VOTE & VOTE Pakistan! General Election 2018

Photo: Reuters

This election day, we hope for a Peoples’ verdict on Pakistan’s current political situation. A verdict on the system as represented at this time by the army, judiciary, bureaucracy, political parties and the politicians of Pakistan.

We hope to receive this verdict today even when the establishment has and is trying to quell that hope by rigging and trying to influence the outcome of the election. Many candidates of one party have been prevented from participating through unjust legal means and some of their leaders are in jail, workers and candidates of non-religious parties have been killed, harassed and threatened, media has been manipulated, and, some parties are taking unfair advantage of people who are struggling with poverty by offering to buy their votes.

Our hope is alive because People of Pakistan whenever given the chance to use their vote have sided more with those promising to fight for their right to have basic necessities, pleasures and dignities of life than those who support the repressive, biased and unfair interests of the establishment and its agencies, parties and politicians.

Corruption may be a big issue, but it’s NOT the main issue facing Pakistan at this time even when the establishment and their supporters want us to believe that it is. The main issues are of poverty, unequal access to basic services and protections, unequal distribution of wealth and resources, inequalities based on gender, sexual orientation, faith and ability.

Based on this understanding, these are our recommendations.

Vote for BULB – Awami Workers Party (AWP) in all the 22 constituencies for being the only party in this election with a program promising to protect the rights of common people.

Vote for LOUDSPEAKER – Jibran Nasir (Independent) in the one constituency he is contesting for standing on a ‘people-loving’ program, and for showing the strength to not succumb to intimidation and pressures.

Vote for LANTERN – Awami National party (ANP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for giving a secular program, and sustaining violent repression from both the Agencies and the Extremists.

Other than that:

Vote for LION – Pakistan Muslim League (N) throughout the province of Punjab.

Vote for ARROW – Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) wherever you prefer.

All Power To the Voter.
Down with the Establishment, its agencies and organizations.
Yes to Peace and Fairness.
(‘Pakistan is holding its 11th general election since 1970 today. Voting has begun at 85,000 polling stations. About 4,00,000 police officers and 371,388 army personnel have been deployed at the booths as a precautionary security measure.’ Indian Express)

Fauzia Rafique
..

Statement of HRCP Mission to Balochistan

Deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Balochistan, the Human Rights Commission organised a fact-finding mission to the province between 4 & 7 May. The teams visited Khuzdar, Turbat and Quetta, meeting a wide cross-section of people, including government representatives.

At the outset, HRCP would like to express its deep anger and sadness at the killing of two of its activists, Siddique Eido and Naeem Sabir. Siddique Eido went missing in December 2010; his body was recovered from Ormara on 28 April. HRCP had thrice brought the case of his disappearance to the authorities’ attention. Naeem Sabir was shot dead in Khuzdar in March this year.

The key findings of the HRCP mission are:

1. Enforced disappearances continue to be a matter of great concern. The Commission set up to investigate the case of missing persons has been largely ineffective, leading to people’s frustration

2. It has been noted that dead bodies recovered have had signs of extreme torture. 33 bodies have been found in Khuzdar; at a rate of 1 body every 3 days

3. All authority seems to vest with the security forces. The civil administration, elected by the people and meant to represent them, appears to have ceded its powers

4. There is strong evidence of the complicity of security forces in killings which are found to be deliberate. One specific instance: on 1 Dec, 2010, in Kech, the FC started attacking a house at 4 a.m. & continued the attack till 2 p.m the next day, despite the civil administration’s request to the FC Colonel that the family members were willing to get all those present in the house to surrender. They killed 5 members of the family, including a boy. This represents a case of deliberate extra-judicial killings. In some cases, FIRs were registered in Turbat. The FC local commander in Kech agreed to talk only after permission was received from IG FC which was not ultimately received.

5. There was widespread complaint against the attitude of the FC personnel at checkpoints

6. The sectarian attack of 6 May in Quetta is highly condemnable. It happened while the HRCP Mission was present in the city. Six people died and many were injured in spite of the presence of the police nearby and the FC check posts. It is regrettable that findings of inquiry commissions into sectarian killings have not been released. No effort has been made at reconciliation of the communities, either

7. Members of the minority communities narrated the heightened sense of insecurity they are living in. There have been targeted killings, as well as kidnappings for ransom. In some cases, victims were killed in spite of ransom being paid. In some instances, children have been taken out of school.

8. There is migration of some communities, including Hindus, Hazara/Shias, who are being targeted

9. Targeted killings are rampant – these include professionals such as teachers & doctors, as well as traders

While a detailed report will be issued later by HRCP, the following are some main recommendations:

» · The system of enforced disappearances must end; it is a total negation of rule of law that mutilated bodies are found of missing people – instead of their production before courts of law
» · Any operation conducted by law enforcement agencies must be within the framework of rule of law, and under civilian oversight. The provincial government must meet its obligation of ensuring law & order
» · The Frontier Corps should act only in aid of the civilian forces & under civilian control. There should be an immediate end to the complete impunity from the process of law the FC currently enjoys in Balochistan
» · The provincial government, representing all political parties of the province, needs to assert its authority and act in the interest of the people that brought it to power
» · The higher judiciary must instruct the subordinate judiciary to actively pursue cases of human rights violations
» · The police must exercise its responsibility of recording FIRs & actively investigating cases of enforced disappearances, targeted killings and discovery of mutilated bodies, as well as of kidnappings
» · Places of worship of minorities must be protected and freedom of worship be ensured. Members of minority communities should be assured of their safety
» · It should be noted that internal security can never be guaranteed by violation of rights
» · Victims of violence must be compensated immediately
» · The government must ensure protection of all teaching staff and that educational institutions function properly in a peaceful manner, meeting a wide cross-section of people, including government representatives.

At the outset, HRCP would like to express its deep anger and sadness at the killing of two of its activists, Siddique Eido and Naeem Sabir. Siddique Eido went missing in December 2010; his body was recovered from Ormara on 28 April. HRCP had thrice brought the case of his disappearance to the authorities’ attention. Naeem Sabir was shot dead in Khuzdar in March this year.

The key findings of the HRCP mission are:

1. Enforced disappearances continue to be a matter of great concern. The Commission set up to investigate the case of missing persons has been largely ineffective, leading to people’s frustration

2. It has been noted that dead bodies recovered have had signs of extreme torture. 33 bodies have been found in Khuzdar; at a rate of 1 body every 3 days

3. All authority seems to vest with the security forces. The civil administration, elected by the people and meant to represent them, appears to have ceded its powers

4. There is strong evidence of the complicity of security forces in killings which are found to be deliberate. One specific instance: on 1 Dec, 2010, in Kech, the FC started attacking a house at 4 a.m. & continued the attack till 2 p.m the next day, despite the civil administration’s request to the FC Colonel that the family members were willing to get all those present in the house to surrender. They killed 5 members of the family, including a boy. This represents a case of deliberate extra-judicial killings. In some cases, FIRs were registered in Turbat. The FC local commander in Kech agreed to talk only after permission was received from IG FC which was not ultimately received.

5. There was widespread complaint against the attitude of the FC personnel at checkpoints

6. The sectarian attack of 6 May in Quetta is highly condemnable. It happened while the HRCP Mission was present in the city. Six people died and many were injured in spite of the presence of the police nearby and the FC check posts. It is regrettable that findings of inquiry commissions into sectarian killings have not been released. No effort has been made at reconciliation of the communities, either

7. Members of the minority communities narrated the heightened sense of insecurity they are living in. There have been targeted killings, as well as kidnappings for ransom. In some cases, victims were killed in spite of ransom being paid. In some instances, children have been taken out of school.

8. There is migration of some communities, including Hindus, Hazara/Shias, who are being targeted

9. Targeted killings are rampant – these include professionals such as teachers & doctors, as well as traders

While a detailed report will be issued later by HRCP, the following are some main recommendations:

» · The system of enforced disappearances must end; it is a total negation of rule of law that mutilated bodies are found of missing people – instead of their production before courts of law
» · Any operation conducted by law enforcement agencies must be within the framework of rule of law, and under civilian oversight. The provincial government must meet its obligation of ensuring law & order
» · The Frontier Corps should act only in aid of the civilian forces & under civilian control. There should be an immediate end to the complete impunity from the process of law the FC currently enjoys in Balochistan
» · The provincial government, representing all political parties of the province, needs to assert its authority and act in the interest of the people that brought it to power
» · The higher judiciary must instruct the subordinate judiciary to actively pursue cases of human rights violations
» · The police must exercise its responsibility of recording FIRs & actively investigating cases of enforced disappearances, targeted killings and discovery of mutilated bodies, as well as of kidnappings
» · Places of worship of minorities must be protected and freedom of worship be ensured. Members of minority communities should be assured of their safety
» · It should be noted that internal security can never be guaranteed by violation of rights
» · Victims of violence must be compensated immediately
» · The government must ensure protection of all teaching staff and that educational institutions function properly in a peaceful manner

By HRCP, Quetta, 7 May 2011

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PAKISTAN: Involvement of Army and Judiciary in Disappeared Person Cases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-014-2011
January 25, 2011

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN: Army officers acknowledged that a disappeared person was in their custody but the courts failed to recover him

The case of the disappearance of a master tailor exposes how the army is involved and the weaknesses of the judicial system

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received the details of the saga of disappearance of a master tailor who was arrested on two occasions by army personnel and how since October 2001 his whereabouts are unknown. The high officials of the Pakistan army including Corps Commander of Balochistan province, a major general, the governor of the province and above all of them, the chief of the Inter Services Intelligence agency (ISI) had confessed on the holy Quran in 2003 that the victim was in the custody of the ISI and that he would be released after the investigation.

The Judicial Commission to probe the cases of missing persons has also submitted a report to the Supreme Court of Pakistan that Mr. Bangulzai, the master tailor, was in the custody of secret services of Pakistan.

The dilemma is that since 2001 to date, the higher courts, the governments of the federation and Balochistan have failed to recover him because of the involvement of the army and its intelligence agencies in his disappearance.

Mr. Ali Asghar Bangulzai 50, the son of Ghulam Nabi was arrested the first time by secret services on June 1, 2000 from his tailoring shop. After 14 days he was released. After his release it was found that he had lost his memory because of the severe torture he had endured. He could not even recognise his own house where he was born. After his recovery he revealed to his family that he was kept in a torture cell at the basement of army’s Kulli camp situated at Quetta cantonment. During his confinement he was kept blindfolded at all times; his hands were cuffed and he was frequently suspended by the wrists by officials of ISI. This is according to his family members whom he later told them. After his release for almost one year he was not able to run his tailoring shop.

