Baloch Society Of North America (BSO_NA) Baloch Society Of North America (BSO_NA) is Non-Profit Organization, working to unite and Organize all Baloch in North America, to expose the Occupation of our land (Balochistan)  and  exploitations of our resources by  Pakistani and Iranian Governments, and to bring their Human Rights Violations in Balochistan into the world’s Notice.

Baloch women to observe
hunger strike


By Amanullah Kasi


QUETTA, July 29: The newly-formed Baloch Women Panel on Sunday announced that it would observe a token
hunger strike from July 30 till August 14 for the recovery of missing youths.

Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, BWP members Hani Baloch and Shakar Bibi said the
government’s oppression against the Baloch people had forced the women to come out on the streets.
They accused the security forces and intelligence agencies of torturing the detained Baloch youths in secret cells.
They alleged that during raids on the houses of political activists, women are insulted, adding that hundreds of
Baloch political workers had either been arrested or missing for the last four years.

The BWP members said the panel had been formed to support those families whose youths were either abducted
or missing.

They appealed to the international human rights organisations to raise voice against the detention of Baloch youths
in the province.

They said Wahid Qamar, Ghulam Mohammad, Sher Mohammad, Saleem Baloch, Khan Mohammad Marri, Qadir
alias Shadi Khan Marri, Fazal Baloch, Zakir Majid Baloch and Faiz Baloch had been missing and for their recovery
the BWP members would observe the token hunger strike.

http://www.dawn. com/2007/ 07/30/top15. htm


Quetta girls launch hunger strike for
‘missing persons’ cause
By Malik Siraj Akbar

QUETTA: In an unprecedented move, girls in Quetta started a hunger strike on Monday in front of the press club
here in support of a cause and people they are not directly related to. Hailing from middle class families, these girls
say they intend to bring the increasing forced disappearances in Balochistan to the attention of the media and the
international community.

Although none of the protesters’ friends or family has gone missing, the girls say they want to set a precedent of
solidarity with the families of missing persons. “As the affected families are already deeply traumatised, it is not
merely their obligation to protest the mysterious disappearance,” Hani Baloch, the camp leader, told Daily Times.

She contends that although the number of such disappearances is increasing in Balochistan, the state and the
human rights organisations in the country are turning a blind eye. They decided on starting a hunger strike, she
said, in the hope that drastic measures would mobilise more people to support the cause. Hani says the
phenomenon of people being picked up and thrown into torture cells is a grave issue which has plunged the lives
of several Baloch families into misery.

Although families of missing persons have observed hunger strikes in front of press clubs and High Courts in
Quetta and Karachi, and in front of the Supreme Court in Islamabad, this new variant of the hunger strike is targeted
particularly at sensitising the unaffected segments of society.

“If the family next door to you has been victimised, you could be next. Therefore, we want everyone to join us and
move the spymasters of the country against their extra-constitutiona l activities,” said Hani.

In the next phase of their strike, the camp leader says one member of their group will continue the hunger strike
unto death.

Taking such a defiant initiative has not been free from trouble for Hani and her peers. She complains that spies
called her up anonymously and said they would kidnap her if she did not give up the strike.

Meher Baloch, another participant of the camp, appealed to international human rights organisations, including
United Nations bodies, for help in procuring the immediate recovery of several hundred people who have allegedly
been kidnapped by state intelligence agencies.

According to Meher, 22, the missing persons do not belong to any specific area, age group or profession. “In an
operation in the Mand area in March this year, security forces even detained a psychologically disturbed old man,
and later four young boys who were out on a picnic.”

She asks, “How can a disturbed old man launch a rocket? Can an eight-year-old boy drop a bomb on government
installations? Are the 12 women arrested from the Splenji area all terrorists?”

Meher says the government is victimising Baloch citizens for no apparent reason and is itself fuelling resentment
against the state. “The government is gaining nothing by conducting these operations but is earning the hatred of
the Baloch people.”

As their hunger strike camp makes explicit, Baloch people from across the province, and beyond, have gone
missing. One prominent name in the list is Ghulam Mohammad, chairman of a democratic party called the
Balochistan National Movement (BNM). Others include Wahid Qamber (from Tump), Sher Mohammad Baloch
(Karachi), Saleem Baloch (Karachi), Zakir Majeed (Khzdar), Fazal Baloch (Turbat), Faiz Mohammad (Dazeen
Thump), Qadir Marri alias Shadi Khan and Khan Mohammad Marri (Marri tribal area).

Working on a non-political platform they have titled the Baloch Women Panel, the protesting girls say they have not
been prompted by anyone but believe it to be their responsibility to come out of their homes to express solidarity
with the families of missing persons.

Zahoor Shawani, president of the Balochistan chapter of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told
Daily Times that even the judiciary had proved totally helpless in front of the intelligence agencies. Something
needs to be done urgently to empower the judiciary and curtail the “limitless powers” of the agencies that have
allegedly taken people into custody, he added.

“Several petitions have been filed with the Balochistan High Court regarding the disappearances. Despite
issuance of court orders, no representative from the intelligence agencies bothers to appear before the court.
HRCP is very concerned about the immunity enjoyed by these agencies.”

Ali Ahmed Kurd, vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, told Daily Times that after the recent “historic verdict” by
the Supreme Court, the biggest challenge ahead of the judiciary now was to recover all the missing people.

“It is not important to count how many people are missing. The intelligence agencies are not entitled to ‘kidnap’ a
single person. This practice is reminiscent of the SAVAK of Mohammad Raza Shah, the last king of Iran,” he says.
“However, people have reposed a new trust in the judiciary. All eyes are focused on it. It is time the judiciary rose to
the occasion and granted justice to the families of these missing persons.”

http://www.dailytim es.com.pk/ default.asp? page=2007% 5C07%5C31% 5Cstory_31- 7-2007_pg7_ 24