BANGKOK DECLARATION
24 February 2010
We the participants of the International Conference
titled “Balochistan Yesterday Today and Tomorrow:
Meeting the Challenges”, organized by “Baloch
Voice Foundation in Bangkok” on 22-24 February
2010 unanimously:
1. Commit ourselves to the struggle for our just
and inalienable rights both as individuals and members
of the Baloch community and resolve to put aside all
our differences and work together in harmony and in close
cooperation towards this end;
2. Pledge to take all measures possible through
peaceful means to protect our language, culture and separate
identity as Baloch and build a society based on values
that affirm human dignity and freedom, emphasise diversity
and inter-religious and sectarian harmony, and promote
equality and justice;
3. Pay homage to the Baloch sarmarchars (freedom
fighters) who have laid down their lives for securing
the rights and interests of our community and have inspired
us with their self-less devotion to the cause and the
courage they have demonstrated to take on the Pakistani
Army which is the fifth largest army in the world;
4. Denounce in strongest terms the continuing
perpetration of heinous crimes against peace-loving Baloch
people by the Pakistani and Iranian armies, which has
resulted in one of the worst human rights violations
that has largely been ignored and gone unreported in
the history of humankind;
5. Call upon the international community and urge
it to take note of the crimes being committed against
an entire community in the name of ‘national and
territorial integration’, and put pressure on the
Pakistani state to honour its international commitments
in cases involving torture, forced disappearances and
ensuring the operation of an impartial justice system;
6. Demand to declare Baloch people kept in custody
as ‘prisoners of war’ and to treat them
as per the UN Conventions; and establishment of a International
War Crimes Tribunal to try the perpetrators of the crimes
against the Baloch people; also express our disaffection
about the performance of the judiciary of Pakistan in
the context of the missing persons and do not expect
any justice under this system;
7. Express our deep concerns about the gross indifference
and arrogance with which Pakistan has been conducting
itself in its mission to reduce Baloch to a minority
in their own land, subjugate an entire nation by brute
force, seal their future by liquidating its young dynamic
and promising leadership, exploit the natural resources
of the Baloch lands to fill the coffers of the Pakistan
state and its army and perpetuate its colonialism;
8. Hold that Balochistan’s forced accession
to Pakistan was in violation of the decision of the elected
assembly and was thus an act of historical injustice,
where the leaders were coerced into accepting the decision
imposed on them by the leadership of the Pakistan state;
9. Take appropriate steps to raise the issue of
legality of accession of the Baloch state to Pakistan
at the international level;
10. Apprehend that Gwadar will serve as a strategic
and financial backbone for the Islamic radicals backed
by the state and contribute to regional tension
11. Concerned that the establishments of cantonments
and continuous deployment of about 150,000 Pakistani
forces will further exacerbate the human rights conditions
in Balochistan and perpetuate the genocide being undertaken
by the Pakistan state;
12. Record our deep anxiety about the strategy
of the Pakistani state to divide the Baloch peoples and
weaken their resistance movement by playing on the artificial
faultlines (sardars & non-sardars, lower class and
upper class, agents of one country or another etc.) created
by vested interests;
13. Appeal to the conscience of the Baloch brethren
to avoid taking measures that affects the strength of
the movement and warn that history will not forgive such
actions for ignoring the interests of an entire nation
for petty personal considerations;
14. Feel confident that there is enough determination
and resolve amongst the Baloch nation to carry the struggle
forward in the right direction despite the difficulties
on the way, the conspiracies of our enemies, and the
despondency setting in at certain levels that it is better
to give up and negotiate than fight;
15. Remind our brethren that the ideology of Pakistan
will never be in consonance with the secular credentials
of Baloch identity, and given the inherent contradictions
in the Pakistani state, the persisting domination of
the Punjabis in the statecraft and the insipient sense
of conceit, dishonesty and deception in its leadership,
we have to fight for our sovereignty and independence;
