Baluchistan

[Raftar]

The Pakistani media (as usual) has been spreading lies and disinformation. What is really going on in Baluchistan?

All these lies and deceptions are exposed in these 24 minutes, Alhamdolillah. Listen to the proud Bugti Sardar Mir Ahmadan Bugti, the first cousin of Nawab Akbar Bugti tell you the truth about Akbar Bugti and his crimes against Bugti and Baluch Muslims. Also see the love of Marri Tribals with Pak Army.

It is your duty to share these video globally. The enemy is fully on the offensive. Join the fight to defend Pak Sarzameen.

1. The media claims that Baluchistan has not been given its rights and the people of Baluchistan are fighting to get their rights (True & False: The people have been treated unfairly – but what our media fails to tell us all is that this phenomenon is across Pakistan. Regardless our Government doesn’t discriminate when it wants to walk all over us and rob us. The people in Balochistan are fighting for the same thing every other Pakistani is fighting for – good governance, development and peace. They are looking for more provincial autonomy – somebody should teach Hamid Mir the definition of what “autonomy” means.)

2. They tell you that all Baluch are against Pakistan (False: Baloch are quite frankly the fiercest patriots in all of Pakistan – they are just upset with the way this government has treated them, just like you and me!)

3. They tell you that FC and Army is treating the Baluch like enemies (False: The FC and Army are defending the country from a small group of idiots who have taken arms from the United States to bring about civil disobedience. There are many Baloch tribes who are backing and supporting the Army and FC to kick these people out. The BLA are a CIA outfit, similar to the TTP – infact you can argue they are 2 sides of the same coin. The only difference is the uniforms. The common Baloch wants nothing to do with the BLA, which is exploiting the ignorance of this Government)

4. They tell you that the Military refused to do developments in Baluchistan (False: There were many projects slated to be done by the Government, as well as private and military. On many occasions it was the Zardari-Gillani Government which pulled the development funding. On other occasions, BLA were responsible for kidnapping and even killing construction workers. No development can occur anywhere in Pakistan without peace and with idiots like Zardari-Gillani in power.)

5. They tell you that US is not supporting the rebellions in Baluchistan (False: The US is activley promoting the BLA & TTP – both of these groups are a CIA product, with the intention of trying to bring about civil disobedience. Ask any locals what they think of the BLA or TTP and you will hear the reality. They want nothing to do with these troublemakers – why does the media continue to promote them? Have you ever wondered?)

6. They tell you that US does not have any plans to attack and capture Baluchistan (False: The US has a big part in trying to gain a foothold in the region – Gwadar has been on the radar of the CIA for decades now. When the Chinese decided to make it’s presence felt, the Americans felt threatened. They also needed a listening post to not only keep eyes on China, but also Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.)

7. They tell you that Sardars are protecting the rights of the Baluch Muslims (False: Sardars are the ones destroying all development and purposely keeping the average Baloch in the worst conditions possible. Ask the local people about all the private jails and slaves they have. Ask them about how they refuse to allow roads, schools and hospitals from being built. When the average Baloch is unhealthy and uneducated, it is easier to control them – this has been the tactics of Sardars in Balochistan.)

8. They tell you that army killed Nawab Akbar Bugti (False: He committed suicide!)


Baluchistan – The Propaganda & Reality – Zaid Hamid « Articles « Shehroz Kaleem

 

[Raftar]

VIDEO:
http://blip.tv/btghazwa/baluchistan-crises-propaganda-and-reality-zaid-hamid-5973991


