Home / News / Urgent Appeals / GENERAL APPEAL (Pakistan): Urgent help is needed for 200,000 displaced victims of military operations in Balochistan province

GENERAL APPEAL (Pakistan): Urgent help is needed for 200,000 displaced victims of military operations in Balochistan province

July 21, 2006

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

21 July 2006
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UG-013-2006: PAKISTAN: Urgent help is needed for 200,000 displaced victims of military operations in Balochistan province

PAKISTAN: Military misconduct; aerial bombardment; killing of innocent people
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information through international and national media as well a through local social and political groups of Pakistan that the Pakistan Army is conducting military operations in Balochistan, the southern province of Pakistan. Though this has been ongoing since 2001, since December 2005 the military government of Pakistan has been conducting aerial bombings in several parts of the province. During this period the army has conducted about 12 bombardments and have killed more than 300 people. The areas that are continuously under fire are Sibi, Hernai, Much, Kohlo, Dera Bugti, Sabsilla, Bhambhoor, Loti, Dhaman, Pir Koh, Spin, Tangi, Babar Kach, Tandori and Sangan. The BBC and other newspapers have quoted the local people and elected representatives of the provincial assembly and Senate as saying that about four F16 fighter jets, gunship helicopters have been used in the bombardments on the civilian population. In fact the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force actually admitted to the aerial bombardment in Balochistan.

Due to the military operations and aerial bombardments the local population have been forced to migrate to safer parts of Balochistan as well as to the nearby borders of Sindh and Punjab provinces. The military have cordoned off Hernai area for the past several days making it impossible for people to come and go. As a result the people are without food, medicines and drinking water. The area where people have taken leave from are predominantly Mach, Kohlo, Usta Mohamad, Sibi, Dera Bugti and some parts of Hanai. The two district provinces of Sibi and Bolan are the worst affected areas of military operations as well as the aerial bombardment. These two districts cover more than 500 kilometres. The displaced are now settled in other areas such as Dera Murad, Jamali, Quetta, Khuzdar, Hub in Balochistan and Kashmore, Jackob Abad and the border areas of Larkana district in Sindh Province. In Pubjab Province they have taken shelter in Dera Ghazi Khan district near Usta Mohammad village of Balochistan. According to newspaper reports the displaced are living in terrible conditions with no safe drinking water. According to a report published in the daily Dawn “It is unclear how many Bugti displaced people (DPs) actually poured into neighbouring cities and towns following the outbreak of hostilities between the warring tribesmen and the law-enforcement agencies in the early summer of last year. The Dera Bugti Nazim, Kazim Bugti, puts the number of DPs at over a hundred thousand. His assertions about the involvement of army helicopters in Dera Bugti military operations lend credence to the claims of the DPs.  The accusation is stoutly denied by the government, however". The displaced have to carry water from at least one to three kilometers away. No medical help is being provided to them. The are mostly children and women suffering from diarrhea, dehydration, malaria and high fevers. Some cases of deaths have been reported but not confirmed by any hospitals.

The local people in these areas where displaced persons are settled, are not allowed by the intelligence agencies of Pakistan Army to help refugees. Edhi center, a local charitable organisation, has been stopped by the Pakistan Military from providing medical assistance
to the affected people and from making medical camps in refugee settled areas. The main persons from Edhi center were summoned to Pakistan's capital, Islam Abad by the Military intelligence and were ordered to stop medical assistance to the victims. According to the daily Dawn the displaced are lying in the open skies in summer where temperature remains at 38 to 44 degrees centigrade. The conditions of the displaced are deteriorating day by day and urgent help is needed through from international organisations working for the rehabilitation of refugees and displaced persons.

Additional information:

Balochistan is the most under developed province of Pakistan. Balochistan has in fact very rich mineral resources. However, all the resources in the province are controlled by the federal government and only minor royalties or compensation is paid to people in Balochistan. Also, the country's most populous province, Punjab, is controlling the military, the administration and utilitieses of all the resources. In addition, the government has provided little resources towards social welfare in comparison with other provinces. People in Balochistan blame the federal government for their plight and point out that the benefits derived from the province's natural wealth have not been returned to it.

This province is the richest in natural resources, including gold, silver, copper, oil, natural gas, iron ore and uranium. It supplies natural gas to the whole of the country yet three quarters of the province does not have the access to natural gas. Sui is the area from where natural gas is being supplied but the military of Pakistan wants to keep its control, as a result of which Sui is the worst affected area of military operations. The Government of Pakistan pays a meager 5% of the total income from natural resources as royalty to Balochistan.

Baloch people also suffer from great poverty. According to the Karachi-based Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), poverty levels in Balochistan are the highest in the country. Every second person in Balochistan lives below the poverty line. Only 50 percent of the province's seven million people have access to clean drinking water, only half the children attend primary schools and only a third of children between 12 and 23 months are immunised, according to the SPDC.

This is the 5th time since the creation of the country that the Pakistan Army has conducted military operations and aerial bombardments resulting in the deaths of more than 12,000 people. Several people were hanged and thousands of people migrated to other parts of the country. Since the military operation from 2001 about one thousand people have been killed and according to the statement of Mr. Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Federal Minister for Interior Affairs more than 4000 people have been arrested from Balochistan since the beginning of 2005. Despite this, until now only 200 people have been produced before any court and the Ministry of Interior has failed to produce the names of those arrested. The Balochi resistance groups and political parties are claiming that more than 1000 people have disappeared since their arrest. The intelligence agencies such as the I.S.I, Military intelligence (M.I.), along with the Intelligence Bureau (I.B), the Navy Intelligence, the Pak Rangers Intelligence, and the Central intelligence Agency of Pakistan (CIAP) are operating very actively. The Police department is also not allowed to go in the torture camps of these with out the permission from military authorities.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters of concern to the authorities listed below voicing your condemnation at the actions of the government in Pakistan. 

