Goodbye Baluchistan, but thank you Malik Akbar

Malik Siraj Akbar, hats off to you. Malik Akbar is one journalist who has worked relentlessly for the freedom of UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Quetta, John Solecki.

My appeal to all Western media organizations that if they need help with objective reporting from Baluchistan, they must consider Akbar's dispatches.

Malik Akbar has also tried to expose the brutalities against the Baluch in whatver way possible. Of course he has some limits as his boss and publisher of The Daily Times, Najam Sethi, one of the better Punjabis in Pakistan and his wife Jugnoo Mohsin were themselves victims of the ISI. Sethi had nearly gone into the jaws of death about 10 years ago. Had Sethi not beena Punjabi, I might have called him an angel.

In a recent dispatch to The Daily Times under the headline "John Solecki: a victim of apathy," Akbar wrote:

Having previously extended its deadline three times, the Baloch Liberation United Front (BLUF) – which abducted the American head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), John Solecki – has now given a new, ‘final deadline’ to the government to meet its demands for the release of the UN official.

With the deadline expiring today (Thursday), Nawab Khair Baksh Marri’s son, Nawabzada Harbiyar Marri – who has been authorised by the BLUF to work as a mediator between the government and the Baloch nationalists – has formed a 13-member committee to facilitate the release of Solecki, on his behalf.

With Harbiyar abroad, the committee would analyse a list of missing/kidnapped people the BLUF wants released in exchange for the freedom of the UN official, who was abducted on February 2 while on his way to work.

The UN’s Islamabad office said on Wednesday, “We are very concerned about the apparent deterioration of John’s health, as reported by the group holding him. The UN is keen for John to receive immediate professional medical care in a clinic or hospital where necessary medical tests can be carried out. The swift delivery of medical help is important. John’s well being is the responsibility of the group that is holding him, and we hope they are taking steps to make sure John remains well and is not suffering.”

Observers, however, believe that conflicting guesstimates about the abductors and the location where Solecki is being kept could further jeopardise his life. Maj General Saleem Nawaz – the inspector general of the Frontier Corps (FC), who does not have the constitutional mandate to comment on affairs related to police – has blatantly singled out the Baloch Republican Party’s (BRP) Bramdagh Bugti for allegedly masterminding Solecki’s abduction.

Bramdagh, 28 – a grandson of the late Nawab Akbar Bugti – has emphatically denied the charge. “Kidnapping our guests … is contrary to Baloch traditions,” he has said.

Meanwhile, Balochistan police chief Asif Nawaz has made a claim that contradicts Maj Saleem’s assertion, saying an investigation indicated that Solecki may have been kidnapped by Marri tribesmen.

Analysts say that the two top officials’ comments indicate that police and the FC are trying “cover up to their failures by pointing a finger at the Marri and Bugti tribes, in the absence of evidence to back their claims”.

Almost 45 days have passed since Solecki’s abduction, but not a single official has so far addressed a press conference to announce the progress made so far to secure the release of the ailing UN official. Observers say the Balochistan government and Islamabad have up till now not taken the task ‘very seriously’. It is difficult to see the BLUF’s demands being met in the immediate future, they say.

No matter who kidnapped Solecki, observers say the government cannot absolve itself of the primary responsibility of protecting all those in Pakistan’s territory.

At the outset, the government pilloried the BLUF’s demands, branding them unrealistic and exaggerated. At the same time, the UNHCR began a series of meetings with top Baloch politicians and elders to request them to coax the kidnappers into releasing Solecki.

A UNHCR delegation also called on Khair Buksh Marri, 90 – the head of Marri Baloch tribe – three times to get him to issue an appeal in the media to secure the safe release of Solecki. But the tribal elder refused to help and disassociated himself from the BLUF.

The only positive achievement of UN’s backdoor diplomacy so far is that the BLUF has agreed three times to extend its deadline.

Also, some observers say Solecki’s abduction is a reflection of Washington’s indifference towards the safety of its citizens working abroad. So far, the UN – not the US government – has been campaigning for Solecki’s release.

Political pundits say Solecki would not have been get kidnapped had the ordeal of Zarina Marri – a 23-year-old Marri schoolteacher who is reportedly in the custody of the army and is an alleged victim of ‘sexual harassment’ – not been reported in the media.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) quoted a person who had met the missing schoolteacher in a ‘Karachi torture cell administered’ as saying that Zarina had complained of being sexually harassed by her captors.