The enemies and the traitors within cannot break away Baluchistan. There is a deliberate information war by the likes of SAFMA to create the hype to give this perception that Pakistan is breaking up. Stay firm and stay united. There is no power on earth which can undo Pakistan, InshAllah. Baluchistan is 42 % of Pakistan territory. Its population is only 4% of Pakistan, about 8 million. Out of this, nearly 5 million are Pashtuns, Brahwis, Makranis, Punjabis and Sindhi Pakistani Muslims who have no problem at all. Within the Baluch Muslims Pakistanis, 90% are with Pakistan alhamdolillah. The separatists are just a few thousand misguided men from only 4 districts out of 28 districts of the province. Hyberyar Marri, Brahmadagh Bugti and Attaullah Mengal are taking help from US and India to wage a war against Pakistan but the reality is even within Bugti and marri tribe, there are thousands of youth who are great patriot Muslims and love Pakistan. Nawab Akbar Bugti had exiled his own tribe of Raheja, Kalpar and Messori sub-tribes into Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan for 15 years and had taken over their lands in Sui and Dera Bugti. He persecuted his own Baluch people and killed his own family members for demanding rights. This is where Pakistan army intervened in 2004 to protect Baluch Bugti tribe from the crimes of Akbar Bugti in 2004 and helped the Kalpar, Messori and Raheja Bugtis to come back to their native lands. Upon this Akbar Bugti started a war against Pakistan and was then chased out into the hills where he committed suicide. Yes, Akbar Bugti committed suicide and he was NOT killed by the army. Today, the MNA from dera Bugti is Mir Ahmadan Bugti, a patriotic Raheja Baluch, a first cousin of Akbar Bugti, who was exiled with over a hundred thousand Baluchs by Akbar Bugti. Army brought him back. He is the MNA and has been elected by the entire Bugti tribe and he defends Pakistan against terrorists of Brahmadagh Bugti. You hear the interviews of Brahmadagh in this SAFMA controlled media but you never hear the voice of Mir Ahmadan Bugti, the real patriotic Bugti Baluch Muslim and Pakistani! This is how media manipulates the truth. Go and ask Mir Ahmadan Bugti about the truth of Bugtis being against Pakistan and he will show you how proud Bugtis stand with Pakistan! There is no government in Pakistan today, even in Islamabad and the country is in a state of war being invaded by enemies from all sides. If Pakistan army does not stop the TTP and the BLA terrorists, the country would be destroyed by now. That is why you see all the fake propaganda against the missing persons and army atrocities against the Baluch. In reality, FC and Pak army are defending Pakistan against Indian backed insurgencies where even the CIA is involved. There is a massive infighting between the BRA and BLA also where both groups are killing each other for weapons, money and turf. They kill each other and then blame army for the murders. Many have gone to Afghanistan for training and their families register them as missing persons. This is all part of the war against Pak army and the media is fuelling this war. Americans want to take over Gawader. The recent resolution in US congress has encouraged the exiled separatists that they can use the CIA and India for a Libyan styled invasion. Never InshAllah! As long as Pakistan can block the NATO supplies, US do not have the resources and the weapons to make a landing at Gawader. If we release the supplies, then the Americans can make such a plan but even then, there will be fighting but Baluchistan can never be separated from Pakistan, InshAllah. The situation in Baluchistan is NOT like of East Pakistan. The few thousand insurgents can blow up few pipelines and kills a few Muslims and soldiers but they can never break Pakistan which is under the shadow of Rasul Allah (sm). Even today, from Governor to Chief Minister to ministers, all are Baluch in the government. The President of Pakistan is also a Baluch. Farooq Leghari was a Baluch also. Mazari was the prime Minister and was a Baluch also. Jamali was the PM and was a Baluch also. Baluchis Pakistanis Muslims from Baluchistan have reached the highest offices of this country. If Baluchistan have not received developments, they are responsible, not the army or the ISI. The whole country is suffering today not just Baluchistan. The only way to end the suffering of the people is to bring the system of Khilafat e Rashida in the country and implement the Islamic system of social justice. The system of present day is Zalim, not the country. The solution is come under the shadow of Rasul Allah (sm) not to wage a war against Rasul Allah (sm), on whose orders this Pak Sarzameen was created. We invite all Baluch youth to join hands with us in Takmeel e Pakistan to bring in the system of Khilafate Rashida so that all zulm can be eliminated and due rights can be shared within Muslims. But we will fight against all those who want to break the Pakistan of Rasul Allah (sm). By Allah, we will! Now you know the truth. Spread it far and wide and do not fall for the propaganda of the enemies. InshAllah khair. This Pakistan is here to stay, alhamdolillah. Enemies can go to hell !

 

[Kaniska]

Enemy always feels good when you will deny that there is not any issue with Baluchistan..It gives them a chance to regroup and act against your nation...So now its your choice whether you should accept there is any issue in Baluchistan or not...

 

[Areesh]

Enemy always feels good when you will deny that there is not any issue with Baluchistan..It gives them a chance to regroup and act against your nation...So now its your choice whether you should accept there is any issue in Baluchistan or not...

Obviously there is an issue and we have to resolve it not because it would become East Pakistan(it can't become one) but because it is part of Pakistan and it's problems should be resolved whatever they are.

 

[Raftar]

Pakistan's Reko Diq Looking Less Prospective

Reposted from IBTimes Gold | February 20, 2012 | Link to full story

By Chris Allbritton

(REUTERS) -- Pakistan's Reko Diq, an untapped copper and gold mine of fabulous potential, was meant to be the biggest foreign investment in the country's mining sector, but it's beginning to look more like fool's gold to the companies involved.