Suggested letter:

Dear ____________,

PAKISTAN: Urgent help is needed for 200,000 displaced victims of military operations in Balochistan province

I write with grave concern for the security and welfare of the people of Balochistan province. I have recently learned that since December 2005 the military government of Pakistan has been conducting aerial bombings in several parts of the province. During this period the army has conducted about 12 bombardments and have killed more than 300 people. The areas that are continuously under fire are Sibi, Hernai, Much, Kohlo, Dera Bugti, Sabsilla, Bhambhoor, Loti, Dhaman, Pir Koh, Spin, Tangi, Babar Kach, Tandori and Sangan. Local people and elected representatives of the provincial assembly and Senate have been quoted in the national and international media as saying that about four F16 fighter jets, gunship helicopters have been used in the bombardments on the civilian population. In fact the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force actually admitted to the aerial bombardment in Balochistan.

Due to the military operations and aerial bombardments the local population has been forced to migrate to safer parts of Balochistan as well as to the nearby borders of Sindh and Punjab provinces. The military have cordoned off Hernai area for the past several days making it impossible for people to come and go. As a result the people are without food, medicines and drinking water. The area where people have taken leave from are predominantly Mach, Kohlo, Usta Mohamad, Sibi, Dera Bugti and some parts of Hanai. The two district provinces of Sibi and Bolan are the worst affected areas of military operations as well as the aerial bombardment. These two districts cover more than 500 kilometres. The displaced are now settled in other areas such as Dera Murad, Jamali, Quetta, Khuzdar, Hub in Balochistan and Kashmore, Jackob Abad and the border areas of Larkana district in Sindh Province. In Pubjab Province they have taken shelter in Dera Ghazi Khan district near Usta Mohammad village of Balochistan. According to newspaper reports the displaced are living in terrible conditions with no safe drinking water. According to a report published in the daily Dawn “It is unclear how many Bugti displaced people (DPs) actually poured into neighbouring cities and towns following the outbreak of hostilities between the warring tribesmen and the law-enforcement agencies in the early summer of last year. The Dera Bugti Nazim, Kazim Bugti, puts the number of DPs at over a hundred thousand. His assertions about the involvement of army helicopters in Dera Bugti military operations lend credence to the claims of the DPs.  The accusation is stoutly denied by the government, however". The displaced have to carry water from at least one to three kilometers away. No medical help is being provided to them. The are mostly children and women suffering from diarrhea, dehydration, malaria and high fevers. Some cases of deaths have been reported but not confirmed by any hospitals.

The local people in these areas where displaced persons are settled are not allowed by the intelligence agencies of Pakistan Army to help refugees. Edhi center, a local charitable organisation, has been stopped by the Pakistan Military from providing medical assistance
to the affected people and from making medical camps in refugee settled areas. The main persons from Edhi center were summoned to Pakistan's capital, Islam Abad by the Military intelligence and were ordered to stop medical assistance to the victims. According to the daily Dawn the displaced are lying in the open skies in summer where temperature remains at 38 to 44 degrees centigrade. The conditions of the displaced are deteriorating day by day and urgent help is needed from international organisations working for the rehabilitation of refugees and displaced persons.

I am appalled that a government could treat its people in such a dreadful manner. As human beings these people have rights that the government must ensure and respect. Evidently this is not happening in Pakistan, in particular in the Balochistan province, and this is unacceptable. I call on the relevant authorities in Pakistan as well as the international community to see to it that the aerial bombardments in Balochistan are ceased and that people can return to their homes without fear for their security. I further request the ceasing of all ongoing military operations in Balochistan and urge that genuine steps be taken to consult with people in the province to restore peace, and ensure the social welfare of the Baloch people, who suffer from great poverty.

Yours sincerely,
_______________________________

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
Email: (please see - http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)

2. Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights,
S Block,
Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad,
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-Mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk

3. Mr. Awais Ghani
Governor of Balochistan
Governor House,
Quetta,
Balochistan,
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 81 920 2178/ 2992

4. Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao
Minister of the Interior
#404, 4/F., R Block,
Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9212026
Fax: +92 51 9202624

5. Mrs Rifat Iqbal
Ambassador of Pakistan,
Embassy of Pakistan,
Ailesbury Villa,
1B Ailesbury Road,
Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4
U.S.A
Tel: +1 261 3032 / 01 261 3033
Fax: +1 261 3007

6. Ms Gay Mcdougall
Independent Expert on Minority Issues
c/o Global Rights
1200 18th Street, N.W.  
Suite 602  
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: +1 202 822 4600
Fax:  +1 202 822 4606
 
7. Ms. Louise Arbour
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9012/0213
 
8. Mr. Walter Kälin
Special Representative of the Secretary General the human rights of internally displaced persons
Attn: Ms. Karen Gulick
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE IDPs)

9. Mr. Arjun Sengupta
Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON THE QUESTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND EXTREME POVERTY)

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal General
Document ID :
UG-013-2006
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.