by Khalid Hayat Jamaldini

For how long will our mothers and sisters have to weep for the mutilated corpses of our brothers "gifted" to us by Pakistani forces? They are punished with death because they were fighting for the rights of Balochs in their own state land.

Declan Walsh, the Guardian's foreign correspondent for Pakistan and Afghanistan, in his recent article 'Pakistan's Secret Dirty War' illustrated very well how the Balochs are treated:

The bodies surface quietly, like corks bobbing up in the dark. They come in twos and threes, a few times a week, dumped on desolate mountains or empty city roads, bearing the scars of great cruelty. Arms and legs are snapped; faces are bruised and swollen. Flesh is sliced with knives or punctured with drills; genitals are singed with electric prods. In some cases the bodies are unrecognizable, sprinkled with lime or chewed by wild animals. All have a gunshot wound in the head".

Pakistan has being doing this since it occupied Balochistan in 1948. It has exterminated the Balochs in several civil wars (1958-59, 63-69, 73-77) and in 2004 it reignited its forces. Whenever we ask for autonomy, they suppress our voices by using different tactics. They kill our political leaders, workers, activists, educated youth, intellectuals, lawyers and poets.

Who is doing it? Asma Jehangir, Pakistan's Supreme Court Bar President, has the answer: "Use of police powers by the Frontier Corps is illegal and the FC should be stopped from using these powers." She stated that everyone knew about the "˜safe houses' (illegal places of detention and torture), that it is public knowledge security personnel are operating those "˜safe houses,' and that they must be closed down permanently (DailyTimes, March 10, 2011).

But again the question comes to mind, what has the Pakistani judiciary has done to solve the discriminative policies toward the Balochs? So far it has not taken any audacious step to protect the rights of the Baloch according to the constitution of Pakistan, nor has it abided by any guidelines under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. No one has been arrested for the killing of Balochs nor are cases accepted by the law enforcement agencies. Those Balochs who take the initiative to fight for these cases end up "paying for it". Baloch lawyers have been killed because they were found guilty of fighting the cases of Baloch victims. Journalists and writers have been murdered for investigating and reporting about the realities of the situation, while human rights activists have been gunned down for raising their voices against human rights violations. Students have been killed and dumped for creating political awareness.

The hands of the Pakistani media are tight when it comes to reporting the killing of the Balochs. Pakistan Human Rights Watch representative Ali Dayan Hassan, in response to the question 'Is there sufficient international and domestic focus on human rights situation in Balochistan?' answered in an interview with THE NEWS "Unfortunately there is not. The Pakistani media does not report on the brutal realities of Balochistan in any meaningful manner. Despite the fact that the province is of great strategic interest to the world, its people suffer from persistent, systemic and widespread human rights abuse both by state authorities and at the hands of non-state actors. It is time Pakistanis and the world paid attention."

In my opinion, the recent comment by the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding the formation of laws for secret agencies and the brutal policies toward the Baloch community are a clear sign that Pakistan is "Militant", where the military is the ruler. They can do whatever they want to. They can kill or kidnap whomever they want to, and no one dare question their wrongdoings.

Consider the FC commander in Balochistan, Major General Naizi's comments about Baloch nationalist leaders: "The Baloch are being manipulated by their leaders." He was referring to several main nationalist groups living in exile abroad, for example, Hyrbyair Marri in London and Brahamdagh Bugti in Geneva. "They are enjoying the life in Europe while their people suffer in the mountains," Niazi had said.

It has become a fashion for Pakistani leaders to pass such comments about the Baloch nationalists. As Balochistan's "˜ruler' for 63 years, never once have they asked themselves the reasons behind the sufferings of the Balochs in the mountains and their willingness to sacrifice their lives while fighting against a country that is a nuclear power. Why don't they ask themselves what they have offered this nation in terms of education and development. Despite being the richest province in natural resources, Balochistan is the poorest. For more than a decade China has been digging gold from Sandak, in Chagai district, but it has not paved roads for the people.

The truth is, Pakistanis are not interested in answers because they only desire the "˜istan' in Balochistan, not the "Baloch". This is why they have behaved as such for the last sixty three years.

The Chief Minister of Balochistan, Nawab Mohammad Aslam Khan Raisani, says that "elements involved in target killing of teachers were committing atrocity on new generation of their nationality by depriving them of education. (The Baloch Hal, March 30, 2011)."

I agree with him. Teachers play an important role in building a society by fostering education. But I would like to ask Mr. Raisani, why doesn't he have the courage to ask why they are killing the educated youths of Balochistan? As Baloch tribal chief and Chief Minister of Balochistan, why doesn't he roar at those who are involved in these killings? He could help prevent further weeping of Baloch mothers and sisters and gain the respect of the Balochs.

We owe those mothers and sisters who have lost their loved ones for the good of the nation. We can only stop their weeping by being united and fulfilling the dream of their deceased loved ones for their people. I agree with Dr Juma Khan Marri, if we want to regain our independence, fight and beat the enemy, we have to be united. (The Baloch Hal, March 29, 2011). If we fail to unite, the numbers of mutilated corpses, widows and orphans will continue to increase. Discrimination will prosper instead and our future generation will not forgive us.

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"OH THE ABORIGINAL OF BALOCHISTAN"

By Khalid Hayat Jamaldini

OH the aboriginal of Balochistan

Let us unite to save our land

Let's unite to free our land

Let's unite to defeat our enemy

Let's unite to protect our resources

Let's unite to protect our nation

Let's unite to turn the dreams of our martyr in to reality

Let's unite to fight for freedom

Let's unite to protect the mountains of Chagai and Muree

Let's unite to protect the sea of Gwader

Let us unite to protect the land of Sui

OH the aboriginal of Balochistan

OH the aboriginal of Balochistan

We won't get freedom by begging

We won't get freedom by asking

We won't get freedom by requesting

We won't get freedom by cheating each other

We will have to unite to get our freedom

We will have to unite to fight together against the enemy to get our freedom

We will have to unite to bend the enemy on her knee to get our freedom

OH the aboriginal of Balochistan

OH the aboriginal of Balochistan

Let us unite

Let us unite

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The writer belongs to Balochistan and writes on the issue of Balochistan for international and national websites and papers. He can be reached at khalidhayat77@yahoo.com