Not all the Baloch political and tribal forces endorse the kidnapping of Solecki. But at the same time, they also back the BLUF demands. They insist that although Solecki’s abduction is an ‘immature act’, the government must release all the missing Baloch citizens."

To see Akbar's full story. click:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C03%5C19%5Cstory_19-3-2009_pg7_34

There are some things I that Akbar mentioned in his news report on which I am nonplussed. One of those are:

"Political pundits say Solecki would not have been kidnapped had the ordeal of Zarina Marri – a 23-year-old Marri schoolteacher who is reportedly in the custody of the army and is an alleged victim of ‘sexual harassment’ – not been reported in the media."

I have the credit to first report the issue of Zarina Marri's kidnaping, which was buried deep down in the testimonies of Munir Mengal, who faced Pakistan's gestapo. This was a case of sexual slavery and Pakistan army needed to be put on the mat. I think as a writer I did my job as it is my firm conviction Pakistan army is one of the most potent threats to human civilization.

I remain convinced nuclear arms must be taken away from the hands of this rogue army, otherwise it will use it one day or another. Could the world imagine the craziness that struck the US on 911? The Pakistan army top brass has the same mindset of the terrorists who struck America.

Yes, in deed the Punjabi Muslim mindset is extremely dangerous as it is not even willing to accomodate Sikh and Hindu Punjabis, let alone anybody else.

I was also a bit taken aback as Malik Akbar's report did not mention Munir Mengal's name at all and in stead referred to him as "a person." I urge Akbar not fall into the ISI trap and belittle the role of Munir Mengal, who is now exposing those who had once tried to use him against the Baluch Nelson Mandela, Sardar Akhtar Mengal.

Even if Munir Mengal has a totally apolitical, shadowy past as a pure businessman all that is inconsequential now as Baluch nationalist leader Hairbyair Marri believes he is doing a good job.

I am also not sure how Malik Akbar said Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri has refused to issue any statement as I had seen a report in the Daily Tawar myself Nawab Marri did indeed issue a statement in favor of Solecki's release.

As I wrote earlier, I am totally ashamed of calling myself a Baluch because of the action of the BSO or Baloch Students Organization, whose members who are loyal to Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, 90, are believed to have kidnapped Solecki. I condemn their action as cowardly and inhuman, without justification. Had John Solecki been a representative of the Lockheed Martin, whose terror machineslike F-16s have been used against the Baluch masses I would not even have bothered to follow the news of what is happening. But Solecki is a representative of a world body that will have to be involved for bdluahictsan's independence and any harm to him would cause the baluch movement irreparable damage.

I hope the kidnappers would think one thousand times before carrying out their threat. They would be landing a key Baluch nationalist figure Hairbyair Marri into big trouble if they do so. Now is the time for Hairbyair Marri to appeal to the British government through a legal petition that the Baluch resistance groups are not terrorist outfits but if the BLUF carries out its threats, Baluch are going to to be recognized as terrorists worldwide.

I have no clue if Solecki's kidnappers have any value for the work of Baluch overseas like myself who are doing our work emptyhanded for the cause of an independent Baluchistan -- no Pakistan resolution nonsense, secretly. But if God forbid, so to speak, they harm Solecki, I must inform them I will have to say 'Goodbye Baluchistan.'

Victims of Dera Bugti massacre remembered

Glowing tributes were paid to victims of Pakistan army massacre of civilians at a rally organized by the Baloch Republican Party in Quetta to commemorate the deaths of scores of vicilians, mostly Hindu children, in Dera Bugti in Baluchistan four years ago.

The meeting was organized by the Baloch Republican Party and a demand was made upon the international community to accept Hairbyair Marri as the representative of the Baluch people to the world.

Hindus in Baluchistan and Sindh are some of the most peaceful human beings on Mother Earth.
However, this did not stop the racist and Islamist Pakistan army to massacre 33 Hindus, including 19 children, in addition to 28 Bugti tribesmen.