Mr. Bangulzai was the resident of Chaki Shahwani, Sariab Road, Quetta, capital of Balochistan province. His tailor shop was in walking distance from his home. The army was suspicious that many people were visiting his shop and that he must be involved in militant activities.

Again, on October 18, 2001 Bangulzai was arrested along with his friend Mohammad Iqbal by men who came in army vehicles. Iqbal was released after 22 days he told Bangulzai’s family members that he was in an army torture cell. The family tried to contact the local officials and army command office for his whereabouts but they refused to meet the family. In early 2002, a constitutional petition was filed in the Balochistan high court, during hearing Mr. Iqbal recorded his statement that Bangulzai was in Kulli Army camp. He also took part in a press conference in Quetta Press Club with Bangulzai family members with regard to his arrest .The family members also submitted an application to SHO (Station head officer) Sariab Police Station with a request to lodge an FIR (First information report) about his illegal arrest and disappearance but the police refused to file the FIR because of the involvement of military intelligence agencies. The family of the victim also filed an applic ation before the High Court to order police to file the FIR but the court could not help the family.

On April 27, 2002 family members of Bangulzai met the then Major General Abdul Qadir Baloch, who was Corp Commander of the province to inquire about the whereabouts of the Bagulzai. The family was given assurance that they would be informed about his whereabouts. The Corps Commander sent two officers from military intelligence to the house of victim on May 15, 2002 who told the family that Bangulzai was safe and in the custody of the ISI. As the interrogation is completed he would be released but officials refused to allow the family members to meet him.

In the meantime the family members in desperation tried to meet members of the parliament. They were able to meet Mr. Hafiz Hussain Ahmad MNA (Member of National Assembly) who took the family members to meet with the head of ISI (Inter services intelligence) Baluchistan, Brigadier Siddique. During the meeting Brigadier called Colonel Bangush and asked him to bring the file of Bangulzai. After seeing the file Brigadier Siddique congratulated the family and said that Banguzai was in their custody. During different meetings the family members of Bangulzai insisted that they wanted to meet with him but every time they were told that there was no need as he would be released soon.

On October 4, 2003 Brigadier Siddique asked the family members of the victim to provide clothes for him because all arrangements had been made for his release.

For the whole one year family members waited for his release and then they adopted the peaceful protest. Bangulzai’s children left their studies and went on a token hunger strike camp in front of Quetta Press Club for the safe recovery of their father and to record their peaceful protest. The camp was there for one year.

On July 14, 2005 the Baluchistan High Court on the pressure from lawyers and civil society took suo motto notice and directed the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Chilton Town, Mr. Wazeer khan, to investigate and register an FIR for Bangulzai’s disappearance by the state intelligence agencies. During the hearing seven persons recorded their statements that army personnel had arrested him and that had assured them many times he would be released from army custody. As usual on the pressure from army Sariab Police Station Quetta refused to register the FIR.

On March 2006 Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, the member of national assembly, visited the token hunger strike camp of family members of Bangulzai and told the local news papers representatives that the head of ISI (Inter services intelligence) Brigadier Siddique has himself acknowledge before him that Bangulzai is in their custody and also assured him that he will be released soon. Hafiz deplored the attitude of ISI officers for lying and misguiding the people.

On February 2007 the family members of Bangulzai submitted a petition in Supreme Court of Pakistan, in which Hafiz Hussain Ahmad’s written statement was submitted in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

In continuation of their efforts the family members filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan in February 2007 where Mr. Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, the MNA, has submitted his written statement that ISI had assured him several times that Bangulzai is in their custody. The Supreme Court then ordered on January 31, 2010 that the FIR of his disappearance should be filed. The court also directed the police to file the FIRs of other disappeared persons also.

The Joint Investigation Team to probe the cases of disappeared persons, formed by the government of Pakistan, has also submitted a report to the Supreme Court that according to the testimonies of the eye witnesses and other supportive statements Bangulzai was in the custody of state intelligence agencies.

A Judicial commission to probe the cases of the missing persons, formed by the Federal Government on the instruction from Supreme Court has also came to the conclusion in the March 2010 that after recording all the witnesses that Bangulzai was arrested by the Pakistan secret services and that he was in its custody. The report was duly submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

During the hearing of the Judicial Commission, Mr.Hafiz Hussain Ahmad (MNA) has recorded his statement that the Brigadier Siddique, head of the ISI in Balochistan province, has acknowledge to him that Bangulzai was in their custody and soon he would be released. Mohammad Iqbal who was arrested with Bangulzai also recorded his statement that they were arrested by secret services and that Bangulzai was in their custody. The other witnesses as well recorded their statements that Brigadier has several times accepted in front of them, and Corps commander Qadir Baloch sent his two (MI) (Military intelligence) personnel to the victim’s family and said that he was in the custody of an Intelligence Agency.

It is appalling that 11 years after his arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention by the intelligence agencies Bangulzai’s whereabouts are still unknown. None of the institutions and officials who were involved in his disappearance has been put on trial despite the fact that they have admitted his detention 11 years ago! Judges hearing disappearances cases have stated in court that any intelligence officer involved in the disappearance of an individual should be placed on trial but this has never happened. Not one has ever been punished.

In the presence of all the evidence that he was illegally arrested and kept incommunicado in an army torture cell by the ISI, the weakness of the country’s justice system is blatantly evident before the powerful military and security agencies. His disappearance by the military is contravention of the basic rights guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan for example:

Article 4 — The right of individuals to be dealt with by law, Article 10–safe guards as to arrest and detention — the arrested person should be produced within 24 of his arrest before the magistrate, Article 14 — no person should be tortured, Article 15 — freedom of movement and Article 25- all citizens are equal before the law.

The case of Bangulzai is a clear demonstration that the laws of the country do not apply to the military and intelligence agencies. When it comes to providing justice to the ordinary citizen in the face of these institutions the judiciary remains silent.

The Asian Human Rights Commission urges that Mr. Bangulzai should be released immediately from the captivity by the army and its intelligence agencies and that the officials responsible for this arrest and disappearance are prosecuted. Furthermore, the compensation must be paid to his family for the ordeal suffered by him and his family members.

Asian Human Rights Commission
#701A Westley Square,
48 Hoi Yuen Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon,
Hongkong S.A.R.
Tel: +(852) – 2698-6339
Fax: +(852) – 2698-6367

URL: humanrights.asia
twitter/youtube/facebook: humanrightsasia

Baluchistan 2010: Chronology of atrocities carried out by Pakistan Govt

The following is a detailed report compiled by a community-based organization on human rights violations against Baloch people in Pakistan and Iran. The report provides most valuable information, in a chronological order, for human rights activists around the world.
It is our hope that SAAGAR.ORG will also provide us with a detailed report on atrocities against Baloch women carried out by prevalent Baloch value systems.

January 2010
3rd:
Three Balochs, namely Saeed Kardi, Abdul Jalil Mir Balochzai and Jabir Yarmohammedzai were abducted from Kash, Iranian Occupied Balochistan.
4th:
The Voice for Missing Baloch Person and family members have besieged the Balochistan Assembly. As a protest against illegal disappearances.
7th:
Eight Balochs have been killed in an indiscriminate firing incident in Hassan Lashkari Village (a Baloch populated area) in Karachi by a militant ally of Pakistan government M.Q.M. Family members of the murdered men encircled the Sindh CM house. And more than 50 Balochs were arrested after theses incidents.
11th:
Committee of Balochistan Human Rights Activists in [Iran] has reported that A number of political prisoners sentenced to death in Balochistan. The group said that the accurate number of people sentence to death is not available but it is believed that dozens Baloch have been awarded sentences.
Few of them were:
– Abdul Rahman Naruee S/O Khalqdad
– Abed Gwahramzahi
– Abdul Hamid Regi S/O Azaad Regi
– Abduljalil Regi S/O Jan Mohammad Regi
– Nasser S/O Shahbaksh
– Mahmoud Regi S/O Nazar
15th:
Three Balochs were injured due to the indiscriminate firing of Coast Guards of Pakistan near Pishkan’s coastal area.
15th:
Pakistani FC (frontier Corps) have open indiscriminate fire on a peaceful rally of Baloch National Front (BNF) as a result two BSO (Azaad) members have been killed and several others seriously injured. The seriously injured Baloch activists Liaqat Baloch, Zafar Baloch, Inayat Baloch and Farid Baloch have been shifted to hospital for immediate treatment. The Martyred Baloch students have been named as Ali Dost Baloch and Sadam Baloch (who is said be only 14 years old) . The Baloch students were protesting against the killings of innocent Baloch in Karachi. BNF had given the call for wheel jam and shutter down strike on 15 January.
21st:
Balochistan Human Rights activists Associations (Iranian occupied Balochistan) have reported that a 26 year old Baloch activist Mr Allah Nazar Baloch has been executed in the City of Khash prison.
23rd:
Khodayar Rahmat-Zehi-Shahnavazi, 35, executed by Iran after spending 4 years in prison.
25th:
The Pakistan government decided to build a Naval Base in one of the historical regions of Gwader known as“KALMAT CHUNDI HORE”, 30,000 Kilometers area of the said region have been included to the map of Naval Base. A large number of residents of the region had to shift to other locations because of the government’s decision; thousands of fishermen lost their jobs as their work areas were occupied by Pakistan Navy.
25th:
BSO (Azaad) students attacked in Punjab Sahiwal.