16. Draw attention of the international community
to the brazen use of Islamic radicalism against the Baloch
in the name of patriotism and nationalism to wipe out
the liberal and secular ethos of the Baloch nation and
condemn the nexus between the Pakistani military and
such militant groups to subdue and suppress the genuine
voice of the Baloch people;
17. Consider it the most opportune time for us
to come together, take stock of our strengths and weaknesses,
put the interests of our nation above our personal or
sectional interests and commit ourselves to the collective
struggle against a much superior and stronger force that
is determined to reduce us to second-class citizens,
obliterate our cultural salience and silence our voice
of protest for ever;
18. Realise the need for the establishment of
a body that will work sincerely in a concerted manner
towards effective propagation of our language, culture,
our political agenda and our national interests through
audio-visual and electronic media and provide a forum
for regular exchange of views, ideas, options and strategies
which will guide us in our most critical struggle for
existence;
19. Thank Baloch Voice Foundation for providing
the forum for free and fair exchange of a wide spectrum
of Baloch views in a neutral destination like Bangkok
and commend its efforts to conceive and launch “Baloch
Analysis Committee”, which promises to bring together
all shades of Baloch opinion and evolve joint strategies
for strengthening the movement for our national liberation
and independence;
20. Understand that it is a task of tall order,
the resources at our hand are limited and there is an
endless conspiracy to undermine our efforts; and hence
there is an absolute need to bury our mutual differences
and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the task we have
set for ourselves;
21. Decide to turn the initiative taken by the
Baloch Voice Foundation into an annual calendar event
to facilitate regular exchange of ideas, perspectives
and strategies on the state of our unremitting struggle
for our inalienable rights; and
22. Continue our struggle for independence together
keeping aside our mutual differences.
Balochistan Aajoi Juhd Zindagbath
Balochistan Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow:
Meeting the Challenges
Concept Note
Balochis of Pakistan have been on the wrong side of history
for no fault of their own. They were the victims of imperial
conspiracy and colonial oppression during the colonial
period and they have been under illegal occupation since
1947. The state of Pakistan has treated Balochis as second-class
citizens and viewed their genuine demands for cultural
autonomy and economic justice with suspicion. The elites
of Pakistan have regarded Balochistan both as a strategic
outpost and a resource rich terrain which can fill their
coffers and boost the economy of Pakistan. Balochistan
has lured them with its rich resources and strategic geopolitical
location.
Balochistan has 48 per cent of total territory of Pakistan
and mere 5 per cent of population. It is endowed with rich
mineral wealth (natural gas, coal and minerals). With the
construction of a new deep sea port at Gwadar, Balochistan
has even become more strategically important for Pakistan.
It is projected to act as the hub of an energy and trade
corridor which will connect Pakistan with China and the
Central Asian republics.
However, the Balochis have been treated with absolute scorn
and contempt. In terms of human develop index, Balochistan
is at the bottom of the table in Pakistan. There has been
no plausible effort to develop this human resource of this
state. The infrastructural and physical developments (Gwadar
port, Mirani dam, coastal highway, and cantonments) introduced
in the state are limited to some pockets and aimed at enriching
the economy of the Pakistani state. Such lopsided development
has resulted in the creation of colonies where people from
other states are being encouraged to migrate and settle
down. At another level, new cantonments have been established
to ensure the state’s control over the territory
and people of Balochistan.
Impartial accounts have suggested that “the development
scene in Balochistan is appalling and the extent of relative
deprivation in the province is unspeakable”. 25 per
cent of the population has access to electricity (national
average, 75 per cent). The male literary rate is 18.3 per
cent and the female literacy rate seven percent. Compared
to the 340 vocational institutes and commercial and law
colleges in Punjab, Balochistan has only nine such institutes
in urban areas, with poor infrastructure. It has the highest
infant and maternal mortality ratio in South Asia.