The attack on Dera Bugti was staged after the Bugti tribesmen under the leadership of former governor and chief minister of Baluchistan Nawab Akbar Bugti rose up in revolt against the rape of Dr. Shazia Khalid at the hands of army captain Mohammed Hammad. Pakistan coup leader-turned-president Gen. Pervez Musharraf, son of a Lucknow dancer orederedthe extrajudical killing of Bugti, 79 through aerial bombing of the Bhambore Hills after he left his ancestral village.

Now the Pakistanis are arming the Kalpar tribe to keep Bugti's grandson and political heir Nawab Barahamdagh Bugti from returning to Dera Bugti where the army is building a cantonment to fully contriol the gas fields.

This can never happen in any civilized society, but Pakistan is a strange country with no logic for its creation in the name of Islam and is totally bereft of civility and human decency.

Ted Kennedy explains talks with Iran

One of the most beloved and powerful politicians in the United States, deemed by many as a mentor of US president Barack Obama, has responded to my missive sent to him about the dangers emanating from the nuclear weapons program of Iran and Islamabad's secret assistance to Tehran.

I had writtent to Senator “Sir” Edward Kennedy, who is fondly called Ted Kennedy, to inform him about the Baluch grievance against Pakistan and Iran for using occupied Baluchistan as their testing ground for nuclear weapons.

In an email sent to me Wednesday, Sen. Kennedy wrote:

“Thank you for contacting me about the current situation in Iran . I appreciate the opportunity to share my views with you on this major foreign policy issue.

Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons, it's support for terrorists, and it's threats against Israel are major reasons for concern. The confrontational stance of the previous administration did nothing to improve the situation, which is why I support the policy changes being made by the Obama administration.

I agree with President Obama that diplomacy is an important initiation that we need to use, as part of a comprehensive foreign policy strategy. Now is the time to use American diplomacy to persuade Iran to end its illicit nuclear program, it's support for terrorism, and it's threats toward Israel.

The Obama Administration is also wisely seeking issues on which the U.S. and Iran can cooperate, particularly with respect to Afghanistan and security in the Middle East so that we can use that momentum to make progress as well on the issues that divide our two countries.

The Obama Administration is under no illusion about the difficulty of improving our relations with Iran , but it makes sense to adopt this new policy while maintaining all necessary strength in this vital region

Thank you again for contacting me about this important issue.”

Many of the issues that I have raised remain to be answered by the new Obama administration and Senator Kennedy alike.

My question is about international legality of Pakistan and Iran nuclear tests on occupied Baluch territories. I am a staunch advocate of preemetive measures by at least four nations to denuclearize both Pakistan and Iran – the US. UK, India and Israel. These powers have to act in tandem to save the world, denuclearize Pakistan and Iran and help the Baluch attain statehood. This is must if humanity has to be put out of harms way in a nuclear catastrophe.

I know for sure the Islamic militants in Iran and Pakistan will not lose a second to wipe out Israel from the face of the earth. Or for that matter inflict greivious hram on the US, UK and India in particular.

These militants, who have powerful backers in Tehran and Islamabad have long held the fallacious belief that a Zionist-Hindu-Christian conspiracy is afoot to destroy the Muslim world. In fact, they have shamelesslessly propagated this view both officialy and from the Muslim pulpit.

Anyone who attends a Friday prayer in a mosque, either Sunni or Shia, in Iran and Pakistan will testify that what I am writing is nothing but the truth.

I strongly believe in talks to settle all dsiputes. In fact one of my favorite leaders, founder of modern Baluch nationalism who was called Baba-i-Baluchistan the late Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo, was sarcastically called Baba-i-Muzakaraat or Father of Talks as he believed in solving all issues through table talks.

As a pacifist and liberal I strongly advocate talks. But these talks must include the illegality of Pakistani and Iranian occupation of Baluchistan and their use of Baluch occupied territories for militaristic purposes. My humble submission terrorists should not use talks to further solidify their positions against the free world, already weakened by the global economic crisis

Right now two of the most influential politicians from Baluchistan, the De Jure Ruler of Baluchistan Khan of Kalat Mir Suleman Daud Ahmedzai and Baluch national hero Hairbyair Marri are in London, while a second national hero Brahamdagh Bugti is also overseas, and this offers an excellent opportunity to emissaries from these four powers –US, UK, India and Israel-- to cultivate them and listen to what they are saying.

