QAMBAR
JAN THO KUJA HEY?Posted
by Malik Siraj Akbar on July
11, 2009 By Malik Siraj AkbarIf I have ever been truly inspired by a leader of the Baloch
Students’ Organization then it is not Dr. Allah Nizar Baloch or Bashir Zaib
Baloch but Qumbar Chakar. In him, I have
always seen a future Ghulam Mohammad Baloch. For
English readers, he was (oh sorry, is) a “super star” and for the Balochi
readers, I could simply describe him as a “Blaheen Mard” (Big man).
Qambar, 20, is an extraordinary agitator, cogent speaker, deeply
committed political activist and a highly organized and punctual activist who
could proudly take credit for arranging most protest rallies for the
restoration of quota system at the Balochistan University for Information
Technology and Management Sciences (BUITMS), recovery of all the missing
Balochs and several other issues.He spoke a fluent English and made our work easier whenever a
foreign journalist was in town to learn more about the Baloch students’
movement. In May 2009, I introduced him with Canadian journalist Matthieu Aikins of the National Post with whom he had a
detailed interview. Qambar spoke so beautifully that Aikins started his article
with a quote from him.
http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1593832Fresh reports suggest that this amazing Baloch activist has been
whisked away by the personnel of the Frontier Corps and the intelligence agencies.
They say Chakar, also an Economics student, had gone to attend classes at the
City Campus of the BUITMS and latter on proceeded to the Takato Campus of the
University to meet with the Vice Chancellor to speak about the issue of the
district-based open merit admission policy. On his return from the college,
Chakar, who was accompanied by five other friends of his hailing from the
Baloch Action Committee, was stopped at Chaman Pattick area by a convey of
security forces.“They (personnel of the
security forces) had come in eight vehicles and asked Qambar to get out of the
Alto car,” said one eyewitness, “once Qambar walked towards them, we saw them
putting a hand grenade in Qambar’s pocket.” According to the eyewitness, the FC
officials shouted at Qambar pointing at the hand grenade: “What the hell is
this? You Baloch terrorist! We have to take you in custody.” They slapped,
manhandled Qambar and took him away to an unknown location while sparing his
other colleagues.Pakistan’s most prominent newspaper, Jang, this morning reports, though very briefly,
that a BSO activist has been arrested by the police while carrying a hand
grenade.
One close friend of Qambar says if latter was truly carrying a
hand grenade with him then how he could not be caught by the security scanners
installed at the BUITMS where the Baloch student had gone to meet with the Vice
Chancellor.However, such tactics no longer surprise anyone. We all know the
nature of the ridiculous cases the state functionaries have made in the past
against the Baloch people in this militarized province. We do not have a short
memory to recollect how Dr. Imdad Baloch, a
former chairman of the BSO, and his colleagues were resurfaced after seven
months of disappearance in 2005. They were implicated in a case of stealing a
washing machine somewhere in Dera Ghazi Khan while they had never visited DG
Khan in their whole life time.
Presently, no one knows
the whereabouts of Qambar Chakar. It is believed that he is being detained by
the FC and the intelligence agencies in one of the torture cells where,
according to the Baloch nationalists, around five thousand Balochs, including
more than a hundred women, are languishing simply because of their dissenting
views.“We strongly denounce the extra judicial arrest of the Baloch
student,” said Kachkol Ali
Baloch, Balochistan’s former leader of the opposition. “The State is
taking benefit of our powerlessness. Our leaders are being brutally killed and
younger ones are being subjected to enforced disappearance by the state
agencies.We call for a UN
intervention in Balochistan.”
In fact, the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan has
remarkably intensified with the arrival of an utterly powerless Pakistan
People’s Party government following the historic general elections of February
2008. It clearly seems that the hawkish Punjabi Establishment based in
Islamabad is still unwilling to relinquish powers in Balochistan.The resource-rich
province is still under the control of the army and the intelligence agencies
that indulge in grave violation of human rights. Ironically, most human rights
organizations operating in Pakistan deliberately snub their illegal operations
in the country’s largest province for the reason that they do not want their
funding to be stopped. The national media and human rights organizations have
also skirted the plight of the Baloch since the arrival of the PPP government.The extra-judicial arrest of the Baloch political leaders,
mainly the political activists, has been taking place very systematically.
There is not an iota of doubt that the establishment wants to eliminate or
enervate the Baloch movement by all possible means. Islamabad wishes to
subjugate the Baloch people to such an extent that they give up their demand
for self-rule. Such tactics, I am surely, are only going to increase
anti-Pakistan sentiments among the Baloch youth.Qambar Chakar’s abduction is not accidental. It was surely
preplanned. Previously, the central vice chairman of the BSO, Zakir Majeed Baloch, was arrested and taken
to an unknown location in a similar attempt. Likewise, another key leader of
the BSO, Shahzaib Baloch, who
presides over the Quetta chapter of the organization, was arrested in April and
kept in illegal solitary confinement for more than two months. The most
pathetic thing about such official behavior is the denial of judicial justice
to these ‘missing
persons’. They are not produced before any court of law to prove their
innocence.
The list of the missing persons does not end here. Among the
fresh victims, two prominent names are that ofJalil
Rekhi, the central information secretary of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) and
Chakar Qambarani, a member of the BRP central committee. They have been missing
for more than five months now.
It is highly regrettable that the restored Chief Justice of
Pakistan Mr. Justice Ifthakar Chaudhary, who was believed to be sacked by
former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf due to his proactive role in
recovering the missing persons, has taken a U-turn in his approach towards the
missing persons. The Chief
Justice of Pakistan has not only softened his attitude but also completely
skirted the plight of the Baloch youth who are illegally pushed into torture
cells and subjected to inhuman treatment.Mr. Chaudhary, is this
what millions of people in Pakistan marched for? No Sir. They wanted the
restoration of a man who had the spunk to bring the intelligence agencies under
control. If you fail to deliver justice then your opponents certainly get an
opportunity to say that you politicized your suspension merely to gain personal
popularity. I know you did.The international community, mainly the human rights
organizations, have to take notice of the unabated violation of human rights in
Balochistan. The main reason for the kidnapping of the American head of the
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), John Solecki, in February this year
was predominantly the issue of ‘missing persons.’ The people of Balochistan are
tired of the state repression. Their beloved ones are going missing every other
day. The international community did not stand up to its promises with the
Baloch people regarding the issue of enforced disappearances while negotiating
with the Baloch leadership about the release of John Solecki.
In the meanwhile, the Baloch students, who tried to protest the
extra-judicial arrest of Qambar Chakar, were shelled by the police this morning
at BUITMS. Qambar Chakar deserves a good response from his political friends.
While free, he had actively campaigned for the release of everyone. It is the
time everyone joined the rallies being organized for Chakar’s release. Qambar
is a man of high spirits. He had told me
many times that he knew that the intelligence agencies and the FC were chasing
him.When I asked him for a
meeting last time so that I could write a story on Zakir Majeed, he said he was
willing to meet me anywhere I wanted. “What about the Press Club,” I asked. He
laughed and said, “but the press club is surrounded by ‘their men’,” as he
referred to the agents of the agencies. I said okay we could sit somewhere
safe. He said he was not afraid of coming downtown. It was just he had begun to
take precautionary measures to ensure his own security. I said it was a very
wise decision.We wish young Qambar Chakar all the best. He is a brave boy. He
surely knows that “ah pa sarani
goda ga….”
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