What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
On 5th August 2024, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to hurriedly flee from Bangladesh after the law enforcement agencies were unable to control student protests which started in June this year leading to the deaths of hundreds of students for reinstatement of the pre-2018 quota system in government jobs. Earlier the descendants of freedom fighters used a 30% quota which has been now reduced to 5% by the Supreme Court.
Out of the 17-member interim government formed in Bangladesh, four are affiliated with the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) while three are with the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (JeI). JeI Pakistan, its predecessor not only opposed the creation of Bangladesh but was openly involved in genocide during the independence war of Bangladesh. JeI was banned in 1971 but after the assassination of Mujibur Rehman in 1975, the ban was lifted. On 1st August 2024, JeI was banned by Hasina for their violence and instigation during student protestors. Today, thousands of BNP and JeI members are out on bail.
The US was unhappy with the Sheikh Hasina government for a long time and before the last elections itself, the US asked Sheikh Hasina to step down, during the same time Russia also accused the US of a series of events planned to destabilize the Bangladesh government if results are not satisfactory to the US. While still in power Sheikh Hasina without naming called out countries accused of carving a new country out of Bangladesh taking parts of Bangladesh (Chattogram) and Myanmar with a base in the Bay of Bengal. And today, Team Hasina called out the US for her ouster because she was reluctant to hand over the sovereignty of Saint Martin Island.
While the West especially the US condemned attacks on student protestors and called on all sides to refrain from violence. But the same West and US are silent on the brutality happening to protestors in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, which is part of the same subcontinent as Bangladesh.
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On 26 June 2024, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, the organizer of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) called “Baloch Raaji Muchi” or Baloch National Gathering against state-sponsored enforced disappearances and human rights abuses for 28 July in the coastal city of Gwadar, Balochistan, the focal point of China-Pakistan economic interests. Not only FIRs were filed against organizers but people were stopped from attending the gathering. Caravans from various cities were stopped and fired at killing several protestors and injuring hundreds. The Director General of the Public Relations Department of the Pakistan Army (ISPR), Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, alleged that the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) is a “proxy for saboteurs.” He claimed that the “so-called leadership” of the BYC acts as a “proxy for terrorist organizations and criminal mafias,” and has been tasked with defaming agencies. “Their job is to gather groups based on external funding and narratives.” Mahrang Baloch challenged the DG ISPR to produce the evidence to back his claims and take the matter to court to prove that BYC is working on behalf of terrorist outfits or hostile agencies.
Balochistan is the most neglected area in South Asia which has been colonized by Pakistan since 1948. It was on 11 August 1947, when Kalat state declared independence and was recognized by Pakistan. But in less than nine months Pakistan not only deceived Balochistan and made Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan under duress sign the Instrument of Accession on 27th March 1948. The Khan of Kalat in his autobiography, Inside Baluchistan: A Political Autobiography of His Highness Baigi: Khan-e-Azam-XIII, Karachi, 1975 says:
“I confess, I knew I was exceeding the scope of my mandate. . [but] had I not taken the immediate step of signing Kalat’s merger, the … British Agent to the Governor-General could have played havoc by leading Pakistan into a fratricide war against the Baluches”
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On the occasion of Balochistan’s Independence Day on 11 August, I asked representatives of Baloch political organizations about US interest in bringing democracy to Balochistan, to which Qazi Dad Mohammad Rehan, Information Secretary of the Baloch National Movement stated that “US and Western powers have repeatedly supported authoritarianism in Pakistan, ignoring issues of human rights and democracy. Aid provided by the US and other countries has often been used to suppress marginalized communities and delays in addressing this issue could lead to further bloodshed”. While Jamal Nasir Baloch, Head of Foreign Affairs of the Free Balochistan Movement mentioned that, “The US has several power centres and why would any US administration choose to support Balochistan when they can secure their interests through the Pakistan Army? If it were about democracy, why do they maintain strong ties with authoritarian regimes in the region? If the US Congress puts consistent pressure on the executive branch they might discuss Balochistan—not for democracy or liberal values, but for geopolitical interests”.
It has been seven decades with thousands killed and being victims of enforced disappearances but no Western power including the US has thought of bringing democracy to Balochistan less evening calling out Pakistan to protect the human rights of Baloch. If Democracy is so important to the US which safeguards the rights and liberties of every individual then it cannot be subjective as every human deserves the right to live with dignity including the Baloch.
Mark Kinra is a corporate lawyer and geopolitical analyst with expertise in South Asia, particularly Pakistan and Balochistan and holds a degree in Political Science from Tel Aviv University; collaborating with think tanks and academicians in India and Israel.