All in all, the demographic changes taking place over the
years have reduced Balochis to a minority in their own
land. The Pashtuns dominate the north and soon, Punjabis
will dominate the south. The Balochis will be sandwiched
between the two and forced to toe the line. Despite being
a resource-rich province, Balochistan is today marked by
a high rate of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and infant
and maternal mortality. A government report revealed in
October 2009 that Balochistan is the most backward province
in terms of HDI in Pakistan. It is almost 21 per cent below
the national average while Sindh is below the national
average by 10 per cent.
Any voice of protest from the Balochis has been silenced
through brutal display of state power. Rather than addressing
the genuine grievances of the people of Balochistan, the
state of Pakistan has tried it best to suppress dissent
through force and fraud. Agreements have been made in the
name of Holy Quran and then dissolve without any qualms.
Baloch leaders starting from Nawab Nauroz Khan till Nawab
Bugti and Balach Marri have been termed as traitors and
liquidated by the Pakistani state. The return of democratic
rule after the fall of the military regime headed by Musharraf
has not changed matters much. The army is busy eliminating
all promising Balochi youth who have raised their voice
against the gross injustice and military excesses in the
name of preserving the integrity of the Pakistani state.
The politicians have tried to evolve a political solution
to the problem but they have only rehearsed the measures
taken in the past, which were unacceptable to the Balochis.
The state has brazenly promoted Islamist elements in Balochistan
to wipe out the ethnic identity of the Balochis and destroy
their secular credentials.
In these circumstances, it has become impossible for the
Balochis not to raise their voice of concern against such
brazen oppression. In fact, a significant section amongst
the people of Balochistan considers Pakistani occupation
of Balochistan as illegal. They regard the signing of accession
by then Khan of Kalat as being done under duress and argue
that the representatives of the people of Balochistan had
decided against joining Pakistan. That is why they continue
to fight for total independence of Balochistan from Pakistani
hands. The more moderate elements who have demanded autonomy
for the province and just share in the national resources,
in terms of their contribution to national economy, have
also been disillusioned with their stand and concluded
that they cannot expect Pakistani state to grant them their
due without a fight.
After the failure of the democratic methods, a large section
of the Baloch youth has launched an armed struggle to liberate
their territory from Pakistani control and this has been
termed a movement to realise their right for self-determination.
Many among them have demanded reopening of the case of
accession and delegitimize Pakistani claim that Balochis
joined Pakistan put of their free will. There are also
concerted efforts to acquaint international community with
the gross human rights violations and genocide attempted
by the Pakistani army during the last five years. Balochi
diaspora in Europe, the Gulf states and north-America are
now closely coordinating their activities to lend moral
support to their hapless brethren fighting an unending
battle with the fourth largest army in the world.
In this context, it will be useful to organise a meeting
of Baloch leaders, scholars and civil society activists,
along with political scientists and strategic analysts
focussing on Balochistan from Pakistan and around the world
in a neutral venue and discuss the issues concerning the
people of Balochistan.
It is proposed hereby to organise a three-day conference
in either Bangkok or Singapore and invite about 20 participants
to attend it and engage in a brainstorming exercise to
find out the ways and means through which Balochis can
attain their goal.
The objectives of the conference are:
i) To provide a historical analysis of the Baloch struggle
for their rights and independence.
ii) To enumerate the acts of genocide and human rights
violation by the Pakistani army and bring out a compendium
for wider circulation.
iii) To critically analyse the policies of the Pakistani
state vis-à-vis the Balochis.
iv) Evaluate the role played by the Baloch leadership,
both past and present, and point out their short-comings.
v) Isolate and analyse the ways in which the state is trying
to address the problem
vi) Identify the ways and means through which Balochis
can coordinate their activities and sustain their struggle.
The end products will be following:
i) A compendium of human rights violation by the Pakistan
army in Balochistan.
ii) A book containing the papers presented at the conference
iii) A dedicated website for coordinating the activities
of disparate sections
