Undeclared martial law is in force across occupied Balochistan and all state administration is in the hands of Pakistan Army, said Dil Murad Baloch, Central Information Secretary Baloch National Movement (BNM) while releasing the June 2020 report about Pakistan’s atrocities in Balochistan.
Dil Murad Baloch said that the military operations, killings and atrocities by the occupying state of Pakistan continued during June. He explained that there have been 70 operations and raids, 42 people were forcibly disappeared and transferred to unknown locations. Eight people were martyred, two of them in direct firing by the Coast Guards in Gwadar. “In Dazin, a woman, Kulsoom Baloch, was martyred by state-backed Death Squads for resisting their robbery when they attacked her house. Four youths were martyred in Karachi. A sister of an ‘enforced disappeared’ person committed suicide after waiting painfully for years about any news of her brother. Such incidents have already taken place in different parts of Balochistan. The list of missing persons does not include those who were released within days of being detained by the military. In other incidents, seven people were killed, including four who were called by Sanaullah Zehri, the former Chief Minister of Balochistan, at his home and killed,” elaborated Dil Murad Baloch.
Dil Murad Baloch further added that during the month of June, most areas of Jhaoo, Awaran, Mashkay, Geeshkor, Kolwah and Buleda Zamuran were targets of military aggression. “In addition to the ground forces, gunship helicopters shelled the area, killing hundreds of cattle and setting more than 50 homes on fire. The Pakistani Army and its local allies looted more than 300 cattle from various parts of Washuk district, Mashkay and Jhaoo. The Pakistani Army has also forcibly displaced inhabitants of several villages in different parts of Jhaoo and Zamuran in June. Pakistan’s military have evicted many villagers from their ancestral lands in the mountainous ranges across Balochistan and forced them to live near military camps and outposts in rural or urban areas. This trend continues to this day,” he added.
“An undeclared martial law is enforced in Balochistan. All state administration is in the hands of the military. There is a complete ban on political activities and the political process. The price of a political voice always has to be paid in the form of imprisonment, murder and barbarism. This has been happening for twenty years. Restrictions on political freedom can only be gauged by the fact that Baloch students are imprisoned for their demands of basic rights such as the restoration of the Internet. One can imagine, what could be the punishment for speaking out for national liberation?,” asked Dil Murad Baloch.
Last month police in riot gear stormed a rally, detained and removed hundreds of protesters by truck loads. The protesters only demanded the resumption of the internet in Balochistan to make online classes possible, as colleges and universities were closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic and internet access in most parts of Balochistan has either been completely shut or continues to remain extremely limited for several years.
Kulsoom Baloch was stabbed to her death during a robbery at Tump Dazin area of Kech and the robbers fled after looting all her belongings. A similar incident took place on May 26 in the Dannuk area of Kech, where Malik Naz was martyred and her daughter Bramsh was injured. Pakistan has formed hundreds of Death Squads by organizing petty criminals in Balochistan to crush the national movement. They are playing with the dignity and lives of the people.
Dil Murad Baloch added that Pakistan’s war crimes have created a human tragedy in Balochistan. “We can see different tactics of it. There are enforced disappearances. The tears of the bereaved are shaking the throne for the recovery of loved ones on the streets but for Pakistani state the cries of the occupied people and the tears of their daughters are meaningless. An incident took place in Kech where Fatima, a woman from Dasht Mazanband, committed suicide by hanging herself in her house in Gokdan area of Turbat. She was the mother of three children. Her brother, Imam Ishaq, was abducted two years ago by Pakistan Army from his home in Dasht and is still missing. Fatima had been suffering from mental stress for a long time due to her brother’s abduction and disappearance. Eventually, she could not bear the pain and grief and committed suicide.”