February 2010
2nd:
Quetta: Mother of Shah Nawaz Marri in press conference revealed that her son has been abducted by Pakistani intelligence agencies at gun point.
2nd:
Baloch Human Right Council of [Canada] wrote a letter to Mr Ban Ki Moon the secretary General of the UN regarding the human rights abuses in Balochistan.
3rd:
Turbat/Pasni: High schools Blangor students took to streets against the drug dealers in Pasni and adjourning areas. The police baton charged and shot live rounds to disperse the demonstrations injuring 3 students.
4th:
Makuran: – A complete shutter-down and Wheel jam strike was observed in Kech (Makran) belt of Balochistan on Thursday on B.N.F.’s call against Frontier Corps (FC) check posts and delay in recovery & release of Baloch abducted persons, and forced allotment of Baloch peoples’ lands to Pakistan Navy in Ormara’s Kalmat region.
5th:
Wadh:The management of a hotel in Wadh were harassed and physical violence was committed against the workers by Pakistan army for asking the head of the convoy to pay the bill.
5th:
Quetta: In separate press statements the relatives of Attaullah Baloch, Qabeer Baloch, Mushtaq Baloch, Ali Asghar Bangulzai Baloch and Zakir Majeed Baloch have expressed grave fear that their loved one might have been harmed “physically eliminated” by the Pakistani intelligence agencies (MI and ISI).
5th:
Asian Human Rights Commission reported that the life of Zakir Majeed, Central Vice Chairman BSO Azaad is in extreme danger in the torture cells of Pakistan.
5th:
Mand: Pakistan army raided the house of Martyred Leader Ghulaam Muhammed and took his family hostage and harassed them.
9th:
Quetta: Baloch National Voice, a Baloch pro-independent organization complied and released a graphic list of 1086 Baloch abducted political activists.
9th:
Interfaith International, representing Baloch issue in United Nations was suspended.
13th:
A complete wheel jam and shutter down strike was observed in several cities of Balochistan including Kalat, Mastung, Kadh-Kocha, Mongchar and other areas on B.N.F.’s call against illegal abductions and harassment of Baloch students.
15th:
Members of B.S.O. (Azaad) Waseem Baloch and Najeeb Baloch were nominated to be involved in a bomb blast by a Major of Pakistan army without substantial evidence to support his claim.
18th:
Quetta: Action Committee for affected people Gurandani, darbela South and North Sarbander Gwader Allah Bux Baloch, Mahmood, Nasir Karim Baloch and others requested international organizations to take notice of Pakistan government’s occupation on their ancestral lands.
19th:
Frail mother of BRP’s information secretary Mr Jalil Reki appealed to the UN, International Red Cross and Asian Human Rights commission to intervene and play their role for the release of thousands of Baloch abducted activists.
19th:
Noshki: Activists of BRP (Baloch Republican Party) observed a protest rally against the sentencing Haji Jhanzeb and Zufliqar to ten years each and registering cases against another eleven members of the party.
20th:
Students attacked in punjab.
20th:
Iran executed a Baloch prisoner, Haji Dadollah Moradzehi, after eight months of imprisonment in the city of Zahedan. Meanwhile, Ahmad-Reza Rashidi, the Deputy Public Prosecutor in Ahvaz, revealed sentences for 38 executions and retributions as well as 4 ruthless amputations in Ahvaz since March 2009.
21st:
Family members and hundreds of other Baloch women and children took to streets against the abduction of thousands of Baloch political activists. They protested for several hours on Adalat road Quetta and insisted to go the Governor House but the Pakistani security forces did not allow them.
23rd:
Pakistan decided to build a second naval base in the region of Gwadar, known as Kalmat Chundi Hore. 30,000 acres of land was set aside for the proposed naval base resulting in displacement of thousands of people.
23rd:
British parliament notifies and shows concern on the human rights abuses in Pakistani Occupied Balochistan.
27th:
The aged mother of Kabeer Baloch appeals international organizations to get his son released who was abducted in March 2009 by Pakistan.

March 2010
1st:
Central spokesman of Baloch Bar feared that Abdul Malik Regi will also be executed if the UN did not intervene.
1st:
Pakistan attacks a cultural event organized by B.S.O. (Azaad) resulting in death of Junaid Baloch and Sikander Baloch, injuring more than 24, icluding Ayub, Malik Zain, Zulfiqar, Mujtaba, Bilawal, Gul Hassan, Abdul Haq, Shahnawaz ,Jaasim, Ubaidullah,Zafar Iqbal, Noor Muhammad, Qurban, Lecturer Waqar Ahmed, SHoaib, Jaasim, Shakeel Ahmed, Saeed Ahmed, Waseem Ul Ghani, Umar Jan, Beebagr, Nasrullah.
2nd:
Pakistan security forces raided a village in Ghirsani area of Kohlu Marri agency in Balochistan, and open indiscriminate fire. Seven members of the same family have been arrested for refusing to collaborate with Pakistan’s authorities to exploit the natural resources in Chamaling area. The abducted men have been named as Hyrat Khan S/O Shakal, Shakal S/O Alihan, Raheem Khan S/O Dost Mohammad, Rasool Khan S/O Dost Mohammad, Imam Bux S/O Dur Mohammd, Allah Bux S/O Dur Mohammad and Muala Bux S/O Dur Mohammd.
2nd:
A complete shutter down and wheel jam was observed in Khuzdar, Wadh, Naal and adjoining areas against the Khuzdar cultural program incident.
6th:
Shutter down and wheel jam protest was observed all over Balochistan for the third successive day against Khuzdar incident on B.S.O. Azaad’s call.
14th:
Baloch, Sindhi and other International Human Rights activists came together to address a conference and to protest against Pakistan’s atrocities in Sindh and Balochistan, on the 13th Session of the Human rights Council in Geneva.
15th:
Over two dozens relatives of various Baloch missing persons started a long march from the Shall (Quetta) to Islamabad to press the Pakistan for an early recovery missing people.
15th:
Pakistan announced to sentence Banok Karima Baloch Vice Chairperson B.S.O. (Azaad), Saeeda Baloch, Saima Baloch and Peer Jan Baloch for five years.
17th:
Majeed Baloch (junior) was brutally murdered by Pakistan’s decadent security forces in Shall.
19th:
Turbat: Barkat S/O Mulla Ibrahim and Walid S/O Yousaf Baloch, residents of Zamran region of Kech district have been murdered by Iranian security forces’ firing.
23rd:
B.S.O. (Azaad) organised three days hunger strike in front of Karachi press club to demand the immediate recovery of abducted Baloch student and political activists, and against the illegal occupation of Balochistan.
27th:
Complete strike all over Balochistan and a protest was held in U.K. to mark the day when Pakistan occupied Balochistan in 1948.
29th:
Yar Khan Marri, Sikandar Marri, Bhawal Marri and Abdul Majeed Marri were abducted by Pakistan while they were on thier way back to look for thier abducted relative Murad Khan Marri.

April 2010
2nd:
Police and Coast guards combinedly broke into the houses of the locals in Pasni, arresting six people including a 18 year old student Saghir Bashir. The locals were harrassed and physically assaulted Baloch women. Others who were arrested were Nizam Nazar, Amir Buksh, Usman, Adnan, SherJan and Dilbar.
2nd:
BNM activist Mahboob Wadhela Baloch, son of Mir Abdul Nabi Bangulzai, Bohair Bangolzai abducted by Pakistan army.
3rd:
First anniversary of the martyrs of Murghaap was observed throughout Balochistan.
4th:
Military offensive in severeal areas of Dera Bugti including Mero, Shah Poor, Chattar Flanji, Suri, Khatan, Shahzain and Bandarag, where children and women were harrassed and assaulted by Pakistan army.
5th:
Family of Ghaffar Langov set up a token hunger strike protest in front of Quetta Press Club and family, friends and party colleagues of Mahboob Wadhela Baloch have demanded his immediate release.
7th:
Pakistan’s security forces shot dead a political activist Abdul Haq Samalani in Naal, Khuzdar.
8th:
Five Balochs namely Kamal Khan Marri, Laeya Marri, Lala Marri and Lal Mohammd Marri were abducted by Pakistan on Hazar Ganjo road.
10th:
A shutter down protest was observed in Gawader against the abductions of Baloch political activists.
10th:
Sher Mohammad son of Mirza Shah Bux Baloch was killed in Zahidan prison by Iran.
11th:
A Baloch journalist along with five colleagues was abducted by Pakistan army from Turbat.
13th:
Murad Khan Marri, who remained incommunicado for nine months and was brought into the limelight by the Frontier Corp (FC), disappeared again while in the custody of FC.
15th:
Two young girls, both sisters, aged 11 and 13, were severely injured in an acid attack in Dalbandin City, district Chaghai, Balochistan. The attack was carried out by Pakistan’s secret agencies to promote religious violence in Balochistan.
17th:
Iran hanged two Balochs in southern city of Kerman, named Feizollah and Nazar Baloch.
19th:
Baloch students were assaulted by a group of Punjabi students in Bahawalpur, resulting in severe injuries to Shabir Baloch, Raza Ali Marri and Shahab Baloch.
20th:
Pakistan unleashed a massive search operation in Baloch-populated localities of Quetta city, killing the mother of a Baloch political activist and rounding up around two hundred people hailing from various spheres of life.
25th:
Rahim Baloch was shot dead by police caliming him to be a terrorist and hence not providing any proves to support thier claim.
26th:
Quetta Police arrested 42 Balochs from Sariab area without mentioning the reasons behind the arrests.
26th:
Pakistani Military started a military operation in Talli and surrounding areas, near Sibi. Military poisoned the water puddles, looted of valuables from people’s houses and tryied to kidnap Baloch women during the operation.
29th:
Three little girls were victimised of acid attacks in the continuation of Pakistan’s policies to promote religious violence in Balochistan.
30th:
Mach region’s tribal and social leaders Habib Marri and Malook Marri were abducted by Pakistan army while they on their way to appear in ATF (Anti Terrorist Force) court in Sibi.