If they take the issue of nuclear weapons in Pakistan's hands and its secret transfer to Iran, they will be imperilling the lives of the their citizens.

A surefire way of denuclearizing both Pakistan and Iran is guaranteeing the right of self-determination to the Baluch people.

I also request all sane minded people from all nationalities to please join the Facebook group named “Denuclearize Pakistan & Iran for World Safety.” The link is:

http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=137935965231

March 27, 1948: Baluch date with slavery

Just minutes ago, someone asked me on Facebook why you hate Pakistan. My response was: "It's a nonsense country."

Still, as much as the Baluch would like to blame foreigners for their enslavement, there are culprits in their own society that is holding them down: racism and tribalism.

It is a fact that a black or mixed race Baluch does not enjoy the same status as a pure, thoroughbred Baluch.

Epithets like tea, tumber, taing, darzadagh are widely in vogue throughout Baluchistan. In fact when my grandmother, sister of wealthy British rail contractor Faqir Mohammed Durra Khan after whom a road has been named in Karachi, got married in early last century, she got three slaves in her dowry. Even today, the Baluch shun marrying their daughter or son to someone who has slave blood in them. This is pathetic.

Another worse thing is the tribalism and bloated egos and vanities of the Baluch leadership, many of who are feudal tyrants.

It is extremely sad that two top leaders of the Baluch society, De Jure Ruler of Baluchistan Suleman Daud Ahmedzai and national hero Hairbyair Marri are in London, both get calls from Asif Ali Zardari, but are not on talking terms with each other.

The question arises if this is the mindset of the heavyweights how can Baluchistan be free? And will they be kind to their people once they become rulers? I will have serious doubts on this issue if they fail to show unity for petty reasons.

It was 61 years ago, the Baluch people lost their beloved homeland on March 27, 1948 when Pakistan annexed Baluchistan at the point of gun through terror, deceit, and treachery. The very fact that the document was signed by the Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmedyar Khan and MI6 agent, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on different dates bares the very nature of the fraudulent document.

Many blame the Khan of Kalat for capitulation, but it was not his fault to sign a document at the point of gun when the nawabs of Mekran and Lasbella and the Jam of Lasbella had sold their souls to Jinnah.

The Baluch in the US are hoping this March 27, 2009 each and every Baluch anywhere will tell the world, they want their statehood back. On this day, all the factions of the various Baluch student and youth groups and all political parties must observe a truce to show unity.

It does not make any difference what line of struggle any party advocates, on this day all Baluch must unite for their national survival. On this day the blame game, each one calling the other an ISI agent must stop.

The Baluch in the US are asking all political parties to make a promise in the name of the blood of Nawab Akbar Bugti, Bala'ach Marri, Dr. Khalid Shaheed, thousands of other martyrs and those men and women who have faced torture and humiliation at the hands of Pakistani and Iranian military that their sacrifices shall not go in vain.

This is a day when the Baluch will have to demand unconditional withdrawal of Pakistan and Iranian troops from their homeland, to be replaced by a transitional international peacekeeping force mainly comprising soldiers from the US, UK, India and Israel. I am sure the Baluch masses will welcome such a force.

I note with delight the American Friends of Baluchistan will hold a meeting on Saturday, March 28 at the new Busboys & Poets in Washington DC at 1 p.m. The theme of the meeting is "America and Americans must learn about Baluchistan slavery."

We are expecting the Washington-DC meeting will be co-chaired by AFB presiding council members Laurie Deamer, Nabi Baloch, Rasheed Baloch and Mohammed Ali Baloch.

The AFB has said it is publicly inviting former speaker of the Baluchistan assembly, Fakhr-i-Baluchistan [Pride of Baluchistan] Waheed Baluch, president of the Baloch Society of North America, Wahid Baloch, and Baloch intellectual Dr. Malek Towghi to please attend the Washington DC meeting and share their thoughts.

The Baluch must tell tell their leaders like the De Jure Ruler of Baluchistan Suleman Daud Ahmedzai and Hairbyair Marri that history will not forgive them if they do not have the farsightedness to show unity on the single point of withdrawal of Pakistan troops from Baluchistan in spite of their many differences.

