WASHINGTON DC: Baluch, Sindhi and American peace activists will join hands in protest against Pakistan testing of its deadly Islamic Bomb in occupied Baluchistan on May 28 outside the Pakistan embassy in Washington DC.
A noon to dusk hunger strike will also be staged to draw the attention of the U.S. public to the ongoing brutal military operation in Baluchistan.
Baluchistan, a Texas-size stateless region, is divided among Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan and a bloody army operation continues there despite installing of a civilian regime, though coup leader Gen. (R) Pervez Musharraf is still the president of the artificial state created by the British in 1947.
Baluchistan was annexed by Pakistan in March 1948 and a move is afoot to knock the doors of the International Court of Justice. The Khan of Kalat His Highness Suleman Daud Ahmedzai has sought asylum in the United Kingdom and has vowed to get the right of self-rule for his people.
Last week three Baluch tribesmen were burnt alive in Baluchistan. Several thousand people have been killed since the start of a bloody insurgency, which the Baluch call the Fifth War of Liberation against Pakistani occupation of their homeland.
The Baluch have risen in arms against the occupation of their country by Pakistan in 1948, 1958 and 1962 and 1973-77. The latest uprising started in 2005 and the dead include former governor and chief minister of Baluchistan, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, and member of the provinial assembly Mir Bala'ach Marri. More than 7000 people were jailed and tortured in Pakistan's gestapostyle prisons. The victims include former chief minister of Baluchistan, Sardar Akhtar Mengal.
Though all nuclear weapons are equally deplorable, Pakistan's weapons of mass destruction are even more dangerous as it is religion-specific. As part of its state ideology, Pakistan considers people from other religions as its state enemies and has made clear it will not desist from being the first to use nuclear weapons.
Pakistan has rapaciously used Baluch resources for the last 60 years and instead of giving Baluchistan its due share, killed and maimed tens of thousands of Baluch tribesmen and left their lands contaminated by nuclear radiation in the 1998 nuclear tests. No independent study has been conducted to see the disastrous consequences of Pakistan's use of Baluch territories to test its so-called Islamic bomb.
Islamic fundamentalist took to the streets of Pakistan when the nuclear weapons were tested in Chagai 10 years ago. They had missile replicas mounted on trucks with "U.S., Israel and India" inscribed on them
A special highlight of the day will be the reading of a message from the de jure ruler of Balochistan, His Highness the Khan of Kalat. In a separate address to his nation, the Khan of Kalat will convey his plans for Baluch emancipation through telephone to the Quetta Press Club.
A number of U.S.-based Baluch human rights activists will participate in the protest rally in DC.
American guitarists will sing peace songs against nuclear weapons, while U.S. poets will recite poems. Speeches by Baluch and Sindhi activists will deal with the situation faced by the people of Baluchistan and Sindh.
Similar protests are planned in Pakistan and other Western capitals, while Baluch in the Arabian Gulf countries have conveyed their support for the global protests.
For more info, contact Dr. Wahid Baloch, Mir Maqbool Aliani, Nabi Baloch or Ahmar Mustikhan.
Media contact: 1-301-957-0008. |
