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Briefing on "Situation in Balochistan" Washington, D.C: The World Sindhi Institute (WSI) Washington, DC organized a ‘Briefing Meeting’ on September 06, 2006 to share information on recent events in Balochistan with organizations/individuals interested in the cause of human rights and democracy. Mr. Waheed Baloch, former Speaker of Balochistan Provincial Assembly was present to apprise the participants on the background and recent situation and it’s expected impacts on the country as well U.S-Pakistan relations. Mr. Munawar Laghari, Executive Director of The World Sindhi Institute introduced Mr. Waheed Baloch as highly motivated and knowledgeable on issues related to Balochistan. As ‘Speaker’ of the Assembly from 1993 to 1997, he served as President of the Balochistan Chapter of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and led parliamentary delegations to various other countries. By profession a Lawyer, Mr. Baloch has been active politically with Baloch Students Organization, Pakistan Progressive Students Alliance, Balochistan National Movement and Balochistan National Party. Presently in the U.S., he is the President and CEO of Baloch International League (for Peace and Freedom), a Non Profit Organization based in Washington, DC. Mr. Waheed Baloch started his speech by expressing, "Once again Balochistan is burning and bleeding". He apprised the participants on the recent events of bombardment in Kohlu, where Nawab Bugti was assassinated along with his family and party members. He stressed that no understanding of any event in Balochistan is possible without understanding the historical background of that area. He continued to explain the historical background of the province in the light of Afghan war and Soviet collapse. He thus emphasized on the strategic regional and international importance of Balochistan beyond being an internal matter of Pakistan only. He further carried on by saying that there were historical international treaties related to this area, which Pakistan has failed to adhere with. He stressed that in spite of being resource rich and being the largest province of Pakistan, Balochistan is deprived of human rights. Baloch people, according to him, generally believe in separation of church and state. He concluded by condemning the act of killing a popular tribal and political leader of the province just because times and again, he reminded the government of Pakistan about the principles and aspirations of the Baloch people and demanded respect for them. Present in the meeting was Ex-Congressman of U.S. Congress, Mr. Jim Moody who raised his question regarding different perspectives on the situation in Pakistan, particularly Balochistan. Other participants came from some Think Tanks, Non-Profit Organizations, Media and Academia in DC. They include Mr. Walt Landry, Mr. Malik Toghi, Mr. Maqbool Aliani, Mr. Khalid Hashmani, Mr. M.S. Chawla, Mr. Ahmar Masti Khan, Mr. Haji Khokar, Mr. Ali Nawaz Memon, Mr. Jamal Baluch, Mr. Goel, Mr. Akram Baloch, Mr. Aleem Brohi, Ms. Elizabeth West, Ms. Shanon Harris and Dr. Fauzia Deeba. Matters that came under discussion included the following :
In the end, each participant introduced him/herself in some briefly and the host, Mr. Munawar Laghari thanked all participants for their time and valuable input. For Contact : Munawar Laghari |