The Khan of Kalat has spent nearly $200,000 from his own pocket to fight the Baluch case at ICJ, while Hairbyair Marri has bravely fought the Pakistan army aggression with minimal resources. It's a shame they are not on talking terms, though being tormented by the same enemy.

No Love Lost

By Vikram Sood

Over the years Pakistan has come to believe that the world is beholden to it because it exists. This notion of indispensability allows those in power in that country to be wild, delinquent and dangerous

Like the spoilt brat of a rich and doting parent, Pakistan either becomes petulant when it is not granted what it unjustifiably demands or becomes belligerent when it is granted that wish by its benefactor.

Today, Pakistan has a begging bowl economy; terrorism is its main export. Unending unrest in Balochistan and sectarian violence in Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan, coupled with a creaking law and order and judicial systems, evoke little confidence in that country. There are many in India who are ready to give Pakistan another chance forever. They say Pakistanis are like us but the poor souls are stuck with rotten governments and they need our help to get them out of their predicament.

It is incredibly naive of us to build policies for our future and security on fond nostalgia, which is mostly one way. They teach their children mostly how to hate India with warped versions of history, even in their mainstream schools. It is strange that we still keep telling Pakistanis that we are all alike and have a common culture and so on. The truth is that they do not want to be like us and, quite honestly, we have nothing in common with them. Not anymore.

First of all, our minority population is more Indian than the minorities there are Pakistani. And our majority too is different from the majority across the border. Pakistanis have never understood, therefore never accepted, the concept of accommodating minorities. Not that we do it perfectly but we do a fairly good job. In Pakistan, you are either a Shia, Bohra or an Ismaili or an Ahmediya. Being a woman, a Baloch, a Pushtun, a Sindhi or a Mohajir or a Hindu hari is a curse.

Only a Sunni Punjabi is a true-blue Pakistani. Arguments with minorities are settled with a bullet. It is difficult for a Pakistani to understand that minorities can also have a say. Our cricket team symbolises our diversity. Pakistan does not have an equivalent of Bollywood and if it did, Hindus would never dominate the industry. There are other fundamental differences. They deny history and even geography, we seek our roots in our civilisation. Extremists there cry jihad in the name of god.

We have room for all faiths at the Dargah in Ajmer Sharif, in Darbar Sahib (whose foundation stone was laid by Mian Mir) or San Thome. Fewer Pakistanis understand that it is easy or natural for an Indian to listen to Jafar Hussain Badayuni's rendering of Amir Khusro's `Bahut kathin hai dagar' or `Ek pita ekas ke hum baarek' by Bhai Maninder Singh and Bhai Jitender Singh or `Jai Madhav Madan Murari' by Jagjit Singh on any morning.

In Pakistan today, we see images of mullahs leading a march to medievalism. In India, we see the young and exuberant marching into the 21st century. We are still behind the rest of the advanced world but are determined to catch up. Across the border, they wallow in a sense of victimhood, and blame everyone else for their plight. In Pakistan, the extremists believe that Islam and democracy are incompatible.

Secularism does not exist in the mullah's vocabulary, or even in the minds of some self-proclaimed moderates like General Musharraf. So what do we have in common with Pakistan that we yearn for? The answer is nothing. We are two different countries with two different kinds of people on two different trajectories and we here should be happy with that.

Pakistan will strike deals with al-Qaeda, will encourage Lashkar-e-Taiba to carry out attacks on India and will appease the Taliban. It would seem that they have a death wish. It would be prudent for us to take measures now in case Pakistan's wish is granted.

The writer is a former secretary, Research and Analysis Wing.

Wake up call to US, UK, India and Israel

In the wake of Pakistan's interior minister Rahman Malik's recent visit to Iran, the Iranians are deploying ten thousand Persian soldiers on the borders with Pakistan in Seistan-0-Baluchistan which was occupied by Iran in 1927.

At the time, the British looked the other way as part of their Forward Policy as London thought this occupation offered a nice buffer against Russian communism.

Already tens of thousands of Pakistani and Iranian soldiers are engaged in worst crimes against humanity in the occupied territories of Baluchistan.

Today the largely secular Baluch people, numbering 20 million, in southwest Asia are stateless and facing dual oppression of Pakistan and Iran.

The democratic and secular governments of US, UK, India and Israel have utterly failed to uphold their international obligations towards the people of Baluchistan. This is a poet's message to them to help the Baluch in their own interests.