Set in one of the bleakest places on earth, a Baluchistan desert at the foot of an extinct volcano, Reko Diq was expected to yield revenues of at least $60 billion over the 56-year life of the mine.

Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), a joint venture between Chile's Antofagasta and Canadian-based Barrick Gold, had sunk $220 million over the past five years into exploring the deposit in the ochre sand desert, where temperatures reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. It was planning to invest a total of $3.3 billion when the provincial government abruptly refused to grant a mining license last year.

"It's been difficult to define what their actual issues were," Tim Livesey, CEO of TCC, told Reuters in an exclusive interview. "We went back to them for clarification, as many of their issues are not covered in the Baluchistan Mining Regulations."

A local government official, who requested anonymity, said TCC took too long to complete its feasibility study and that it was "cheating" Baluchistan by under-valuing the worth of the copper and gold.

"They are the monopoly," the official said angrily. "They are the monopolists of the gold! They don't want to disclose the worth of the gold in Baluchistan."

The case is now before the Pakistan Supreme Court, and TCC has filed for international arbitration. The Baluchistan government, meanwhile, has recently handed out exploration permits in the area around Reko Diq to new Pakistani and Chinese companies with no mining experience.

Pakistan is already viewed as a high risk investment due to chronic civil and sectarian conflict, terrorism, corruption, poor regulation and chronic power outages. Legal uncertainty would only add to that list.

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

Reko Diq was supposed to be a model of public-private partnership and a means to lifting an impoverished area where Baluch insurrectionists have long operated.

The Baluchistan government received a 25 percent stake in the venture for no money down. Adding in taxes and royalties, the total share of revenues to the provincial and federal governments would come to just over half.

"From my experience, 25 percent to the government is extremely generous and it's not normal," said Vivienne Lloyd, a senior consultant at the U.S.-based Copper Research Group.

According to documents filed with the Supreme Court, TCC projected the mine would produce at least $60 billion worth of ore over its lifespan based on long-term copper and gold prices of $2.2/pound and $925/ounce, respectively.

Higher spot prices would increase that sum significantly. Based on recent copper and gold prices, the mine would be worth almost $120 billion, with Baluchistan getting a quarter of that after operating costs.

It is this difference in long-term and spot prices that has led to angry allegations in the media and from Baluchis that outsiders are exploiting their natural wealth.

"The picture that emerges is one of a grand deception, loot and plunder that never happened before on such a scale," the News daily said. "And the facts, untruths, half-truths, attempts to sabotage, frauds and back-door bribes, are all documented."

The Baluch official was more succinct: "They corrupted our people, they corrupted our nation and for 18 years they looted our money."

The Tethyan Copper Company was originally established 18 years ago in 1993 under a different partnership.

 

[Raftar]

SANDY MOUNTAIN

Reko Diq, which means "Sandy Mountain" in Baluch, is part of the Tethyan Magmatic Arc, a crumple in the earth created by collisions of the African, Arabian, Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

It contains massive deposits of copper and gold ore of varying grades in a belt stretching from Romania through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan all the way to Papua New Guinea.

The site in Pakistan today is a boulder-littered moonscape of rust-colored dunes, extinct volcano domes and a whipping wind that sends a fine-grit dust over the scattered settlements in the area. There are few towns, fewer roads, no electricity or running water, and almost nothing grows there. The only way in or out is by chartered plane on a private airstrip.

TCC's exploration site is like an abandoned moon colony: converted shipping containers and white trailers meant to house workers line up neatly under the baking sun, but stand empty.

TCC has laid off about 240 of its 270 workers, but if the mine goes forward, it plans to employ 11,000 people within two years. That seems unlikely now.

Alongside the lonely trailers, cavernous warehouses with corrugated steel roofs hold thousands of trays containing rods of compressed earth -- core samples that testify to the riches underfoot.

In all, the planned $3.3 billion investment would have included a 1,000-metre-deep open-pit mine, a processing facility, a project village for employees and a 682-km underground pipeline to Gwadar port on the Arabian sea to carry slurry concentrate to a dedicated marine terminal.

The village would include schools and cricket pitches, a mosque, health clinics, a library, a public square, restaurants and markets, and even a 189 MW power plant.

INVESTMENT RISK

Despite its remoteness, TCC's Livesey said the project would add "percentage points" to Pakistan's gross domestic product, which grew at just 2.4 percent in fiscal 2010-11.

Indeed, the mining sector has been hit especially hard, posting only 0.4 percent growth last year and contributing just 2.4 percent of GDP, down from a peak of 2.7 percent in 2004-5.

"Most mining projects in Pakistan, they suffer from lack of research or lack of management," said Dr Farid Malik, a geologist and former chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation, explaining the need for foreign investment.