May 2010
7th:
Three Balochs were injured due to firing by the Iranian Security Forces (SF) in Talab Area.
7th:
Shabir Sheikh CCPO Quetta talking to newsmen after the inauguration of Police Child Protection Centre at Jinnah Town said the only solution to the problem of target killing “is target killing in retaliation.”
9th:
Torture cell discovered in Dera Bugti which is being supervised by Pakistan and holds more than 200 Balochs.
10th:
Farooq Mengal, 30, abducted from luck pass area by Pakistan army.
11th:
Farmers in Balochistan observed a strike against prolonged power cuts, due to which thier crops were destroyed.
13th:
The family of Zakir Majeed B.S.O. (Azaad) Senior vice chairman from Balochistan urged United Nations to take notice of the abduction of Zakir and other abducted Balochs.
15th:
The Pakistani Taliban supported by Pakistan army sent threatening letters to schools in Balochistan areas bordering Iran and Afghanistan, which has forced the institutions to shut down.
19th:
A shutterdown strike was observed in Balochistan against the arrest of Baloch students by the police from Balochistan university.
20th:
Baloch National Voice strongly condemned the Quetta jail administration and ATF for the mistreatment and torture of Baluch pro-independent leaders Wahid Qambar Baluch, Mir Qadir Baluch and Haji Murad Khan Marri.
21st:
Ishfaq Mullazai, 25, abducted by Pakistan army from Sariyab, Quetta.
21st:
Pakistan refuses to allow United States to open a consulate in Quetta.
23rd:
A so called judicial commission constituted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan refused to enrol the statement of Zakir Majeed Baloch’s relatives making an excuse that his name was not on the list of disappeared people.
24th:
Abdolhamid Rigi, a political prisoner who endured a long period of pressure and torture in Iranian regime’s jails, was hanged in Zahedan prison.
24th:
As part of the ‘International Struggle Week Against Disappearances’, ICAD held a very detailed and informative public meeting on the subject of ‘Disappearances, Impunity and Global Justice’ in SOAS University in London on Saturday 22nd May. The abductions in Balochistan were highlighted in the meeting.
24th:
Dr Naseem Baluch along with his two friend Yaseen Baluch and Elyas Baluch was whisked away by Pakistani security forces from Bolan Mendical College Quetta.
28th:
Shutter down protest all over Balochistan and a protest in Washington DC against the nuclear explosion carried out in Balochistan.
30th:
Police shot dead a political activist Naseer Langov and injured five others , as it fired on a protest against the indiscriminate arrests in Balochistan.
30th:
ICAD (UK section) marked the last day of “International Struggle Week again Disappearance” by holding a Vigil in front of Westminster Cathedral here on Saturday afternoon. The participants of the Vigil held pictures of force-disappeared people from different countries including Latin America, Colombia, Kurdistan (Turky) and Baluchistan.
31st:
Doctors and Para-medics have established a protest camp against the abductions and extra judicial killings of their fellow doctors by Pakistani government forces.
31st:
The token hunger strike protest of Zakir Majeed’s family continues for the 18th day for discovery and release of Mr. Majeed, a senior vice chairman of BSO-azaad. Meanwhile talking to newsmen the sister of Zakir Majeed Baluch has said that her brother was abducted on 8 June 2009 by the intelligence agencies of Pakistan from Mastung, Baluchistan. “The aim of our porters is my brother’s recover, release and to seek justice, but the agents of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have started to warn us of dire consequences; they are threatening harm us”.

June 2010
1st:
Pakistani armed forces launched a massive military operation in Dasht and Gawader with the hardcore conventional forces, backed by Jet fighters, helicopters, tanks and armored vehicles.
2nd:
The Pakistani military has intensified its military offensives in the surrounding areas of Kech and Gwader. Military carried out a grand assault in the Mountainous areas of Dasht Baluchistan, including Talar, Katerinz, Saeyjee, Darrwar, Thump. Pakistan army’s fighter planes bombed the mountainous area between Thump and Blangoor which is called Gwanzag Koh. Villages and huts were affected by the bombings and hundreds of people were forces to leave thier ancestral areas.
6th:
A woman was killed and more than a dozen others wounded Saturday as over 80 mud houses were damaged in various areas of Balochistan due to heavy rains caused by cyclone Phet . At least 250,000 people are believed to be stuck in water in the coastal region of Balochistan. Serious diseases spread throughout the area as Pakistan did not allowed NGO’s to enter Balochistan for relief work.
8th:
27th day of Zakir’s Majeed’s family’s continuous token hunger strike camp in front of Karachi press club.
11th:
The former nazim of Kohlu district Kamal Khan Marri has said that his brother Sorab Khan Marri had been whisked away by the secrete agencies and has still not been released after lapse of 9 months.
11th:
The Baloch Bar Association boycotted court proceedings and observed a ‘black day’ on Pakistan’s Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s arrival in Baluchistan on Friday. The lawyers did so to register their protest against the court’s inability to recover Baloch missing persons.
11th:
Members of Baluch Students Organization Azaad Abdul Sattar Baluch and Bebagr Baluch were martyred and Mehrullah Baluch was severely injured in the area of Khoshak, Khuzdar due to an planned assault by Pakistan army.
18th:
Baloch Students Organization (BSO-Azad) burnt hundreds of Pakistan Studies text books in different parts of Balochistan and called for Baloch teachers to silently support the boycott by refusing to teach Pakistan studies.
19th:
Lawyers fraternity boycotted courts in protest against the abduction of a lawyer Munir Mirwari and threatened that if he was not released immediately they would go on indefinite strike.
20th:
Abdul Mailk Riegi was murdered by Iran without any trial.
21st:
The family members of Zakir Majeed Baloch, Vice Chairman of Baloch Students Organization (BSO), established thier hunger strike in Quetta.
23rd:
Hundreds of doctors belonging to different hospitals took out a protest rally in Shall (Quetta) and castigated the kidnapping of three doctors.
25th:
Balochs in Norway, Karachi and Balochistan protested against Pakistan on the International Day Against Torture.
28th:
Pakistan continuously refused to issue visa to the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances [AFAD] to go to Pakistan and meet with family members of the victims in Balochistan.

July 2010
1st:
Coordinator of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, Shams Baloch was abducted from Luckpass area by Pakistan army while he was accompanying his mother for her medical treatment due to serious illness.
2nd:
More than 20 families of abducted Balochs staged a protest in front of Balochistan High Court against its unwillingness to take the cases of abducted Baloch.
3rd:
Baloch youth Faiz Ullah Baloch was shot dead by Pakistan army, and his companions Mange Khan Baloch and Bahadur Baloch were abducted from Hazar Ghanji.
12th:
Baloch lawyers observed strike in Quetta, Kalat, Mastung, Dasht, Surab, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Uthal, Pasni, Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Kharan, Chagai, Naushki, Sibi, Dera Allahyar, Dera Murad Jamali, Usta Mohammad and some other parts of Balochistan against the non recovery of abducted Balochs.
13th:
Habib Jalib Baloch shot dead by Pakistan intelligence agencies even though he belonged to a pro Pakistan political party.
13th:
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) feared that Iranian authorities’ intent to execute sixteen year old Baloch, Mohammad Saber Malek Raisi, who would become the latest minor to join Tehran’s death row.
14th:
Many shops which were owned by Baloch dwellers were set ablaze by Iranian revolutionary guards in Zahedan.
25th:
Najeeb Langov and Faizullah Baluch were tortured to death by Pakistan army.
25th:
Balochistan’s national newspaper Tawar receives threats by intelligence agencies, and its reporters were threatened to be killed if they do not stop reporting the human rights violations by Pakistan.
25th:
Ramzan Baloch, a member of Baloch national Movement was abducted from the Uthal area near to Karachi zero point by Pakistan army.
25th:
Interior Minister of Pakistan Rehman Malik admits that the Norwegian citizen Ehsan Arjemandi is held by Pakistan.
26th:
Ishfaq Mullazai and Farooq mengal were tortured to death by Pakistan army and their mutilated bodies were thrown at Qambarani road Quetta.

August 2010
5th:
Member of Zonal Cabinet of Peshawar zone of B.S.O. (Azaad) Tariq Baloch was abducted from Quetta.
4th:
Omer Baloch and Arz Muhammed Baloch Abducted from Quetta.
6th:
Two bullet riddled bodies of “Baloch missing persons” found from Brewery Road of Quetta. They were identified as Bahar Khan Bangulzai and Ghaulam Qadir Marri and were previously kidnapped by Pakistan army.
11th:
Baloch Day Celebrated in the European Parliament
11th:
Nazeer Ahmed Baloch, 25, was tortured to death by Pakistan army, he was previously kept in the secret torture cells of Pakistan.
11th:
The body of Azizullah Baloch was found from the bypass, he was tortured to death by Pakistan army.
14th:
Relatives of missing persons staged a protest demonstration at Manan Chowk of Quetta and demanded early and safe recovery of the abducted Balochs.
18th:
Sardar Nadel Jan Ghichki shot dead by Pakistan’s secret agencies.
19th:
Zaman Khan Marri abducted from Quetta and Tahir Muhammed from Koshak area of Khuzdar by Pakistan army.
23rd:
Pakistan army’s covert team named Sipah Shuhdae Balochistan threatens the Baloch outside Balochistan to stop their activities or they would target them where ever they are.
24th:
Baloch areas affected by Flood were struggling for survival as the international funds were only being spent on Punjabi populated areas.
24th:
Omer Baloch and Arz Muhammed Baloch tortured to death by Pakistan army, and their dead bodies were thrown in Qambarani road in Killi Barov, Quetta.
26th:
A shutter down strike is being observed in Quetta and several other parts of Balochistan o on the occasion of the fourth death anniversary of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti who was murdered by Pakistan army.
26th:
Tahir Muhammad was tortured to death and his body was thrown in Khuzdar.
28th:
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) shows concern on the inaction of Pakistan regarding abducted Balochs.

