Balochistan Index

PAKISTAN: Five more disappeared persons are extrajudicially killed in Balochistan

Name of victims: 1. Mr. Hameed Shaheen, son of Haji Ghous Baksh, former chairman of Baloch Student Organization (BSO Azad), resident of Muslimabad of Sariab Quetta, Balochistan.

2. Mr. Fareed Baloch, Student of Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology Khuzdar, zonal president of Baloch Student Organization (BSO Azad).

3. Mr. Arif Noor, son of Noor Muhammad Baloch, was an employee as 16 grade officer in Gwadar Development Authority (GDA)

4: Mr. Saleh Muhammad, son of Nuroz Khan, resident of Balochistan

5. Mr. Muhammad Nawaz Marri, resident of Balochistan

Names of alleged perpetrators: Law enforcement agencies

Date of incident: 2011, Place of incident: Quetta, Khuzdar, Windar, Balochistan

Read more : Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Incidentally, even today, like “Sindh regiment”, “Baloch regiment” is also predominantly staffed with Punjabi soldiers!

Love in the Time of 1971: The Furore over Meherjaan

The film Meherjaan, which was released in Dhaka in January 2011, was quickly pulled out of theatres after it created a furore among audiences. The hostile responses to the film from across generations highlight the discomfort about the portrayal of a raped woman, and its depiction of female and multiple sexualities during the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971. The furore also underscores the nationalist repoliticisation of the younger generation in Bangladesh and its support for the ongoing war crimes tribunal of the 1971 war.

To read full article : http://epw.in/epw/uploads/articles/15845.pdf

Sindh Needs to Stand Up against the Religious Extremism!

By Dr. Ahmed H. Makhdoom, Singapore

Salman Taaseer is killed! So…? Nawab Akbar Bugti is murdered! Did anybody care? Benazir Bhutto is gunned down! Who are the killers? … Who bothers? There are countless innocent Balochs becoming victims of target killing! Any justice for them?

State of Union of Pakistan 62 years later

By Khalid Hashmani, USA

Can any Pakistani honestly say that Pakistan has turned out to be the country that they or their fathers had envisioned 62 years ago? Even among the privileged class such as military and civilian bureaucracy, who have been the primary beneficiaries of what has cooked and re-cooked in Pakistan, would admit that it is not all fair in Pakistan. Many Baloch demonstrated on the 62nd Independence Day under the banner that said, “De-celebrating the Pakistan’s Independence Day”. Many Sindhis either stayed out of the Independence Day celebrations or made comments such as “Pakistan Zindabad. Jeay Sindh Dharti. May Allah this year give true autonomy to all provinces so all can live in peace” or “May Allah bless all people of Pakistan and show right path to the leaders.” “30 Lakh Bangaliyoon ka qat’l Mubarik, Hazaroon Balouchoon ke Laa’sh Mubarik, Senkroon Sindhi Ma’aoon kee Ujree Jholia’an ke Mubarak”, and “I am a Sindhi – a Hindu Sindhi, with roots in Hyderabad, Sindh, in modern day Pakistan. I cannot celebrate the creation of Pakistan – because August the 14th stands as a reminder that my family was uprooted”. The world calls Pakistan as the “hub for planning and training terrorists and global terrorism”. Hundreds of Pakistanis are dying each month on account of terrorism. Minorities feel unsafe and common men and women feel oppressed. Indeed, one wonders what went wrong and why it went wrong and what can be done to steer Pakistan on the right path? This article attempts to answer both of these questions.

Cyber-warriors —Haider Nizamani

Courtesy: The News

by: Haider Nizamani, Canada

The late Edward Said, the eloquent and incorrigible voice of Palestinians on the world stage, had fundamental disagreements with Yasser Arafat but I haven’t come across one sentence where he turned it into personal mud-slinging.