Political turmoil and other uncertainties hanging over the $175 billion economy risk deepening the steady attrition of foreign direct investment, which plunged 40 percent to $594 million in the first seven months of the 2011/12 fiscal year.

TCC's feasibility study alone was already the largest single foreign direct investment in Pakistan's history.

The rejection of a mining license after an exploration permit had been granted is highly unusual, industry sources say, and has heightened perceptions of foreign investment risk in Pakistan.

"There is potential ... for multiple mine developments over the next few decades," Livesey said. "By refusing a mining license without good grounds, it's sending quite a negative signal to the exploration/mining community."

TCC has filed cases with the International Court of Arbitration in London and the World Bank's International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes. If the courts find in its favour, Pakistan could face billions of dollars in damages.

DIGGING UP THE PAST

The origins of the dispute go back to 1993, when Australian mining company BHP Billiton and the government of Baluchistan signed a joint venture agreement that set up the Tethyan Copper Company, with BHP getting a 75 percent share of any mineral wealth found.

In 2006, Barrick Gold and Antofagasta acquired TCC, taking an equal share each. The Baluch government kept its original quarter share. The new owners soon found signs of the immense deposits.

Once word of the billions below ground appeared in the media, an avalanche of lawsuits followed.

Last May, the Supreme Court directed the local government to "expeditiously decide TCC's application for the grant of mining lease transparently and fairly."

In November, Baluchistan made its decision. It rejected the license -- but not before granting 11 exploration permits for sites surrounding TCC's Reko Diq area to five hastily established Pakistani and Chinese companies with no previous experience in mining.

All five companies were created and attained their licenses in the four months following the Supreme Court's May order.

"Why should (Baluchistan government) give away 75 or 50 percent of a multi-billion-dollar resource when it can keep everything?" lawyer and arbitration expert Feisal Naqvi sarcastically asked on his blog, Monsoon Frog.

The Baluchistan government says it rejected TCC's permit because the company didn't complete the feasibility study on time and the study did not cover the entire area for which the exploration license had been granted.

"These were the grounds that we made for the licensing authority to reject the application for the mining lease," said Ahmer Bilal Soofi, who represents the Baluch government.

But TCC and mining experts say it is normal to submit feasibility studies for a smaller area than originally explored.

In a bid to head off arbitration, the provincial government and a number of nationalist political parties have filed suit in the Supreme Court to have the original deal declared illegal.

Soofi says the 1993 agreement was tainted by corruption. The official who signed the original deal, Athar Jaffar, was later convicted of having assets beyond his means and was sentenced to seven years in prison, he says. Though Jaffar's conviction was not related to the deal signed with BHP, "you can infer corrupt practices," he said.

Jaffar could not be located for this report, nor could Soofi's statements be verified.

THE CHINA SYNDROME

Further complicating the story are the Baluchis themselves. Traditionally proud and martial, they are fiercely suspicious that outsiders - including the rest of Pakistan - are out to steal their mineral and energy resources.

They have valid reasons to worry. For years Baluchistan has languished near the bottom in literacy, electric power, infant mortality and other social indicators; its natural gas and mineral riches went to the wealthy, populated parts of Pakistan.

"They've been exploited so many times in the past," said Malik. "Now they see so much light at the end of the tunnel ... and they think they're not getting their fair share."

The Baluchis have staged five uprisings since the province was incorporated into Pakistan in 1948, each time demanding more control over their natural resources.

Because of this, some analysts speculate that the powerful Pakistani army sees Reko Diq as a strategic resource and hopes to keep the mineral wealth out of the hands of the Baluchistan government, in case separatist political parties win provincial elections.

The army, acknowledging Pakistan's inexperience in large-scale commercial mining, might also want to bring China into the picture. China is the world's largest consumer of copper, has experience in large-scale mining, and has a record of building infrastructure in exchange for resources in developing countries.

"Everywhere I look, there are indications of Chinese interest in developing this area, more than Barrick Gold could," said Shamila Chaudhary of Eurasia Group.

 

[Turingsage]

Pakistan introduces apartheid in Baluchistan

Dompas

• Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur
• November 15, 2015

The colonists in South Africa knew they had to control all forms of dissent and ensure that they could engineer and monitor the demography according to their needs and wishes. Consequently, they introduced the pass, which was dubbed as dompas in Afrikaans, meaning stupid pass by Blacks affected by this inhuman and derogatory method of controlling the people who were the real owners of the land. Pakistan has come up with its own version of dompas for the Baloch people to ensure they have a free hand in plundering Balochistan’s resources. They have started in Gwadar but this will invariably spillover to the whole of Balochistan because they cannot fly from Gwadar to Kashgar, and will have to use land transport creating the need to secure routes. Their puppet, Dr Malik, is already voicing concern: “Hostile elements may try to disrupt the law and order when there is some progress on the construction of the Gwadar-Kashgar highway.” The intention is to provide grounds for the dompas system for the Baloch people. Initially, it will be a security measure but later will eventually create racist apartheid in Balochistan.