September 2010
2nd:
No way to tell which is worse Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Balochistan , says Amnesty official.
2nd:
The Baloch Bar Association (BBA) observed a Balochistan-wide boycott to protest against the non-recovery of missing persons and kidnapping of two fellow lawyers, Munir Ahmed Mirwani and Zaman Mari.
3rd:
Bahram Baluch, a student of Baluchistan University abducted from compound of Baluchistan University, Quetta by Pakistan army.
4th:
Pakistan Army opened indiscriminate fire on a peaceful rally in Hub Baluchistan; as a result of the firing a 13 year-old Baluch student Mohammad Jan Marri was shot dead.
6th:
President of BRP Gawader Zone Arif Rehman was abducted by Pakistan army from Karachi.
6th:
International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons held a protest in London against enforced-disappearances of Baluch student and political activists.
6th:
Zaman Khan Marri tortured to death by Pakistan army, his body was thrown in a nearby town of Mastung.
8th:
Canadian Baloch step up to the plate to help victims of enforced disappearances
8th:
Imran Baloch, member of B.S.O. (Azaad) abducted by Pakistan army from Khuzdar. General public gave a strong reaction and RCD highway was blocked for several hours.
11th:
Ex Zonal president of B.S.O. (Azaad) Zakir Bangulzai abducted from Mastung by Pakistan.
11th:
Families of missing Balochs protest against the non recovery of abducted Balochs on “Eid Day”.
13th:
Ali Marri was tortured to death by Pakistan and his body was found where two other tortured bodies of victims of enforced disappearances arrived at the Bolan Medical College Hospital in Quetta.
13th:
The Tootak zone press secretary of the Baloch Students Organization Azad Asif Baloch, and his relative Zaffar Baloch were abducted by Pakistan army.
14th:
Two Baloch flood victims, including a pregnant woman and a child, sustained bullet injuries when personnel of Pakistan army fired shots in order to disperse a crowd that had gathered to fetch water at a relief camp near Badini Cross in Quetta
15th:
An all out military operation was launched in Dera Bugti and adjacent areas by Pakistani occupying forces with sophisticated weapons.
16th:
Strike observed in Balochistan on B.S.O. (Azaad)’s call against the torture murder tactic of Pakistan and enforced disappearances.
17th:
Dr Alla Nizar’s Appealsto World Community to pay attention on war crimes of Pakistan.
17th:
A Balochi music album by Hameed Sharif was banned and the albums were burnt by Pakistan army in Panjgur.
18th:
13 year old Saeed Baloch, assaulted by Pakistan army in Tump.
19th:
At least 0.2 million people of Dera Bugti and Kohlu, displaced after army operation couple of years back and got shelter in the bordering areas of Sindh and Punjab, are remain homeless as their makeshifts have been inundated due to devastating floods, reported B.U.C..
19th:
Pakistan-Iran Joint Military Operation in Mand Balochistan, two Balochs Tariq and Abdullah were martyred. The locals were besieged in their houses during the operation and many of them were harassed by the Pakistan and Iranian forces.
23rd:
Faqeer Mohammad Shawani abducted by Pakistan army from Mastung.
24th:
Baloch lawyer Ali Sher Kurd tortured to death by Pakistan army.
25th:
Pakistani security forces attacked the ‘’Ghulam Pirenz’’ village of Lehri tribe in Mastung area of Balochistan, as a result of firing five women badly injured, two got killed including a six months old baby. Security forces also entered in the houses , women and children being harassed and badly tortured. Dozens of houses, vehicles were set on fire, as a result all appliances and furniture completely damaged. The security forces also robbed the jewelries and cash money from the houses and shops. Number of cars and motorbikes taken away by FC, while forces arrested the 23 villagers and all shifted to the unknown location.
26th:
Commenting on the ongoing military operation by Pakistani and Iranian forces in the Western border of Balochistan, Doda Baloch warned if these forces spread their military operation to Eastern Balochistan, BLF will spread its armed activities to Western Balochistan.
27th:
Baloch Student Organisation (Azaad) staged a protest on Monday at National Press Club (NPC) to condemn the abductions of 8,000 Baloch activists, torture and subsequent murder of Ali Sher Kurd, a Baloch lawyer, writer and poet. The Islamabad based journalists boycotted the protest and used abusive language against the Baloch protesters. The capital police and journalists jointly tortured the Baloch students, several of them badly injured, later police lodged FIR against all of the student protesters.
28th:
The sister of Zakir Majeed Baloch after engaging herself for 139 days in hunger strike for the recovery of her brother has finally announced the end of their protest as she claimed that the hunger strike which was meant for the recovery of her brother and thousand others receive no approach from any state institution.
29th:
Indiscriminate firing of Pakistan army in Panjgur resulted in the death of a shopkeeper Ateeq s/o Dost Mohammad and a passerby kareem Baloch was injured.
30th:
Pakistan army did a house to house search in Dera bugti, looting the valuables of the locals and arresting several who resisted. While children and women were harrassed.

October 2010
1st:
Shakar Baloch and Sami Baloch, members of Baloch Student Organisations(AZAD) Khuzdar zone, abducted by Pakistan Army from Khuzdar. Similarly Sohbat Khan Marri and Arzi Marri were abducted by Pakistan Army from Hub City.
3rd:
Baloch Republican party’s former president of district Gwadar Ahmed Dad Baloch was abducted by Pakistan Army from Gwadar zero point.
8th:
Aslam Baloch resident of Makola-Kalmat some 80km from Pasni, was abducted by Pakistan’s coast guards.
10th:
A Member of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, Yasin Muhammad Shahi Baloch was gunned by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies near Roshare Kalat.
13th:
A Central Committee member of Balochistan National Party Mir Noor-Ud-Din Meengal was murdered in Ghareeb Abad area of Kalat.
13th:
Massive Bombardment and Operation was Conducted over the Civilian Population of Mashkay Balochistan.
14th:
Pakistani atrocities were continued in Mashkay Balochistan,public properties set ablaze by occupying forces.
14th:
Members of Baloch Student Organization (Azaad)Gwadar zone Sameer Baloch and Yasir Baloch were abducted by Pakistan army from ‘’Surbandar’’ area of Gwadar.
16th:
In the region of Mashkay Pakistan army continued the operation where in-between 50 houses of Baloch populations were burned down and several houses were looted. Bashir Ahmed Baloch, a tailor and his two sons of aged 9 and 13 were abducted from Wahejo, a small town in Mashkay and school teacher Raza Mohammed Baloch, his relatives Adam Baloch, Aziz Baloch, Rasool Bux Baloch and Ibrahim Baloch were also abducted.
16th:
The son of a former city nazim was killed in an acid attack in Kharan, some 350 kilometres from Quetta.
17th:
B.S.O. (Azaad) announces to boycott print and electronice media on its biasness and silence on the Mashkay operation.
18th:
13 year old member of B.S.O. (Azaad) Majeed Baloch abducted from Khuzdar.
19th:
More than 24 Balochs injured or murdered by Pakistan’s militant ally M.Q.M. to divert attention from Mashkay operation.
20th:
UK Border Agency denied Hyrbyair Marri’s preliminary application for asylum in the UK
21st:
Zahoor Baloch, member of B.S.O. (Azaad) and Faqeer Muhammed Shahwani were tortured to death by Pakistan army and their bodies were dumped in the nearby areas of Mastung.
22nd:
Following the three day call of shutter down by BSO Azaad, the banks reacted very positively by closing down their branches in Gwadar on the 3rd day too. This protest was against the brutal killings and kidnapping of Baloch political and social activists by the Pakistan.
23rd:
The relatives and well-wishers of a missing person, Najeeb Qambarani, took out a rally in Quetta to condemn his illegal arrest, allegedly by the security forces.
24th:
13 year old Majeed Baloch, tortured to death by Pakistan army.
24th:
Three members of BSO (Azad) abducted from Karachi namely Tariq Kareem Baloch, Noman Baloch, and Yaseen Baloch.
26th:
Amnesty International urged Pakistan to investigate murder and torture of Baloch activists.
27th:
School teacher Saifullah Qalandarani and his younger brother Anwaar Ul Haq Qalandarani abducted from their home in Khuzdar by Pakistan Army.
27th:
Journelist Lala Hameed S/o Hayatan Baloch also president of Baloch National Movement (Gwadar Zone) was abducted by Pakistan army on his way from Dasht to Gawader.
29th:
Member of Organizing Committee Multan Zone of B.S.O. Azaad, Asim Kareem Baloch was abducted from Khuzdar.
31st:
Arif Noor Baloch was abducted by Pakistan Army from Karachi.

November 2010
1st:
Asim Kareem Baloch was tortured to death by Pakistan army.
2nd:
Demonstration held for recovery of Arif Baloch, while Police refused to lodge the FIR.
6th:
BNM senior member Naseer Kamalan is abducted by Pakistan Army from Karwat area of Gwader.
6th:
B.S.O.(Azaad) rejected police accusations against Sikander and Suleman Baloch, members of B.S.O. (Azaad). Both were arrested for having a book on history of Balochistan written by Mir Gul Khan Naseer.
7th:
Nisar Ahmed, brother of the martyred leader Rasool Bux Mengal was abducted by Pakistan army from Clifton, Karachi.
8th:
Protest Against Forced-Disappearances In Balochistan was held in London.
8th:
A shutter-down and wheel-jam strike was observed all over in Balochistan, in response to a strike call by Baloch Students Organization (Azaad) over abductions and killings of missing persons by Pakistan.
8th:
Conference on Enforced Disappearances in Balochistan was held in Geneva.
12th:
It was revealed that thousands of acres of land in Lasbela district belonging to the local inhabitants were sold to Arab princes by Pakistan’s army personals without the consent of the actual owners.
14th:
Tariq Taheer, the Son of a poet of Balochi language and a social worker from Tanzag was abducted by Pakistan army last night near Gwader at Zero Point.
17th:
Four bodies riddled with bullets and terrible signs torture were found in different locations of Balochistan. Two of them were identified as Basheer Ahmad Baloch and Sami Baloch. Two more bodies have reportedly been found in Mastung and Turbat who have not been identified yet. Victims identified as Lala Hamid Baloch of BNM Gwadar while another one identified as Hamid Ismail Baloch who is resident of Turbat. This was the day of Eid and Pakistan army claimed this to be the eid gift for Baloch nation.
19th:
Hasmat Ullah, Ahmed Ismail, Nasr Ullah Baloch were tortured to death by Pakistan army and their bodies were dumped in different areas of Balochistan.
20th:
Balochistan completely shuts to mark Balaach Marri’s third martyrdom anniversary.
23rd:
6 mutilated bodies were found near Quetta, and by dressing they were identified as Balochs but the bodies were not recognizable.
24th:
Shahnawaz Baloch, a BNM leader, was shot dead by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies in Ormara.
26th:
Pakistan army abducted BSO(Azaad)’s C.C. member Qambar Chakar along with his cousin Irshad Nasir from Turbat.
30th:
Three Balochs were shot dead by the Iranian coastguards near a coastal township in Iranian occupied Balochistan.

