| US urges Pakistan to hold dialogue on Balochistan |
Anwar Iqbal
Jan 14, 2012
WASHINGTON: The US has urged Pakistan to “really lead and conduct a dialogue that takes the Balochistan issue forward”, says the US
State Department.
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland addressed the issue in a “twitter-briefing” that the department holds every Friday,
allowing people from around the world to tweet their questions to her.
“This was a very popular question on our feed, so we wanted to make sure that we answered it today,” said Ms Nuland who focused on
the violence plaguing Balochistan instead of tackling political issues raised in most of the tweets.
“The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Balochistan, especially targeted killings, disappearances and other
human rights abuses,” she said.
“This is a complex issue. We strongly believe that the best way forward is for all the parties to resolve their differences through peaceful
dialogue.”
The State Department official noted that the US took the allegations of human rights abuses very seriously and had discussed these
issues with Pakistani officials. “And we also urged them to really lead and conduct a dialogue that takes this issue forward,” she
concluded.
While her answer may not satisfy Baloch nationalists who had sent most of the questions, it would still irk Pakistani authorities who do not
want the Balochistan issue to be discussed at international forums.
Washington-based Baloch nationalists are hoping that Ms Nuland’s response would set an example and encourage other governments
and international organisations, such as the United Nations, to address the issue.
The question that Ms Nuland responded to came from Pakistan from a person who identified himself only as “Cadet 1081” and asked:
“Pakistan is committing genocide of the Baloch nation, why does the US not intervene in Balochistan and make us get our freedom?”
While Ms Nuland confined herself to addressing the issue of human rights violations, other respondents did not. “Pakistan is not killing
Baloch people. Only the followers of Balach and Hyrbyar want freedom,” wrote Mr Spirit 110.
“Pakistan is killing innocent Baloch people and the world is blind. It is our right to be free,” wrote Behuman.
SOURCE: http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/15/us-urges-pakistan-to-hold-dialogue-on-balochistan.html
US urges Pakistan to sort out Balochistan issue through dialogue
By ANI | ANI
Islamabad, Jan 15 (ANI): The US State Department has said that the Obama administration has asked Pakistan to sort out the
Balochistan issue through dialogues.
The US has urged Pakistan to "really lead and conduct a dialogue that takes the Balochistan issue forward", The Dawn quoted State
Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, as saying in Twitter.
"This was a very popular question on our feed, so we wanted to make sure that we answered it today."
"The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Balochistan, especially targeted killings, disappearances and other
human rights abuses. This is a complex issue. We strongly believe that the best way forward is for all the parties to resolve their
differences through peaceful dialogue," Nuland added.
The State Department official insisted that the US took the allegations of human rights abuses very seriously and had discussed these
issues with Pakistani officials.
"And we also urged them to really lead and conduct a dialogue that takes this issue forward," she concluded.
Meanwhile, Washington-based Baloch nationalists have reportedly expressed hope that Nuland's response would set an example and
encourage other governments and international organizations like the United Nations to address the issue. (ANI)
SOURCE:
Jan 14, 2012
WASHINGTON: The US has urged Pakistan to “really lead and conduct a dialogue that takes the Balochistan issue forward”, says the US
State Department.
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland addressed the issue in a “twitter-briefing” that the department holds every Friday,
allowing people from around the world to tweet their questions to her.
“This was a very popular question on our feed, so we wanted to make sure that we answered it today,” said Ms Nuland who focused on
the violence plaguing Balochistan instead of tackling political issues raised in most of the tweets.
“The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Balochistan, especially targeted killings, disappearances and other
human rights abuses,” she said.
“This is a complex issue. We strongly believe that the best way forward is for all the parties to resolve their differences through peaceful
dialogue.”
The State Department official noted that the US took the allegations of human rights abuses very seriously and had discussed these
issues with Pakistani officials. “And we also urged them to really lead and conduct a dialogue that takes this issue forward,” she
concluded.
While her answer may not satisfy Baloch nationalists who had sent most of the questions, it would still irk Pakistani authorities who do not
want the Balochistan issue to be discussed at international forums.
