan has done in Balochistan is to go any distance to crush the Baloch freedom struggle. Because the heart-rending story of the Baloch struggle for freedom has not reached the ears and eyes of the world, the UN experts’ concern for the abuse of Human Rights of the Baloch people’s assumes a great importance. Every detail of that struggle points to a clear fact that Pakistan is entirely wrong in describing Baloch people’s armed struggle as terrorism.

 

The UN experts have, therefore, challenged Pakistan’s definition of terrorism and its counter-terrorism measures. The experts have stated, in effect, that Pakistan has been indulging in gross violations of Human Rights of the Baloch people. The experts have asked Pakistan to initiate an independent search of the missing Baloch people and hold the perpetrators of the crime fully accountable. The story of the freedom struggle of the Baloch people, thus, really calls for global attention. It is not enough for the UN Human Rights body to make appeals to Pakistani authorities to restore the Human rights of Baloch people. What is needed is a systematic effort by various UN member-nations to raise the issue collectively in its next meeting and give credence to their struggle. For, when a country is under forcible occupation of another country in these modern times and its people are being subject to brazen and gross violations of core Human Rights, then the world cannot just be a bystander and allow things to go from bad to worse over a period of several decades.

 

It must be noted that the Baloch people have launched an armed struggle and are trashing the Pakistani security forces in every which the way. Some time ago, a group of the Baloch Liberation Army even hijacked a train -- for the first time in human history -- to show their resolve to counter state-terrorism by Pakistani forces. All the groups of Baloch engaged in armed struggle recently formed a common league, too, to continue their fight against Pakistan. These details cannot be ignored by the rest of the world. However, India also must raise the Balochistan issue in right earnest at every possible forum and make it impossible for Pakistan to good night’s sleep -- in addition to the action it is planning in the current crisis.

 

This is also the wish of the Baloch people -- who expect India to support them in every possible manner. It may be a good time for India to come out openly in support of the freedom struggle of the Baloch people and become an advocate of their right and freedom. By no standard can that be called interference in another country’s internal affairs.