Baloch leader lauds HRCP’s ‘strong initiative’

Murtaza Ali Shah

LONDON: A key Europe-based Baloch leader has welcomed the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report on the human rights situation in Balochistan - titled ‘Blinkered Slide into Chaos’.

Mehran Baloch, who represents Balochistan in the United Nations and the European Union forums, said the HRCP has taken a “strong initiative” by calling for a probe into the human rights violations in Balochistan, committed allegedly by the Pakistani armed forces and intelligence agencies.

The HRCP report is based on information gathered by the HRCP fact-finding mission that visited Quetta, Khuzdar and Turbat (Makran) from May 4 to 7, 2011 and states that the HRCP mission came across credible evidence of the involvement of state agencies, especially the Frontier Corps (FC), in the killing and enforced disappearance of citizens.

The exiled leader said: “Their robust and fearless investigations and consequently producing a report on the human rights violations is a brave and commendable step by HRCP. Although the report is not fully to our satisfaction but it is a step in the right direction. “We believe that the HRCP has produced the facts and the report within the limitations of their mandate, therefore it is unfair to criticize their report and expect them to come out with a political statement,” Mehran Baloch told The News.

He said the report became more valid and objective when it was rejected by the “oblivious” federal information minister, Ferdous Ashiq Awan, as it demonstrates that the government have felt the pinch of this report.

He said the report exposes the “dormant and powerless” character of the provincial Balochistan government which described the report as based on hearsay, propaganda and statistical miscalculations. He said the so-called elected Baloch representatives had failed to raise or address the human rights violation committed in the province but were quick to denounce the report in order to conceal the “wrong doings”.

“We believe that HRCP report is encouraging and we hope that in the future they will continue their good work of reporting the human rights violations in Balochistan,” said Mehran, adding that the HRCP can do more and should do more in reporting the number of missing persons who were “represented phenomenally less”.


(2011-7-3/thenews)