December 2010
1st:
Mutilated and decomposed dead body of Waheed Qambrani was recovered from Raje some 20km from Kalat city, he was abducted by Pakistan army.
1st:
Pakistan’s forces attacked house of a Baloch notable Ayub Ghichki, five innocent Balochs were martyred, namely as Murad Jan Gichki, Zubair Gichki, Hammal Gichki, Pullok Baloch and Sattar Baloch.
2nd:
Balochistan shuts to protest against the killing of five Baloch youths by Pakistan.
4th:
Journalists staged a protest demonstration in Chathar against the attack on Muhammed Luqman, a journalist by Pakistan army.
5th:
Pakistan’s secret agencies attacked religious clerics in Mashkay to promote religious violence in Balochistan.
7th:
Balochistan is the most dangerous place for Journalists in Pakistan said Gwader Press Club.
10th:
Relatives and friends of missing persons, including women and children, staged a protest demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club, and demanded that the United Nations and humanitarian organizations should take notice of the issue.
11th:
Baloch Student Organization (Azaad)’s (BSO-A) central committee member, comrade Qayum Baloch along with his friend was abducted from Gwader by intelligence agencies of Pakistan.
12th:
Complete strike in Balochistan against arrest of BSO (Azaad) leaders.
14th:
Strike against BSO leader’s arrest enters fourth day, while FC started a house-to-house search in Gwadar.
15th:
Political activist Rais Ali Ahmed Langou was gunned down in Kalat by Pakistan’s secret agencies.
16th:
Relatives of missing people announced that they would establish a camp before the Karachi Press Club to record their protest with humanitarian organizations. This was the fifth consecutive month of their protest.
17th:
Iran arrested a young Baloch blogger Ebrahim Hossienbor
17th:
Pakistan Army has threw five tortured bodies of Balochs in different areas of Balochistan. Bodies Yousaf Baloch and Abdul Raziq Baloch were recovered in Turbat, whereas bodies of Ibrahim Hasni Baloch and Noor Ahmed Baloch were found in Khuzdar, who were tortured to an extent that they were barely recognizable. Saifullah Bugti, another victim of torture murder strategy of Pakistan, was severely tortured and his body was found in Karachi.
18th:
Khuda Raheem Bangulzai was tortured to death by Pakistan army and his body was dumped on Sabzal Road Quetta.
21st:
Iran publicly hanged eleven Baloch dissidents. Names of those hanged by Irani Regime:
1. Abdolbasset Shahbakhsh s/o Allahdad
2. Abdolnasser Shahbakhsh s/o Allahdad
3. Abdolshakur Zangizahi s/o Hossain
4. Mohammad Saleh Islamzahi s/o Atta Mohammad
5. Nasser Shahbakhsh s/o Zaman
6. Lal Mohammad Shahbakhsh s/o Karim
7. Attaollah Rigi s/o Nazar Mohammad
8. Abdolrahman Naruvi s/o Khaleqdad
9. Abdolrauf Shahbakhsh s/o Shanbeh
10. Balanch Naruvi s/o Ali
11. Ahmad Naruvi s/o Abdolkarim.
21st:
Siddique Baloch and Yousuf Baloch were abducted by Pakistan army on their way home after appearing in a court in Gwader, whereas Ilyas Baloch was abducted from Coastal Highway Ormara.
22nd:
Protest in Pasni against abductions of Baloch youths by Pakistani secret agencies
26th:
The Baloch Students Organization (BSO) Azaad held a demonstration to protest the kidnapping of its activists and demanded that international humanitarian organizations intervene in the matter.
26th:
FC search operation in Quetta, 80 innocent Baloch arrested in Killi Qambarani.
26th:
Faraz Sarparah and Zubair Sarparah were tortured to death by Pakistan army and their bodies were found near Killi Qambarani and Shahzian Marri and Sohbat Marri’s body were found in Dasht area 20 km in the south of Quetta.
26th:
Political activist Latif Shahwani was murdered by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.
28th:
Qadeer Baloch, Vice Chairman, Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, while talking to Business Recorder said that so far 13,300 Baloch nationals had been made missing in which 147 women and 152 children are included in this number.
30th:
Asa Zafar, a prominent political leader and ex president of Baloch National Movement (BNM)was abducted by Pakistan army from Turbat coastal highway.
30th:
Four More Dead Bodies Found in Turbat,victims included Mohammad Shoaib from Kharan, Attaullah s/o Dad Baksh from Mand, Naimatullah from Tump and the fourth one has not yet been recognized.

From www.sagaar.org: PDF
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Click to access report2010.pdf

8000 people still missing in Pakistan

Missing Persons a Critical Scio-Political issue of Pakistan

Right to life with liberty and dignity is one of the fundamental human rights. Human rights are universal and all human being are entitled for all human rights (civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights) regardless of cast, tribe religion or social and political affiliation. Since the inception of state of Pakistan authoritarianism, centralism and religious nationalism have dominated the psyche of rulers. Ruling elite of Pakistan has tried to evolve a monolithic nationalism by hook and crook that has entailed enormous conflicts between the centre and provinces. Sidelining the diverse national groups in the form of Balochs, Sindhis, Pashtuns, Seraikis and Punjabis, the establishment has carved out amorphous Pakistani nationalism derived from one religion. In the first three decades of the existence of the country one of the provinces (now Bangladesh) has seceded due to this obduracy but people at the helm of affairs of the state are not ready to pay attention to this.

Apart from Bengalis, who opted for separate homeland, various ethno-national movements in Balochistan, Sindh, Pashtunkhuwa and Kashmir have challenged this state imposed nationalism. These movements underpinned by different ideological leanings have one commonality that they resist the centralism and authoritarianism that strip them of their respective identity, history, culture and resources. As it happens with the political movements that they remain active and at some point of time they become latent but the questions stirred up in the minds of masses get manifested in various forms of resistance.

Balochistan and Sindh has always been hub of such political movements. From the beginning of this country till now, Balochistan has fought around five insurgencies with the centre to obtain its socio-political and economic rights. Present insurgency started in the Mushraf era (2005) is still going on, which has caused innumerable disappearances of political workers affiliated with various nationalist Baloch political parties. Time and again Baloch leaders, intelligentsia, journalists and masses have indicted spy agencies of Pakistan that they have picked up the political workers. Several leaders and political workers have been killed in cold blooded manner in which the murder of veteran Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, Balach Marri, Ghulam Muhammad Baloch and Habib Jalib are significant. The media is apparently muzzled on this issue and it is almost clear to the masses in Pakistan and world at large that dismissal Chief Justice of Pakistan by Musharaf was precipitated by the active pursuance of the cases of disappeared workers that irked the general. Even though chief justice of Pakistan has been restored, the families of disappeared people of have yet to see the justice and get their dear ones released.

Incidences of disappearance and mysterious killings are continuing but institution of the state such as courts and parliament seem to be silent on these issues. On the other hand the phenomenon of disappearance has caused ambiguities in terms of determining the number of disappeared people; however Baloch leaders claim it in thousands, whereas police records are mum on this. It has intensified the conflict. Certain political parties and armed resistance groups within Balochistan have openly started demanding separation from the Pakistan that is why federal government has recently declared some political parties and armed groups as proscribed. In this state of affairs it has become difficult for political workers to continue their political activities so civil and political liberties in the Balochistan are completely denied and people are living under ever looming fear of being picked up, disappeared and killed.

Simultaneously agencies have been involved to disappear several political workers in Sindh in which cases of Asif Baladi, Dr. Safdar Sarki were significant during 2006-7. A number of political activists and common people are disappeared over the period of time and some of them have been found killed in which murder of Saeed Kalhoro during 2005 found wide coverage in local dailies. Disappearances are taking place in various cities and particularly in areas close to Indian border but again media is not reporting such cases due to the reign of terror being perpertrated on anyone, who speaks on this issue. In the same vein people have been picked up from Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa and Kashmir but none is coming forward to take up this issue and hold the agencies accountable.

Agencies are acting against law of land by denying people to exercise their basic human rights of association, freedom of speech and recourse to legal aid in case of being implicated in any case. The families of disappeared persons are suffering since long and their despair does not seem ending any time soon. The issue of disappearance has assumed enormous proportion, which require from human rights organizations within and outside of the country to raise the voice against this highhandedness on the part of state agencies and hold the state accountable for the denial of rights to the people of Balochistan and other provinces. In this regard it is essential to bring political parties and social movements in the fold to wage college struggle across the country to combat centralism and authoritarianism that a way-forward can be achieved in this regard. As per different media reports thousands of people particularly political activists have been kind napped and abducted by different security and intelligence reports even in Balochistan only more than 8000 people are disappeared.

Round Table Conference
On Dec 10, 2010 On the occasion of international human rights day the International Institute for Research and Education, Asian Human Rights Commission and Labour Education Foundation jointly organized a round table conference titled “The tragedy of Missing Persons-Role of State and Responsibility of Civil Society”. The conference focused on, ongoing burning issue of Missing persons.

Conference Objectives
1. To sensitize the human rights and political activists to take this issue as a priority and constantly raise it at different forums/levels (local, national and international) and build a social movement against the worst human rights violations and political victimization of human rights and political activists in the country and Kashmir
2. To influence and build pressure on government and other stakeholders to play their role for the recovery and release of the missing people

A Large number of activists from different walks of life, especially political parties, human rights organizations, Lawyer association and trade unions, attended the conference. The conference was moderated by Nisar Shah Advocate, Secretary General LPP and Director IIRE. On the opening of the conference Sohail Ahmed a human rights activist introduced the issue of Missing persons.

Sohail Ahmed mentioned in his presentation that there is no proper data of missing persons available but according to the different sources in all over the country around eight thousand peoples are missing four thousand of them from Baluchistan and four thousands from Khyber Paktoonkwa, Punjab, Sindh and Kashmir. He also mentioned that a large number of missing persons are political activists from Baluchistan and were picked up by intelligence agencies.

Waleed Bloch, representative of Bloch Student Organization (Azad), appreciated the initiative of conference on missing persons, he mentioned that the figures of missing persons from Baluchistan are very high, he said that the persons outside the Baluchistan cannot imagine, how much the political victimization the Bloch youth are facing. He said that Baluchistan had become a hub of intelligence agencies network. Waleed said that sixty years have passed but we are still facing state repression, military and civil bureaucracy want to suppress our voice but know the Bloch youth are on the way of revolt which will lead Baluchistan towards a revolution.

Wajid Ali Wajid representative of United Kashmir Peoples National Party said that a large number of Kashmiri youths are still missing after the Pakistani intelligence agencies’ and religious fundamentalist waged a holy jihadies in Indian administered Kashmir in 1988. He said that his party raised the voice against this proxy war but had to face the consequences. The central chairman of party Sardar Shoukat Ali Kashmiri was picked up by intelligence agencies and tortured about nine month in hidden place and we are still facing the political victimization.

Professor Khalique Ahmed the spokesperson of All Parties National Alliance said the freedom of speech is fundamental right of every person but unfortunately the state wants to revoke this right of citizens. They don’t want to listen to even a single word against their policies. People are facing the state-sponsored repression and terrorism. He said that it is easy for intelligence agencies to accuse someone of being unpatriotic and keep him under custody at any hidden place.

Amna Massod Janjua chairperson Defance of human rights, an NGO working on missing persons, said that her husband Masood janjua was picked up five year ago, and he is still missing. She said that her children are still waiting for his safe return. She said that she is very thankful to the organization which organized the event.

