As a result of May 2013 general election, the
middleclassNationalParty led byDr. Abdul Malik Baloch has set up his government
in coalition with Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party
in Balochistan. Theleaderships of the coalition government have prioritized its
objectives on political issues, governance, security, economic and
administration grounds. They termed the issues of Balochistan province totally
political in nature, decided to solve them on priority side by side running
other affairs of the government. Dr. Malik Baloch along with his minister for
Home and Tribal Affairs Mir Sarfraz Bugti announced a composition of a
delegation comprising veteran Baloch politicians, tribal chieftains and
representatives of Baloch Political parties. This highly respected delegation
was to start negotiation with exiled Baloch leaders who are ready to dialogue
within the frameworks of the federation of Pakistan. In this connection a
delegation led by Chief Minister Balochistan Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch visited UAE,
London, Switzerland and US and met several Baloch leaders (according to
newspapers reports). Theyfound that the so-called Baloch leaders such as Khan of
Kallat Mir Sulaiman Khan Dawood, Mir HirBiyar Mari (head of Balochistan
Liberation Army) are living luxuriouslife in posh areas of England; similarly
BrahamdaghBugti (head of Baloch Republican Army) and Kachkol Ali Advocate are
enjoying their best days of lives in Switzerland. Moreover, Noor-ud-Din Mengal –
a self-assumed Baloch leader for human rights – representing Balochistan in UN
Human Rights Commission. I have never heard him taking up issues of females and
children died as their mules step up on land mines placed by armed terrorists
while fetching water. Two such incidents occurred in the last month in Dera
Bugti. Sher Baz Bugti, representative of Baloch Republican Army – a terrorist
group – claimed the responsibility for the incidents in newspapers. He raises
voice only about issues which serves the interests of anti-Pakistan lobbies.
Being a Baloch I have all rights reserved to ask certain questions about the
basic rights of the general Baloch masses living in Balochistan regarding
electricity, gas, and education and health facilities and so on so forth. The
life style the so-called Baloch leaders have maintained, while living abroad, is
highly extravagant but here in Balochistan they do not want to tolerate the
general Baloch people to have facilities of electricity, gas, health facilities,
quality education, good roads and infrastructure. They exploit the innocence of
a great deal of Baloch people by funding to take up arms and commit grievous
crimes such as target killing, kidnapping for ransom, destroying gas pipelines,
electronic pylons, bomb blasts on passenger coaches and trains, attack on
security forces and sensitive installations. Once deeply involved in such
heinous crimes, thereafter, they join the Ferari Camps being run by local
associates of those self-exiled Baloch leaders. They gain financial assistance
from nations and countries hostile togeneral masses of Balochistan. Nawab
Muhammad Khan Shahwani has rightly put forwardin his speech during sports
festival in Akbar Bugti Stadium that what kind of services do these so-called
angry Baloch leaders provide by eliminating teachers, doctors and engineers from
the Baloch society. Baloch society has already lagged a century behind due to
their ill-vision of separating Balochistan from the fabrics of Pakistan.
Historically, the reign of governments in Balochistan has always been in the
hands of Sardars and Nawabs since beginning. The first Chief Minister was Sardar
Attaullah Mengal and list goes on till the last PPP government Chief Minister
was Nawab Aslam Raisani. Same remains the case with the position of governors
and had these Mirs, Sardars and Nawabs were true leaders of the Baloch people
and Balochistan, the fate of common Baloch people would not have been as are at
present. They would have made developmental works in infrastructures, roads,
schools (both for boys and girls) and hospitals. If the pace of development in
Balochistan province and life standard of the people in Balochistan were not
more than that of other provinces, least it should have been at par with them.
But the existing developmental works which we find practically is as result of
the various military governments. A bitter historical truth, but one has to
confess. One becomes surprised when sees the track records of earmarking
billions of rupees for maintenance and renovation of infrastructures,which are
existed on papers only, in every budget by the politicians. To their surprise,
this time when Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch took oath as Chief Minister Balochistan,
certain Baloch sub nationalists found of dynastic politics started criticism as
he is from the middle class Baloch. On one hand, they set timeframe to show him
door of the assembly and still their minds are obsessed with such fantasies. On
the other hand, the miscreants gave momentum to their nefarious acts of
terrorism across Balochistan. They started targeting installations like
disrupting main gas supply lines and attacking trains by bomb blasts not only in
Balochistan but also extended their activities to the neighboring districts of
Punjab and Sindh provinces.
When nothing came out of their hands, the sympathizers of separatist groups
unearthed the incident of Tutak mass grave in District Khuzdar. They started
beating drum exaggerating the number of dead bodies to be 160. Whereas the
actual the number of bodies, the officials of District Government Khuzdar
expressed to the media persons were only 13. Exhibiting political maturity, the
Government of Balochistan decided to carry out judicial inquiry of the incident.
The Balochistan high court assigned Justice Noor Muhammad Muskanzai to head the
commission and find out perpetrators of such inhuman crime. The judge visited
the area of the incident in person and summoned all those having information
regarding the Tutak Incident to record their statements before him in the court.
A number of affected Baloch people from neighboring Tutak villages recorded
their statements that their sole bread earners were picked up by the terrorists
of Balochistan Liberation Army for not supporting their cause, rather raising
flags of Pakistan in the area. They expressed fear that the mutilated bodies
found form Tutak may be of their missing relatives. To ascertain this, doctors
in district hospital Khuzdar were asked to collect blood samples of witnesses to
carry out DNA tests from concerned quarters.“We have been mobilizing people from
different districts of Khuzdar, Kallat and Surab to present them before the
tribunal commission,” said Salma Rasool – Chairperson of Deserving Victims of
Terrorism Balochistan (DEVOTE) – an organization working on welfare and
rehabilitation of the Baloch affected families. She further expressed that
though threats of BLA loom on the heads of the families of the witnesses, yet
she has managed to present 80 witnesses before the judicial commission under the
umbrella of DEVOTE organization. She said her own brother was shot dead on broad
day light on AzadiChowkin District Khuzdarfor raising Pakistan flag.
On 20 May 2014, the Judicial Tribunal submitted its inquiry report on Tutak
incident to the government of Balochistan. Subsequently, the Balochistan
Government published the essentials of the report on 18 August 2014. The
commission categorically maintained that none of the personnel of security
forces, law enforcement agencies, frontier Corps, Pakistan Army and government
is involved in the Tutak incident. It said that not a single witness recorded
statement against Pakistan Army, Intelligence Agencies and government. However,
the statement of witness number 38 was based on gossips which he heard from
others, based on experience and the same was termed useless without any
endorsement. Also the commission demanded to take stern action against the
authorities of district government administration Khuzdar for not taking notice
of the buildup of militant ferari camps in TutakMizhi area of District Khuzdar.
It has also recommended removing the checkpoints established by the BLA
terrorists around SardarShehrKhuzdar. Now this is time the incumbent government
should demonstrate the capability of its government and act upon the findings
and recommendations of the judicial inquiry and clear the area for the interests
of general public by eliminating terrorists from the area.
(The writer is a Rights activist and works for the welfare of BalochShuhada in
the Balochistan province of Pakistan)