Washington-based Baloch nationalists are hoping that Ms Nuland’s response would set an example and encourage other governments
and international organisations, such as the United Nations, to address the issue.
The question that Ms Nuland responded to came from Pakistan from a person who identified himself only as “Cadet 1081” and asked:
“Pakistan is committing genocide of the Baloch nation, why does the US not intervene in Balochistan and make us get our freedom?”
While Ms Nuland confined herself to addressing the issue of human rights violations, other respondents did not. “Pakistan is not killing
Baloch people. Only the followers of Balach and Hyrbyar want freedom,” wrote Mr Spirit 110.
“Pakistan is killing innocent Baloch people and the world is blind. It is our right to be free,” wrote Behuman.
SOURCE: http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/15/us-urges-pakistan-to-hold-dialogue-on-balochistan.html
US urges Pakistan to sort out Balochistan issue through dialogue
By ANI | ANI
Islamabad, Jan 15 (ANI): The US State Department has said that the Obama administration has asked Pakistan to sort out the
Balochistan issue through dialogues.
The US has urged Pakistan to "really lead and conduct a dialogue that takes the Balochistan issue forward", The Dawn quoted State
Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, as saying in Twitter.
"This was a very popular question on our feed, so we wanted to make sure that we answered it today."
"The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Balochistan, especially targeted killings, disappearances and other
human rights abuses. This is a complex issue. We strongly believe that the best way forward is for all the parties to resolve their
differences through peaceful dialogue," Nuland added.
The State Department official insisted that the US took the allegations of human rights abuses very seriously and had discussed these
issues with Pakistani officials.
"And we also urged them to really lead and conduct a dialogue that takes this issue forward," she concluded.
Meanwhile, Washington-based Baloch nationalists have reportedly expressed hope that Nuland's response would set an example and
encourage other governments and international organizations like the United Nations to address the issue. (ANI)
SOURCE:
Baloch plight attracts US attention amid tense ties with Pak
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN
Jan 15, 2012, 07.36PM IST
WASHINGTON: Baloch separatists achieved a significant diplomatic breakthrough on Friday, getting the US administration to recognize
their grievances against the Pakistani state and persuading Washington to urge Islamabad to address their issues through dialogue.
At a time of tense relations with Islamabad, the Obama administration chose a social media platform to air its concern about the plight of
the Baloch, whose complaints about targeted killings and other human rights abuse has gone largely unnoticed by the world. The State
Department on Friday responded to a question on Twitter from a Baloch nationalist on the subject, saying ''This was a very popular
question on our feed, so we wanted to make sure that we answered it today.''
''The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Baluchistan, especially targeted killings, disappearances
and other human rights abuses,'' spokesperson Victoria Nuland continued, adding that Washington takes the allegations of human
rights abuses ''very seriously'' and had discussed these issues with Pakistani officials.
The question from @cadet1081 was provocative, asking the State Department why the United States does not intervene in
Baluchistan and help the Baloch achieve freedom. But Nuland was circumspect in her response, noting for now that ''This is a
complex issue,'' and Washington strongly believes ''that the best way forward is for all the parties to resolve their differences
through peaceful dialogue.''
Baloch separatists and nationalists, many of them targeted by the Pakistani state, have been slowly trickling into Washington DC (some of
them through the political asylum route) in recent months and trying to highlight the plight of a region which did not readily sign up to
Pakistan at the time of partition. They have had little success in a city of many competing causes, with hardly any lawmaker or analyst
paying any attention to their issues.
Only Selig S. Harrison of the George Soros-funded Center for International Policy, a former AP and Washington Post correspondent in
the region, has consistently highlighted their plight and supported their call for seceding from Pakistan. Another strategic affairs analyst,
Ralph Peters, has also backed the idea of splitting Pakistan and creating a separate Baloch nation to weaken the Islamabad-Beijing axis
and allowing U.S direct access to Afghanistan currently controlled by Pakistan.
