It omens very bad that the United States Committee on Foreign Affairs convened a congressional meeting on Feb 9, 2012, for an exclusive discussion on the gravity of the situation in Balochistan.
The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Republican Dana Rohrabacher, held a session to discuss target killings and the human rights situation in Balochistan, and termed it a matter requiring urgent attention. In his opening remarks, Rohrabacher said that Balochistan is a turbulent land marred by human rights violations "by regimes that are against US values". Rohrabacher further said the province had a vital strategic importance.
Amnesty International's T. Kumar requested the US to "apply the Leahy Amendment without waivers to all Pakistani military units in Balochistan". This law states: "None of the funds made available by this Act may be provided to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if...such unit has committed gross violations of human rights."
Human Rights Watch Pakistan Director Ali Dayan Hasan, in his submitted remarks, said that cases documented by the HRW showed that Pakistan's security forces and its intelligence agencies were involved in the forced disappearance of ethnic Baloch. The HRW representative asked the US government in his recommendations to "communicate directly with the agencies responsible for disappearances and other abuses, demand an end to abuses and facilitate criminal inquiries to hold perpetrators accountable".
The hearing, which lasted a little over an hour, came to an end as congressmen decided to go to the floor for a vote. In his closing remarks, Rohrabacher declared that the hearing was no stunt, and that they wanted to start a national dialogue on what US policy should be in that part of the world.
Pakistan has conveyed its concerns to the US about this hearing. Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit, in his weekly press briefing at the Foreign Office, said, "We have conveyed our concern in Islamabad and Washington on the issue of discussion on Balochistan by the US Senate Foreign Relations' Committee and expressed our feelings. We believe that Washington fully understands our position on this issue.”
Pakistan's ambassador to the US, Sherry Rehman, has termed it an ill-advised move that would be detrimental to building trust between Pakistan and the United States.
Balochistan was an integral part of the Pakistani federation, the ambassador said. Pakistan is a democracy conducting itself in accordance with international law. The hearing was marked by a "blatant disregard for history and inflammatory use of selective facts", the envoy said. "Pakistan views this hearing with serious concern and considers it unacceptable in no uncertain terms. This kind of an exercise constitutes interference in Pakistan's internal affairs. The hearing will be detrimental to building mutual trust and confidence and will add to suspicions in Pakistan about the US motives in the region and concerning Pakistan," the ambassador said.
On the other hand, the Balochistan National Party (BNP) President, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, has applauded the US Congressional hearing. A BNP delegation also attended the hearing and handed over a letter of thanks on behalf of the people of Balochistan.
Addressing the chair and members of the committee, Sardar Mengal wrote, "On behalf of my party and the people of Balochistan, let me sincerely thank you and members of the committee for the timely attention and understanding of human rights situation in Balochistan. Taking notice of the plight of the Baloch people by civilised world is need of the hour as situation for them is grave and serious."
Mengal further said that Baloch were living a life at gunpoint in the shadows of inhuman atrocities and their very survival as a nation had been threatened by the distortion of their history, culture and moderate social fabric. He said that their survival was at stake with organised acts of genocide.
He said that since the conflict was the direct result of oppression, the only way out was that the products of oppressions were removed, and that was to stop the oppression and the settlement of the dispute through a fair process involving the international community. The Baloch people will welcome any effort from the government and people of the United States and the civilised world for an amicable settlement of the Baloch issue, he added.
Mengal further mentioned that in any conflict resolution process it was imperative to take into consideration the essence of the conflict. The Baloch conflict was historical, cultural, economic and political in nature. It was obvious that in any conflict resolution process, the agenda should encompass all those issues.
He said that before initiating a meaningful process of conflict resolution it was imperative that the Pakistan government take and practically implement some measures which were necessary to build a conductive atmosphere for a reconciliation process.
The measures he suggested were that all covert and overt military operations should immediately be suspended in Balochistan, all missing persons should be produced before a court of law, all proxy death squads operating under the supervision of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) should be disbanded, Baloch political parties should be allowed to function and resume their political activities without any interference from intelligence agencies, persons responsible for inhuman torture, killing and dumping of dead bodies of the Baloch political leaders and activists should be brought to justice, measures should be taken for the rehabilitation of the displaced people from conflict-stricken areas of Balochistan. The Baloch would welcome any mediation efforts from the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United Nations, he added in the letter.
The Balochistan issue has also dominated the Pakistani Senate and the National Assembly proceedings on February 10. The PPP-led government assured lawmakers of an in-house briefing on this simmering issue. Rehman Malik told the Upper House that several countries were involved in illegal activities in Balochistan, to detach it from Pakistan.