Malik Maqbool Awan, leader of PTCL workers ittehad, said that Pakistan has ratified a number of international human rights conventions and declarations but nobody can exercise these rights independently. He said PTCL workers are facing the brutality of state. We are strictly against the privatization of PTCL. The negative impact of PTCL privatization can be felt now. Thousands of workers have been rendered jobless and the managements has withdrawn a number of facilities that workers were enjoying previously. Privatization also affected consumers and there has an increase in line rents and other services of the organization. When the trade union leaders their raised voice against the sacking of workers and withdrawal of facilities, the management of PTCL lodged fake cases. The management views trade unionist as terrorists and it has lodged a number of cases against the workers which fall under the Anti- Terrorism Act. He strongly supported the recovery campaign for missing persons.

Representatives of Labor Party Pakistan, Islamabad Bar Association, Human Rights Movement, Kashmir National Party, Kashmir National Conference, Jammu Kashmir Peoples National Party, Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Batta Mazdoor union and Progressive Youth Front also attended the conference. The gathering put forward the following demands:

1. All missing persons should be released unconditionally

2. If Government has any charges against any person, he should be produced before courts.

3. Compensation should be paid to the all involuntary disappeared persons’ families.

4. Those who are responsible for this disappearance should be trialed by the courts.

The conference decided to form a joint working group to continue the campaign for the recovery of missing persons.

Azhar Iqbal Secretary LPP Rawalpindi/Islamabad concluded the conference with vote of thanks.

Report provided by Nisar Shah Advocate
Director IIRE Islamabad Cell No: +92-300-2147960
Email: rednisar33@hotmail.com
And
iireislamabad@iire.org

Conference organized by
International Institute for Research and Education Islamabad (IIRE) Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Labour Education Foundation (LEF)
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Pakistan’s ‘illegitimate daughters’

By Gulmina Bilal Ahmad

Why is there not an uproar for the woes of the daughters of Pakistan who were stoned in Swat and, presently, in Orakzai Agency? Daughters like Mukhtaran Mai, of course, are not comparable with American daughters of Pakistani origin like Aafia because, perhaps, the former are illegitimate

A cartoon is truly worth a thousand columns, protests and articles. This week, a cartoon proclaiming Faisal Shahzad to be the ‘son of Pakistan’ said it all. As expected, every visible and invisible beard in the country is falling over backwards to appear more enraged than the other over the imagined slight. Dr Aafia Siddiqui, the proclaimed daughter of Islam, the ummah and Pakistan, has already succeeded in igniting passion and indignation in the country. At the time of writing these words, the Afghan Taliban have already kidnapped a British development worker from Afghanistan as a “means of revenge for Aafia”. Calls for walks and protests have been given by parliamentarians who have already staged the first walk against the sentence. There have even been calls by some circles to sever ties with the US and NATO over the pronouncement of a sentence to this ‘daughter’. Interestingly, the MQM has declared that if they were in government, they
would have severed all diplomatic relations with the US. The question that begs to be answered is: if they are not in the government, then who is? But I digress.

The newspapers are full of reports about the statements coming from Aafia’s family. Such is the self-assessed interest of the media in this issue that one of the papers ran a front page story on who Aafia’s family is talking to and who is being denied this honour. Apparently, the decision at the highest level has also been taken to send a parliamentary delegation to the US, including Dr Aafia’s sister, to lodge a protest. This is in addition to flying in her team of lawyers and her US-based brother — at the government’s expense — to Pakistan to ‘consult’ with the government over the next course of action. The government’s expense, of course, means that while there is no money for higher education, there is a lot of money to bail out non-Pakistani Muslim daughters running amuck.

Steps to bring this daughter of Islam and Pakistan back home, wherever home might be, might be necessary according to some. Perhaps, Aafia’s case should be pursued but one fails to understand why there is discrimination amongst the siblings. While the parliamentarians walk behind the opposition leader for Aafia, why do we not hear calls of “we will not rest easily” until the missing persons that have been ‘missing’ for years within Pakistan are located? Why is there not an uproar for the woes of the daughters of Pakistan who were stoned in Swat and, presently, in Orakzai Agency? Or, perhaps, the two daughters of the ummah who were buried alive in Balochistan after dogs were set after them. Daughters like Mukhtaran Mai, of course, are not comparable with American daughters of Pakistani origin like Aafia because, perhaps, the former are illegitimate.

At the time of writing these words, there are 7,000 women and children residing in 75 jails in the country. Out of these, 1,500 are in dismal conditions. According to the National Commission for the Status of Women (NCSW), 88 percent of the female prisoners are in jail only because of the ambiguities in the Zina Ordinance. However, parliamentarians do not stage walks for them, no commissions are sent anywhere in the country, no one meets their families and their ordeal is not a slap on anyone’s face simply because they are illegitimate. Legitimacy, it seems, only comes from Aafia.

A word of caution on the subject of daughters, legitimate or otherwise. Those who declare that Aafia is the daughter of Islam, Pakistan and the Muslim ummah, should remember, then, who their sons-in-law are. Aafia’s husband Mr Ammar al Baluchi is the nephew of Mr Khalid Sheikh Mohammed of 9/11 fame. We all have unsavoury uncles who get mixed up in the wrong company but investigation has revealed some roads leading to the nephew too. A detainee at the Guantanamo Bay, the son-in-law of the Muslim ummah was allegedly involved in financing the 9/11 attacks. If the trial of Aafia is “a slap on the whole Islamic world”, according to Altaf Hussain, then the trial of her husband should qualify as a slap on one side of the face at the very least.

Speaking of trials, the very characters present within the ‘Aafia mafia’, as columnist Fasi Zaka puts it, are also the ones who are sworn supporters of judicial supremacy. Food for thought for them as they endure the long wait till October 13: do they believe in the supremacy of the judiciary only in Pakistan? Dr Aafia was tried. Evidence was presented against her and the judiciary has spoken. How has this judicial decision become a fight between Islam and the West?

When will we learn? This is not a fight between Islam and the West just as militant groups do not represent anything more than the Wahabiist funded, inspired, encouraged, and promoted brand of bigotry. Just this year, a total of 9,009 civilians died in terrorist attacks, along with a total of 3,215 security personnel and 19,019 terrorists. This brings us to a total of 31,243 Pakistanis who died just this year because of the twisted worldviews that they want to impose on all of us. This is opposed to a total of 189 deaths in total in 2003, 863 in 2004, 648 in 2005, 1,471 in 2006, 3,590 in 2007, 6,715 in 2008 and 11,704 in 2009. In other words, a total of 56,431 have died in the last seven years. Yet, we declare that this war is not ours. If it was not previously, perhaps it is high time that it should be now. For the person sitting in San Francisco or Paris, militant groups and their apologists pose a terrorist threat. For us in Pakistan, it is terrorist
reality.

The writer is an Islamabad-based consultant. She can be reached at : coordinator@individualland.com

– Posted to CMKP Digest Number 2261 by “Andreanos” shafique100@yahoo.com
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Aafia Siddiqui: WILL US Attorney General Call for a Mis-trial?

Letter to US Attorney general from Yvonne Ridley

DID JUDGE BERMAN MAKE A MISTAKE – WILL US ATTORNEY GENERAL CALL FOR A MIS-TRIAL?

Dear Mr Holder,

I am a journalist and film-maker who has been investigating the rather intriguing case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui since her disappearance with her three children in 2003.

Can you please tell me why a Pakistani citizen, who allegedly carried out a crime in Afghanistan, was charged, tried and sentenced in a US court?

Not only did the alleged crime happen in another country, but Ms Siddiqui was renditioned without formal extradition papers and without correct consular access according to official US records.

No other citizen, from anywhere else in the world, has ever been put on trial in a US criminal court for the attempted murder of US soldiers although quite clearly, from the horrific statistics coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan the death toll and injuries of US soldiers is now running in excess of tens of thousands.

Can we assume from this that the US is now in full occupation, and therefore in control of sovereignty of Afghanistan or did Judge Richard Berman simply make a mistake by accepting such a case in to his court?

I have copied in Lord Nazir Ahmed from the British House of Lords in to this email since he has taken a particularly close interest in the whole case.

I look forward to a response soonest.

Kind regards
Yvonne Ridley
First Witness Productions Ltd.
London
ENGLAND
…

Aafia Siddiqui should be pardoned: Sign the Petition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-199-2010
September 24, 2010

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN/USA: Dr. Aafia Siddiqui should be pardoned from her sentence of 86 years

Please sign the online petition urging President Obama to grant amnesty.

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was arrested in March 2003 by Pakistani intelligence personnel and allegedly handed over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Subsequently she was detained in Bagram in Afghanistan, a facility used by the American government to hold persons suspected of being agents of Al Qaida.

Although she has testified in open court about her detention in Bagram it has never been properly explained by the FBI.

There are several discrepancies with the case put forward by the American government. They have never been able to properly explain how a woman, weakened by five years of imprisonment and mistreatment was able to wrestle a weapon away from a fully trained soldier. No Americans were actually injured in the incident but they found it necessary to shot her. This is reminiscent of a police encounter killing which is common in Pakistan and Bangladesh and India.

Dr. Siddique was shot during the incident and was not given the necessary medical treatment for some months.

The case against Dr. Aafia has brought to light the extent of human rights violations carried out by the allied forces in the name of the war on terror.

It is significant that there was no information available on Dr. Siddiqui until the Asian Human Rights Commission issued its first Urgent Appeal on July 24, 2008. (link) It was shortly after the publication of this appeal that the FBI announced that she had been arrested on July 17, 2008. However, as stated above, there have been no explanations as to her whereabouts after she was arrested in March 2003.

Dr. Siddiqui was arrested with her three children, the youngest of which was an infant. The two older children have been found, however, the fate of the third one remains unknown but he is feared to have died. The children were only found after an international protest raised the issue.

Her trial does not appear to have been fair and there were several discrepancies, she was regularly denied contact with members of her family and her lawyers who believe that her mental condition is seriously in doubt. This is no doubt due to her long years of imprisonment, and mistreatment.

In view of the trauma caused to Dr. Siddiqui by her arrest, incarceration at Bagram and the loss of her children, there can be nothing worse for a mother than not knowing the condition and whereabouts of her children, we feel that for whatever crime she is accused of committing, she has suffered enough. The sentence of 86 years is far in excess of any reasonable punishment.

Therefore the Asian Human Rights Commission urges President Obama to grant her amnesty in order that she can received treatment for her mental condition and trauma and live out her remaining years with her two surviving children.

The AHRC also urges President Zadari to use his good offices to encourage his American counterpart to grant Dr. Siddiqui the amnesty she deserves for the very great hardship she has endured.