An SOS from people of Baluchistan

Come help us save humanity in Baluchistan
Come to our rescue before the nukes strike you

Allahu o Akbar they say, Persians and Punjabis
On a homeland that does not belong to them

The Baluch paying the price of the White man's sin
Of creating states without history, wrong borders

On one hand are Wahabis, on the other Ayatollahs
Pasadarans, Pakistan army two sides of the same coin

Baluch urge help from every human, regardless of faith
For the Baluch edict is love all, hate none

We can never forget those who gave their lives for us
Nawab Bugti, Balach Marri and Ghafoor Reki

World is shamelessly silent as the Baluch get killed
The price we pay for not having a state and a flag

Tel Aviv, New Delhi, Washington DC and London
This is a call to humanity, each one of you

Jihadists in Islamabad and Tehran can do worse harm
You see it daily they do not have a reason to kill

They think they will go to heaven for killing a Baluch
And live there forever with 72 virgins and 27 young boys

Is Advani the only friend of Baluch in India?

Almost all Baluch love India. Unlike the Punjab, where India is viewed as an enemy and Hindus portrayed as beasts wanting to sleep with Punjabi Muslim women, most Baluch think the British should never have created Pakistan and Muslims would have been better off in a United India than in Pakistan.

As far as Baluchistan goes, even at the time of its forced annexation the two questions that were before the Baluch public was whether to chose between an independent Baluchistan or become a part of India.

According to an Indian analyst, "On August 15, 1947 the Khan of Kalat addressed a large gathering in Kalat and formally declared the full independence of Balochistan, and proclaimed the 15th day of August a day of celebration. The Khan formed the lower and upper house of Kalat Assembly, and during the first meeting of the Lower House in early September 1947, the Assembly confirmed the independence of Balochistan. Jinnah tried to persuade the Khan to join Pakistan, but the Khan and both Houses of the Kalat Assembly refused. The Pakistani army then invaded Balochistan on April 15th, 1948, and imprisoned all members of the Kalat Assembly. India stood by silently. Lord Mountbatten, Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru or Maulana Azad, then the president of India’s Congress Party said nothing about the rape of Baluchistan or later of N.W.F.P."

There is no doubt in my mind almost all Baluch leaders, the De Jure ruler of Baluchistan Suleman Daud Ahmedzai, Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, Sardar Attaullah and Akhtar Mengal, Nawab Brahamdagh Bugti, Dr. Malik Baloch and Hasil Bizenjo, Ghulam Mohammed Baloch, Jumma Khan Baloch and Dr. Jumma Marri all have deep respects and loves for India.

I personally joke with Americans how can Kashmir be a part of Pakistan when Pakistan is itself a part of India.

When people here in the US ask me where I am from, my reply is India. And when they ask which part, my reply is "The broken part which the British named Pakistan."

Unfortunately, Indian leaders have lacked the vision and statesmanship to grasp the hands of friendship extended towards them by the Baluch. One exception was Indira Gandhi, who is much loved by the Baluch and Sindhi people for her role in the liberation of Bangladesh.

One of the main leaders of modern Baluch nationalism, the father of Baluchistan Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo, told me about the futile visit Baluch leaders had with the head of the Indian National Congress Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in 1947.

Maulana Azad was a true patriot and knew more about Islam then the alcoholic British stooge Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Unfortunately, Azad advised Bizenjo and leaders of the Kalat State National Party that visited India to accept the tyranny of Pakistan.

Bizenjo, who later spent many years behind bars and was sodomized in prison, became so dejected by the Indian response he gave up the independence slogan and settled for provincial autonomy the rest of his life.

I have had an opportunity to speak on phone with the honorable Sree L.K. Advani, whose family like mine were Old Karachites, and at this point of time he seems to be the only leader who really cares about Baluchistan and who can really canvass international support for the liberation of Baluchistan.

To date, it is clear India has not stepped up to the plate when it comes to Baluch slavery.

Dirty video about Khan of Kalat condemned

It's a shame any Baluch can stoop so low.

Political differences are justified and polemics welcome, but ridiculing the de Jure Ruler of Baluchistan in a third-rate manner must be condemned by all sane minded and sober people.

