Articles for category: Opinion

Balochistan: Political awakening

Recently, Brahumdagh Bugti, the leader of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP), through a tweet, subscribed to the Pakistani version of the events of March 27th 1948, which Baloch observe as a black day as Balochistan was illegally annexed to Pakistan. He said it was only Kalat and not Balochistan that was annexed and then in ...

Bibi Mahdim Baluch

A lesson from Baloch history

The leader of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) has issued statements in serious breach of the Baloch nationalist narrative and presented the world at large with an inaccurate understanding of Baloch history. Balochistan had been a loosely knit tribal confederacy for centuries with major political activity and discussion being centered in and around Kalat or ...

News Desk

An academic history of Balochistan’s ‘accession’ with Pakistan

Brahumdagh Bugti’s refusal to accept March 27 as the day of occupation of Balochistan by Pakistan has opened a pandora’s box with nationalist leaders across the board asking the Baloch Republican Party leader to take back his statement. In all this noise, however, historical facts are being ignored. Neither Brahumdagh nor his critics are offering ...

Mureed Baloch

The true story of slaughtering a mid-aged hen

“But why are you so scared of birds, cousin? They’re cute. And delicious. I slaughtered this one before you guys arrive,” she said in a shyly proud tone while splitting the boiled hen in portions to serve her polio-ridden brother. “That’s really brave of you,” I replied. For some odd reason in life, birds have ...

Sameer Mehrab

A photo by an unknown artist about power politics.

The role of law in Baloch-Pakistan conflict

Why ask the Baloch to follow Pakistan’s constitution, when the state itself disregards its laws in punishing the Baloch for not following Pakistan’s constitution? The constitution is a social contract between the state and its citizens to govern and to be governed under a set of agreed-upon laws. The Baloch people had no role in ...

On the question of Baloch-Pashtun unity

I do not want to be seen as someone throwing a monkey wrench into the works and undermining the move towards a prospective Baloch-Pashtun unity but there are certain things which all those advocating and proposing this unity should understand and keep in view. I for one would be the happiest if this much-wanted unity ...

Hassan Hamdam

The birth of Bangladesh: who is to blame?

Bangladesh comprised of the eastern regions of a divided Bengal. In the schema of dividing India and creating Pakistan on religious grounds, this part of Bengal was incorporated in to Pakistan and, for a while, it was known as East Pakistan. After a bloody civil war, with the help of Indian forces, East Pakistan became ...

Abdullah Abbas

Activists of the Baloch Human Rights Organization protesting against human rights violations in Balochistan. -- Internet photo

Humanity at stake in Balochistan

In the middle of the night of October 28, 2017, I received a call from one of my colleagues in the Baloch Human Rights Organization (BHRO), a group working to highlight human rights abuses in Balochistan. It was unusual to receive a call from Pakistan directly on my mobile phone. Our colleagues there would usually ...

Malik Siraj Akbar

Siddiq Baluch, left, along with Malik Siraj Akbar (the author), middle.

Siddiq Baluch: the last surviving story teller

“So do you know what happened next?” asked Siddiq Baluch as he shared yet another anecdote from his eventful journalistic career that stretched over five decades. Young reporters and journalism students from the University of Balochistan sat around the seasoned journalist at the office of Daily Balochistan Express and Daily Azadi, both of which he ...

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Internet photo

MQM-Altaf not a friend to Baloch

A Baloch activist friend who lives abroad recently wrote to me and expressed concern that some quarters among the Baloch are trying to forge a Baloch-MQM (Altaf)* alliance on the plea that the MQM is anti-establishment and will prove helpful to the Baloch. It is a tricky path to tread with such alliances which join ...