Sign the online petition urging President Obama to grant amnesty.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

86 Years for Aafia Siddiqui

JFAC STATEMENT ON SENTENCING OF AAFIA SIDDIQUI
23 September 2010

On the afternoon of 23rd September 2010 Pakistani neuroscientist and mother of three Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced to 86 years on five charges by Judge Berman in a Manhattan courtroom.

The Justice for Aafia Coalition released the following statement:

“We are deeply saddened by the harsh sentence passed on Dr Aafia Siddiqui by Judge Richard Berman today. At such a difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with Aafia’s family, who have been separated from her since March 2003.

It has now been over seven and a half years since Dr Siddiqui was abducted with her three young children by Pakistani and American agencies. She has since been separated from her children and family, detained in a series of secret prisons and physically and psychologically abused by her captors. Following a blatantly prejudiced and unfair trial in which little conclusive evidence of her guilt was presented, she was found guilty.

We hoped that Judge Berman would have opened his eyes to the manifest injustice that has been committed against Dr Siddiqui and repatriated her to her country. But it seems that Judge Berman was adamant in his position despite the enormous level of public support for Aafia. Last week, Iran, in a goodwill gesture, released Sarah Shourd, an American woman accused of espionage, a crime against the state punishable by death. We are disappointed that the United States has been unable to exercise a similar degree of mercy and leniency in the case of another innocent woman who stands accused of crimes against its government.

While we are disappointed by Judge Berman’s decision, we condemn in the strongest terms the stance of the Pakistani government towards this beloved daughter of the nation. While we must never look to the wolf for protection, we expect the shepherd to care for his flock. The Pakistani government has from the outset been complicit in Aafia’s disappearance and detention, and has displayed nothing but contempt for its people and dignity through its cowardly stance in requesting her repatriation. They are a stain upon the honourable reputation of the country.

JFAC will continue the struggle for justice for Dr Aafia to try and secure her freedom and unite her with her family and loved ones. We remind Aafia’s supporters that this struggle may seem tiresome but as Imam Ahmad advised his student, we will only find rest when our feet set foot in paradise.”

Notes for editor:
1. The Justice for Aafia Coalition is an umbrella body for a number of organizations, groups, and activists created in February 2010 to campaign for the release and return of Aafia Siddiqui and for the opening of a full investigation into the circumstances of her detention.

2. Aafia Siddiqui’s lawyers maintain that she was abducted by the Pakistani and US agents along with her three children in 2003 and rendered to Afghanistan where she was detained by American forces for over five years. Siddiqui claims she was abused and tortured throughout her detention. She was convicted in February 2010 of allegedly firing on US soldiers while in custody in what appears to have been a grave miscarriage of justice. Her son Ahmed was released in September 2008 from Afghan custody, and her daughter Maryam was eventually recovered in April 2010. For full details of the case, please visit www.justiceforaafia.org

3. For media enquiries contact info@justiceforaafia.org

Repatriate Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to her home in Pakistan!

We urge all individuals concerned with human rights to sign this international petition to U.S. and Pakistani government officials, urging the immediate repatriation to Pakistan of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui.

SIGN THE PETITION AT
http://www.iacenter.org/SiddiquiPetition

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is being held in federal prison in New York City awaiting sentencing, now scheduled for September 23. This is a campaign for justice, solidarity and compassion for a woman and a political prisoner who has been severely injured and abused.

A coordinated campaign of petitions will be delivered in NYC, London, and to officials in Pakistan on August 14 – Pakistan Independence Day. The kidnapping and illegal extradition to the U.S. of this Pakistani citizen is an insult to the dignity of all Pakistanis and an affront to Pakistan’s sovereignty.

In New York City petitions will be presented at 12 noon on Saturday, August 14 at the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations at 8 East 65th St, between 5th Ave and Madison Ave, NY, NY 10065 to the office of Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon.

Messages will call for this simple act of compassion during the month of Ramadan.

Aafia Siddiqui holds a place in the hearts of people of conscience internationally irrespective of their faith, nationality or location. There is already immense international outrage about her case. Aafia Siddiqui has repeatedly maintained in court appearances that she was tortured while in U.S. custody.

This U.S.-educated doctor of neuroscience has come to symbolize the many hundreds of Pakistanis who have been secretly disappeared, detained and tortured, as well as the national outrage at the continuing deadly U.S. drone attacks.

The plight of the disappeared and missing in Pakistan is a cause of great national pain. Let us begin with this act of compassion to address this grievous problem.

Dr. Siddiqui’s five years in secret detention in Pakistan and Afghanistan, her grievous injuries, her two years in solitary confinement in the U.S. and her trial in New York City were continuing top news in Pakistan. Civil rights, religious and women’s organizations marched and petitioned, demanding the return of this “daughter of the nation” to Pakistan.

Dr. Siddiqui’s family and supporters have launched an international campaign for her repatriation to Pakistan. Aafia Siddiqui’s elderly mother is seriously ill and has pleaded for her daughter’s return.

Dr. Fauzia Siddiqui, Aafia Siddiqui’s older sister, in stressing the urgency of a campaign for Aafia Siddiqui’s repatriation, explained that under U.S. law a foreigner tried by a U.S. court could be repatriated to the country of his or her nationality on the request of their own government before the pronouncement of a sentence. She said there were 19 such precedents in which prisoners after indictment were repatriated to their countries on the request of their respective governments.

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is neither a U.S. citizen nor a permanent resident. She had only one passport, issued by the Pakistan government.

Dr. Siddiqui was not charged with committing any crime on U.S. soil; therefore she should not have been extradited to the U.S. for trial but either tried in Afghanistan or extradited to Pakistan. Dr. Siddiqui is not charged with terrorism nor is she charged with injuring or harming anyone anywhere. She is a victim of terrible life-threatening injuries.

The Pakistan government through diplomatic channels should insist on Aafia Siddiqui’s repatriation. The U.S. government, based on overwhelming Pakistani sentiment for Aafia Siddiqui’s return, should grant this humanitarian request.

Dr. Siddiqui was convicted despite all physical and forensic evidence that she could not have committed the acts with which she was charged.

The U.S. government should release all the secret documents regarding Aafia Siddiqui’s disappearance that were suppressed at her trial in NYC and the documents on the many other disappeared and missing people in Pakistan. As we have seen in the recent release of documents by Wikileaks, we cannot count on governments to give a true accounting of events that may prove embarrassing to various government officials.

BACKGROUND TO CASE
In March 2003, at the age of 30, Dr. Siddiqui disappeared along with her three children from a street in Karachi, Pakistan. On March 31, 2003, the Pakistan media reported that Dr. Siddiqui had been arrested and turned over to U.S. officials.

Dr. Siddiqui mysteriously reappeared on the streets of Ghazni, Afghanistan, following five years of secret detention. There she was immediately re-arrested, shot and almost killed. After emergency treatment, she was brought to the United States and held in solitary confinement for almost two years before being placed on trial in a federal court in New York City.

The government charges were preposterous. Dr. Siddiqui had supposedly been arrested in July 2008, five years after her disappearance. The U.S. claims that when U.S. military personnel came to interrogate her after the arrest, Siddiqui grabbed a U.S. soldier’s M4 gun, fired off two rounds and was herself shot while being subdued.

Questions of how the bullets, supposedly fired by Siddiqui, failed to hit a single one of the 20 to 30 people in a small, crowded room, or hit any wall or floor, or leave any residue or fingerprints, were never answered. Witness testimonies often contradicted their earlier sworn testimonies and the testimony of others. The prosecution urged the jury to ignore science and irrefutable facts and believe the contradictory testimony of U.S. Special Forces soldiers and FBI agents.

Despite her severe wounds and her pleas for mercy the court imposed daily abusive and painful strip searches. The court through unprecedented security measures sought to close the trial and intimidate all support. Most important is that throughout her trial Aafia Siddiqui refused her lawyers and made it clear that she was not represented by lawyers of her choice.

Dr. Siddiqui’s missing son Ahmed was reunited with his aunt in late 2008 while daughter Maryum was dropped near her aunt’s home in Karachi in April 2010 after she had been missing for seven years. Dr. Siddiqui’s youngest child, Suleman, who would now be about seven years old, remains missing and is feared dead.

There have been massive demonstrations in Pakistan’s major cities demanding the return of this 38-year-old mother, now dubbed the “daughter of Pakistan.”

For more information on Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s trial and treatment and the campaign to repatriate her, go to:
www.FreeAafia.org or www.JusticeForAafia.org.

SIGN THE PETITION TO U.S. AND PAKISTANI GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.

You can send this message or you can edit and revise it.

COPIES WILL ALSO BE SENT TO MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA IN THE U.S. AND PAKISTAN.

To: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joseph Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, Sen. John Kerry (Chairman, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee), Congressional leaders, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi

cc: Ban Ki-Moon (Secretary-General, United Nations), UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, UN High Commissioner on Refugees, and members of the Pakistani and U.S. media

Dear President Barack Obama, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani :

As the sentencing of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui draws closer at the Federal District Court in Manhattan, I urge you to repatriate Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to her native Pakistan as a matter of urgency. Given all the facts and circumstances of this case, repatriation of Dr. Siddiqui to Pakistan would not only serve the interests of justice, but is also warranted on humanitarian grounds.

This simple act of compassion during the month of Ramadan would be of special significance.

There are numerous credible reports that Dr. Siddiqui was abducted from Pakistan with her three young children in March 2003. Dr. Siddiqui claims that her captors detained her in a series of secret prisons for five years during which time she was abused in a variety of ways and tortured. Her youngest son, Suleman, remains missing to this day.

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is a citizen of Pakistan. She was not charged with committing any crime on U.S. soil, nor is she a U.S. citizen. She should not have been extradited to the U.S.

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is not charged with terrorism nor has she been charged with injuring or harming anyone anywhere. She is a victim of terrible life threatening injuries.

The plight of the disappeared and missing in Pakistan is a cause of great national pain. Let us begin with this act of compassion to address this grievous problem.

In light of the circumstances of this case, in which it appears that at a minimum, Dr. Siddiqui suffered severe physical and emotional trauma, we call upon you to exercise all lawful authority to allow Dr. Siddiqui to be repatriated to Pakistan on humanitarian grounds.

Sincerely,
(your signature will be appended here)

SIGN THE PETITION AT
http://www.iacenter.org/SiddiquiPetition

International Action Center
55 W 17th St #5C
New York, NY 10010
212-522-6626
www.iacenter.org
iacenter@iacenter.org
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