Beglar Begi, the Khan of Kalat Suleman Daud Ahmedzai has shown his sincereity to his beloved land and people by adopting a life in exile. Each and everyone amongst the Baluch must encourage this heroic decision of the Khan.

Unfortunately some mischief-mongers have published a video about Suleman Daud on Youtube, which is in very bad taste and must be condemned by every Baluch.

We do hope the Baluch would conduct their arguments in a decent, gentlemanly fashion.

It is extremely frustrating to note Baluch leaders would fight for just less than $200,000 collected in the Gulf.

We appeal to those who have posted the video on Youtube to please withdraw it immediately.

Two Ps ink secret deal to crush the Baluch

The two Ps, both Islamists --one openly, another secretly--, responsible for killing the Baluch people and occupying their homeland have recently signed a secret deal to crush Baluch nationalist aspirations.

The two Ps stand for Persians of Iran and the Punjabis of Pakistan.

This was brought to world notice in a statement by two nationalists leaders from Baluchistan, who jointly condemned the visit of Pakistan interior minister Rahman Malik to Iran.

The Baluch National Front leaders, general secretary Ghulam Mohammed Baluch and information secretary Wahab Baluch, both of who were arrested a a number of times and tortured, said Pakistani rulers of the Pakistan Peoples Party were conspiring to repeat the same strategy Islamabad had adopted during the days of the Iranian monarch Reza Shah Pehvlavi.

"They have inked a new pact to conduct a genocide of the Baluch people," the two Baluch leaders said.

They said on the one hand the PPP rulers were issuing statements of apology over the military brutalities against the Baluch people and freeing some of the political activists, but on the other arresting other activists and intensifying the military operations.

The BNF urged the UN and human rights bodies to take notice of the flagrant human rights violations of the Baluch people in Iran and Pakistan.

The two leaders recalled that in the 1973-77 Baluch uprising, Iranian fighter jets had helped Pakistan army attack Baluch freedom fighters in Baluchistan.

According to Iranian press reports, Malik held talks with Iranian officials and exchanged views on the existing insecurity on the Iran-Pakistan border, which has become a cause for concern in Iran.

Iranian media reports said the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan has witnessed a rise in activities by Pakistan-based armed groups, such as Jondullah.

The shadowy Jondullah group, believed backed by the US, has carried out a number of attacks against high-profile government and security officials. In June 2008, the Jondullah kidnapped 16 Iranian police officers at a checkpoint in Sarawan and executed them on camera on December 3.

John Solecki's freedom any moment now

A breakthrough has been achieved in talks the UN representatives have been holding with Baluch leaders and a UN representative in the custody of the so-called Baloch Liberation United Front might be released any moment now, according to Press reports.

Exiled Baluch nationalist leader in the UK and former education minister, Hairbyair Marri, played a key role in helping the UN win freedom for John Solecki.

Solecki was abducted on February 2 and his driver killed in an ambush by the BLUF.

At least seven of the 141 missing women have been identified and Islamabad has conceded to the BLUF demands and will be taking steps to produce the missing persons.

Hyrbyair Marri, has done what the others did not do: defend another national hero Sardar Brahamdagh Bugti, at a meeting with UN representatives in London.

The Inspector General of the Frontier Corps -- the paramilitary force that has illegally occupied Baluchistan--, Major General Saleem Nawaz, had recently lied to the world that Brahamdagh Bugti was behind the abduction of Solecki.

Hairbyair Marri made it clear that the Pakistani government or people in the government like General Nawaz are directly blaming Brahumdagh Bugti and other Baluch leaders for Mr Solecki's abduction. "If the UN also blames Brahumdagh Bugti or any other Baloch leader for John Solecki's abduction, then in such circumstances he cannot mediate," the Baloch Warna web site reported.

But the UN officials assured Marri that they do not believe in General Nawaz's statement and do not blame Brahamdagh Bugti or any other Baluch leader for Solecki's abduction.

The UN representatives, who met Hairbyair Marri in London was led by Paul Stromberg. The UN team told Marri that they were fully aware of the grim situation in Baluchistan, the scene of a bloody insurgency for more than four years now.

"The UN has only contacted you because we regard you as a Baluch leader and a representative of Baluch people in exile," the UN representatives told Marri, 40.