The pass laws were designed to control the movement of Africans under apartheid and evolved from regulations imposed by the Dutch and British in the 18th and 19th centuries’ slave economy of Cape Colony. In the 19th century, new pass laws were enacted to ensure a reliable supply of cheap, docile African labour for the gold and diamond mines. The Pass Laws Act of 1952 required black South Africans over the age of 16 to carry the dompas everywhere and at all times. The dompas was filled with extensive information on the person. There were fingerprints, photographs, personal details of employment, permission from the government to be in a particular part of the country, qualifications to work or seek work in the area and an employer’s reports on worker performance and behaviour. If a worker displeased their employer and they declined to endorse the book for the pertinent time period, the worker’s right to stay in the area was jeopardised.


According to the Pass Law, government officials possessed the power to expel the worker from the area by adverse endorsement in the passbook. This was known as ‘endorsing out’ and could be carried out at any time, and for any reason. Officials were not required to provide an explanation for their actions. Family members of a worker who was ‘endorsed out’ also forfeited their right to remain in the area and faced eviction and exile to a Bantustan (territory set aside for the black population). Forgetting to carry the dompas, misplacing it or having it stolen rendered one liable to arrest and imprisonment. Each year, over 250,000 blacks were arrested for technical offenses under the Pass Law. As a result, the dompas became the most despised symbol of apartheid. By the time the increasingly expensive and ineffective pass laws were repealed in 1986, they had led to more than 17 million arrests.


The people resisted this unjust control over their lives by the colonisers. People resisted in different ways. Then, on March 21, 1960, the Sharpeville Massacre occurred as South African police opened fire on a crowd of black protesters, a group of between 5,000 and 7,000 people converged on a local police station in the township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, offering themselves up for arrest for not carrying their pass books, killing 69 people — many of them shot in the back — and wounding more than 200. The two main organisations, the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), both gave up peaceful struggle and opted for armed struggle.


The colonisers know that the dompas on its own cannot satisfactorily control the population. There have to be other complementing mechanisms and arrangements to ensure the complete control they crave for. The White South Africans created bantustans to accomplish that. The areas adjoining the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route could gradually be turned into bantustans. In South Africa, the Group Areas Act of 1950 divided the lands in which blacks and whites resided into distinct residential zones. This act established the distinct areas of South Africa in which members of each race could live and work, typically setting aside the best urban, industrial and agricultural areas for whites. Blacks were restricted from renting or even occupying property in the areas deemed as ‘white-zones’, unless they received state permission. The entire aim of residence passes in Gwadar is to create an area where Baloch entry can be restricted and controlled at will to ensure that the Chinese are safe even if that safety comes at the cost of employing apartheid mechanisms in Balochistan.


China simply wants its pound of flesh for the dollars it invests. It is no one’s friend and cares for nothing but profits even if these come at the cost of repression and military operations that are inflicting heavy losses on the Baloch. A Chinese company, Zonergy Company, in developing a 900-megawatt solar power project in Punjab. Pakistan is considering a downward tariff revision from 14.15 cents to 9.25 cents per unit from January 2016. This reduction in profits has irked China and they say this reduction will have a disastrous impact on Chinese enterprises working under the CPEC programme. It is not for the Baloch or even Pakistanis that China is in Balochistan. It wants profits, even those tainted by Baloch blood.


The nexus between China and the Pakistani establishment is not surprising as both eye profits only with no concern for the welfare of the people. This then brings us to the Baloch who have been resisting the repression and loot of their resources since March 27, 1948. The Baloch have had no alternative but to protect their rights and resources with their lives and even the government admits that more than 8,000 people were taken into custody this year. Mama Qadeer, the vice chairman of the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) said last year that 20,000 plus persons are missing.


When people think that their existence is at stake they, like the Blacks of South Africa, resist those exploiting and insulting their dignity with things like the Pass Law. The Baloch people resist but, unfortunately, find no support among the general population in Pakistan because branded as separatists and terrorists they seemingly do not even qualify for humanitarian sympathy. Those who are silent today would do well to remember that those who seek profits and profits alone do not eventually discriminate in their choice of victims. They could be in line for exactly the same treatment being meted out to the Baloch today.

Dompas