Also see editorial at The Baloch Hal | Jan. 6, 2010 | Too Much!
Earlier coverage at The Baloch Hal | Jan. 6, 2011 BSO Leader Qambar Chakar,24, Martyred in Turbat
Coverage of Qambar Chakar's second abduction, reposted from Rozhn.tv, Nov. 26, 2010 Devastating turn of events: Qambar Chakar Baloch and Irshad Nasir again abducted
Original coverage by Malik Siraj Akbar of Qambar Chakar's life, Malik Siraj Akbar Writes, July 11, 2009 | Qambar Jan tho kuja hey?

Photo: Qambar Chakar Baloch

By Wendy Johnson

The Obama administration and U.S. State Department may not yet realize it, but Pakistan's military or its security agencies have just delivered their response to the New York Times-delivered public scolding. And just how was this highway salute--this middle finger--extended? By committing murder. Two murders actually. When Pakistan's security forces and/or military wishes to communicate a reaction, they don't simply flip a finger, they deliver corpses.

The latest in a very long series of Baloch bodies dumped at roadsides for grieving loved ones to retrieve were those of Qambar Chakar Baloch and Ilyas Nizar on January 6, 2011. While many well-known and admired Baloch have likewise turned up dead, these murders are a particularly chilling act of vengeance and, without a doubt, a message. Many Baloch who are disappeared by Pakistan's military or security agencies don't have friends who are journalists writing in English, so their stories fall through the cracks. But Qambar Chakar was a friend of Malik Siraj Akbar. Malik's moving essay following Qambar Chakar's first abduction (he had been abducted twice) in July 2009 titled "Qambar Jan tho kuja hey?" describes a talented student who had a gift for public speaking and political organizing. He was a well-known advocate for the recovery of all missing Baloch, and for the restoration of a quota system at the Balochistan University for Information Technology and Management Sciences (BUITMS). Because the Baloch are seriously underrepresented in Pakistani and Baloch universities, Qambar's activism won the mild-mannered youth the admiration of his fellow students. His first abduction turned him into an iconic figure amongst youth and student political activists. His reabduction on November 27, 2010, created a sense of dread.

The recent New York Times article outlining U.S administration and State Department concerns about abductions in Pakistan notes that "Precise numbers of disappearances are difficult to pin down, human rights advocates say, partly because family members fear that reporting missing relatives could endanger the relatives or even themselves." While this may be true in some cases in Pakistan, this is not the norm in Balochistan where literally thousands of Baloch have fearlessly reported their loved ones missing. The Baloch hold very public demonstrations, they write articles, they circulate lists, they build websites, they demonstrate in front of 10 Downing Street, they try to file FIRs with unresponsive police officers. In short, very very few people in Balochistan choose to remain silent about their missing.

Pakistan's security agencies clearly would like to change that. Not only have they accelerated the pace of abductions and killings in the last couple months, they are choosing persons who would not have practical knowledge of the long-running insurgency in the province.

Photo: Ilyas Nizar

Each of these bodies is essentially a hand-delivered threat from the military or security agencies. This is the face of terror.

This most recent act is also a response to the U.S. State Department's recent New York Times-delivered scolding. By choosing the most iconic of abductees, in this case, Qambar Baloch, and yet another Balochi journalist, Pakistan is bullying 'the bully' (the U.S.) by attacking innocents.

In the New York Times article, author Eric Schmitt outlined the contents of the report delivered by the U.S. State Department to Congress on November 23, 2010, that expressed concerns over the human rights abuses, torture and killings committed by Pakistan's security forces. The article notes that human rights groups have observed that Pakistan's security forces have used the U.S. campaign to go after Islamic extremists linked to Taliban and Al Qaeda "as a cover to round up hundreds, if not thousands, of political activists and guerrilla fighters in Baluchistan and hold them in secret detention."

The article further notes that "the Obama administration has largely sought to confront Pakistan in private with evidence of human rights abuses by its intelligence and security forces, fearing that a public scolding could imperil the country's cooperation in combating Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other extremist groups" and points out that the "recent State Department report contains some of the administration's most pointed language about accusations of such so-called extrajudicial killings."

My question for the Obama administration is this: how long are the families and friends of missing and murdered Baloch supposed to wait for "pointed" language to have some effect? Thus far, Pakistan simply points the middle finger back at any 'scoldings'.

The United States has everything to gain by becoming a friend of Balochistan. And as B. Raman observes in his recent article "Need for more U.S. interest in Balochistan," "The Balochs could play an important role in the ideological campaign against Wahhabi-ised Islam." But time is of the essence. Pakistan's military and/or security agencies are picking off Balochistan's best and brightest one by one.

I have just returned from Cambodia where stark reminders of Pol Pot's Killing Fields are everywhere. The world can not allow an encore performance in Balochistan.

The United States supports Pakistan with billions in dollars of military aid. The U.S. must use a different language with Pakistan. Money talks. Pull the plug on financial aid to Pakistan's military.