Balochistan was a colony of Britain from 1839 till 1947 and on August 11 Balochistan became an independent country. There was only a 9-month window in history within which Balochistan was independent during 1947. The Indian Independence Act of 1947, which resulted in the independence of British India from British rule and the birth of both India and Pakistan, was passed by the British Parliament in that year. Nevertheless, the Act created circumstances that would lead to apprehensions of Pakistan’s control over Balochistan rather than the desired self-rule.
By Basit Zaheer Baloch
Soon after the partition of India, an army that was composed predominantly of Punjabis and was under the command of a Pakistani general, made a sudden invasion of Balochistan’s Khan Mir Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmadzai, which is more popularly referred to as Ahmad Yar Khan or Khan of Kalat. The military forced him, Yar Khan, to sign the deal for Balochistan to join Pakistan. Moreover, as both Upper and Lower Houses of Balochistan’s parliament (House of Lords and House of Commons respectively) supported the accession and there is no evidence of the document being signed, about 40 million Baloch people consider membership to have been annexed through aggression, that is, by force of the Pakistani army.
Balochistan has endured decades of systemic human rights abuses. Despite its abundant natural resources, the region remains impoverished, and its people continue to suffer. At the core of the Balochistan issue are the stifling of political opposition, ethnic exclusion, and an ongoing cycle of violence that breeds fear and instability. Grave human rights abuses in Balochistan include forced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, curbs on freedom of speech, and economic oppression through the denial of essential livelihoods.
Enforced Disappearances
A wide assortment of mass human rights violations in the region is related to the problem of abductions. The Students, activists, journalists or simply people walk out of their homes and are forced into abductions by the armed forces or their coalition groups without the explanation of any kind and even legal procedures. The family members remain on the edge for an uncertain period of time since they are never provided with information about their near and dear ones or where they have been taken. It Livens up during these periods with the help of Posters and videos, but unfails every time wait and hope never dries up. Repeatedly voiced in the reports submitted to the authorities, administered by international coordination from Human Rights Watch’s and Amnesty International, the demand for accountability, so staunchly accommodates an aid, is thoroughly opposed. The state, on the other, says that it has never aided and abetted the people presented in the reports never to mention the forcible eliminations that have been purportedly termed as counter-insurgency tactics.
Extrajudicial killings
The phenomenon of extrajudicial killings is now common in enforced disappearances. The remains of the disappeared are frequently discovered in obscure locations, some of them having been tortured and executed. The “hit and throw” policy is among the brutalities that have become prominently associated with Balochistan. The operatives include those who have in the past opposed the state or supported Baloch causes. Such mass killings seem to be unrestrained and self-governing, with the absence of any approach towards meaningful investigation and justice for the victims and their families.
Freedom of speech and expression
In Balochistan, freedom of speech is at risk. Journalists who do try to cover regional affairs are intimidated, stalked and murdered. Presses were either blocked from reporting on province-wide affairs, or censored entirely. Local activists and human rights defenders using social media to campaign are often abducted, incarcerated or brutally persecuted. This fear has driven people to either seize the scene themselves, or move out of the area entirely.
Economy suffocation and fishermen’s lives:
Economic pressure is another form of tyranny in Balochistan. Fishermen in Balochistan are often rounded up, arrested at sea and denied the ability to make a living. Not only does this practice undermine their economic viability, it increases coastal poverty. What’s more, arbitrary trade sanctions and embargoes against local traders are paralyzing its economy. Those sorts of measures disproportionately impact on the already disenfranchised local community and highlight their estrangement from the state.
Capitalism at the expense of the locals Balochistan has vast reserves of gas, coal and minerals, but its citizens are the poorest in the country. Both public and private corporations abuse these resources without just distributions to the locals. This economic deprivation is nothing less than colonial slavery in Balochistan.
Conclusion
The “freedom” that Balochistan seeks to attain as an answer to its problems is infused with the ambition for self-determination, economic justice, and cultural heritage. But it also faces deep political, military and geopolitical obstacles. Although most Baloch regard freedom as a required response to their persecution, the journey towards it is difficult and riddled with challenges both domestically and internationally. The situation in Balochistan demands an individual, sophisticated strategy that takes into account the desires of the Baloch as well as the interests of the nation and region at large.
Basit Zaheer Baloch, Political worker, Human Rights activist, and writer.
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