But on Friday, far removed yet from the strategic strands, Baloch nationalists rejoiced in their diplomatic advance.
''Acceptance of (Twitter) question and the subsequent response from the Department's spokesperson is heartening,'' wrote
Muatasim Qazi on the nationalist website Balochwarna. ''It should encourage educated Baloch youth to engage more in online
activism and advocacy rather than mere futile political sloganeering or mud-slinging.'' One tweet noted: ''What an irony. Takes a
superpower to convince us to look into our own issues.''
Resource-rich Balochistan has long been in ferment, going back to the 1970s, stemming from its forcible annexation by Pakistan at the
time of partition from India, and its exploitation by the Pakistani military and the elite. Many nationalist Baloch leaders have been killed by
the Pakistani army, and the issue of disappearances and human rights abuse of the Baloch, and reprisal killings of Punjabi settlers by the
Baloch, has gradually come to the fore. But till this past Friday, Washington had not publicly recorded its views on the matter.
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Baloch-plight-attracts-US-attention-amid-tense-ties-with-Pak/
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN
Jan 15, 2012, 07.36PM IST
WASHINGTON: Baloch separatists achieved a significant diplomatic breakthrough on Friday, getting the US administration to recognize
their grievances against the Pakistani state and persuading Washington to urge Islamabad to address their issues through dialogue.
At a time of tense relations with Islamabad, the Obama administration chose a social media platform to air its concern about the plight of
the Baloch, whose complaints about targeted killings and other human rights abuse has gone largely unnoticed by the world. The State
Department on Friday responded to a question on Twitter from a Baloch nationalist on the subject, saying ''This was a very popular
question on our feed, so we wanted to make sure that we answered it today.''
''The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Baluchistan, especially targeted killings, disappearances
and other human rights abuses,'' spokesperson Victoria Nuland continued, adding that Washington takes the allegations of human
rights abuses ''very seriously'' and had discussed these issues with Pakistani officials.
The question from @cadet1081 was provocative, asking the State Department why the United States does not intervene in
Baluchistan and help the Baloch achieve freedom. But Nuland was circumspect in her response, noting for now that ''This is a
complex issue,'' and Washington strongly believes ''that the best way forward is for all the parties to resolve their differences
through peaceful dialogue.''
Baloch separatists and nationalists, many of them targeted by the Pakistani state, have been slowly trickling into Washington DC (some of
them through the political asylum route) in recent months and trying to highlight the plight of a region which did not readily sign up to
Pakistan at the time of partition. They have had little success in a city of many competing causes, with hardly any lawmaker or analyst
paying any attention to their issues.
Only Selig S. Harrison of the George Soros-funded Center for International Policy, a former AP and Washington Post correspondent in
the region, has consistently highlighted their plight and supported their call for seceding from Pakistan. Another strategic affairs analyst,
Ralph Peters, has also backed the idea of splitting Pakistan and creating a separate Baloch nation to weaken the Islamabad-Beijing axis
and allowing U.S direct access to Afghanistan currently controlled by Pakistan.
But on Friday, far removed yet from the strategic strands, Baloch nationalists rejoiced in their diplomatic advance.
''Acceptance of (Twitter) question and the subsequent response from the Department's spokesperson is heartening,'' wrote
Muatasim Qazi on the nationalist website Balochwarna. ''It should encourage educated Baloch youth to engage more in online
activism and advocacy rather than mere futile political sloganeering or mud-slinging.'' One tweet noted: ''What an irony. Takes a
superpower to convince us to look into our own issues.''
Resource-rich Balochistan has long been in ferment, going back to the 1970s, stemming from its forcible annexation by Pakistan at the
time of partition from India, and its exploitation by the Pakistani military and the elite. Many nationalist Baloch leaders have been killed by
the Pakistani army, and the issue of disappearances and human rights abuse of the Baloch, and reprisal killings of Punjabi settlers by the
Baloch, has gradually come to the fore. But till this past Friday, Washington had not publicly recorded its views on the matter.
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Baloch-plight-attracts-US-attention-amid-tense-ties-with-Pak/