The militants were using foreign-made heavy weapons, and expensive vehicles, he said, questioning as to where had they come from into the country.
"There is a need to expose such faces before the nation. The bullets used in killing of two Baloch women in Karachi, was foreign-made and is banned in the country, which clearly indicates involvement of foreign hands in Balochistan," he said.
There is not an iota of doubt that foreign countries like, India, America and Israel, are hatching conspiracies to separate Balochistan from Pakistan, as it is rich in natural resources.
Rep. Louie Gohmert proposed to carve out Balochistan from Pakistan to exterminate the Taliban. Arguing that US President Barack Obama is losing the war in Afghanistan to the Taliban, US Republican Louie Gohmert proposed one way to win: create a new, friendly state within the borders of neighbouring Pakistan, The Huffington Post reported.
The Texas Republican took issue with Obama's assertion that "the Taliban's momentum has been broken". He told the newspaper he had just visited Afghanistan and came away with a very different sense from talking to members of the Northern Alliance. "If you look at the objective facts ... they're not on the run," Gohmert said. His solution was first to supply more arms to the Northern Alliance. But then, he said, the Afghan border with Pakistan needs to be shored up. "Let's talk about creating a Balochistan in the southern part of Pakistan," Gohmert told The Huffington Post. "They love us. They'll stop the IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and all the weaponry coming into Afghanistan, and we got a shot to win over there," said Gohmert, who accused Obama's national security advisers of giving the president bad intelligence on Afghanistan.
Lieutenant-Colonel (Rtd.) Ralph Peters, who notoriously penned an article titled ''Blood borders: How a better Middle East would look'', said: "The Pakistani government is not our friend...Pakistan's borders make no sense and do not work." In the said article, he had written: "In each case, this hypothetical redrawing of boundaries reflects ethnic affinities and religious communalism - in some cases, both." He is applying the same kind of logic when it comes to Balochistan.
Then BBC News has published a report, which shows that Baloch nationalism seems to be on the rise throughout the province. It says that poverty, a sense of deprivation and lack of facilities have turned many Baloch people against the state and the Baloch rebel anthem, "We are the sons of the Baloch... we are the sons of lions... we are the protectors of the orphans and the destitute… our blood is our nation's salvation", plays as children gather for assembly in the area of New Kahan, a home to thousands of tribal Baloch people.
There is no denying the fact that more than 1,000 people have lost their lives since March 2008, in the ongoing nationalist insurgency in this volatile province of Balochistan. This is the fifth time that elements in Balochistan have risen against the Pakistani establishment since 1948. Over 300 mutilated bullet-riddled bodies of the Baloch people have been found from various places in 2011. According to human rights groups and the Baloch people, there are around 13,000 missing persons in the province. Sectarian violence has claimed many lives of innocent people belonging to the Hazara Shia community.
The people are living in desperate poverty. Despite the province's vast mineral wealth, the people of Balochistan do not enjoy the basic facilities of life. The Pakistan security forces have launched a military operation in which many Baloch and security personnel have lost their lives.
All the aforementioned developments show that the situation in Balochistan is very precarious. The PPP-led government and the Pakistan army must exigently solve the simmering problems of the Baloch people, if they want to create peace in Balochistan, and foil the conspiracies, hatched by our enemies, against the very stability of Pakistan.
In spite of introducing the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package, the PPP-led government has utterly failed to implement it in letter and spirit in the province. It is the duty of the government that it should appease the grievances of the angry Baloch by introducing revolutionary and people-friendly policies in the province. It should stop military action, as Balochistan needs a political solution, not a military operation.
Chief Minister Balochistan, Nawab Aslam Raisani, recently said that anyone who is creating trouble in the province would be dealt with an iron hand. All the foreign agents who are creating bad blood among the people must be brought to book. The hearts of the Baloch must be won by introducing developmental projects, not with high-handedness. Every effort must be made to hold discussions with the Baloch leaders in the mountains and in exile. There is a grave danger to the unity of the federation, which can be removed by bringing the angry Baloch leaders within the political mainstream.
Extrajudicial killings allegedly by the FC must be stopped. All the missing persons should be recovered and the government should ensure that no state agency is allowed to harass or kill Baloch people again.
A nation that does not learn lessons from its history is fated to perish. Pakistan has already experienced a very bitter experience in the form of the separation of the East Pakistan in 1971. Our rulers, civilian and military, should not repeat the same mistakes in handling this issue. Every effort must be taken to fulfill the legitimate demands of the Baloch people, living under the federation of Pakistan.