Professor Saba Dashtiyari Assassinated

June 1, 2011.

The Baloch Hal News

QUETTA: A prominent Baloch linguist, writer and a professor of the University of Balochistan, Dr. Saba Dashtiyari has been assassinated in Balochistan’s capital Quetta, sources confirmed.

According to the details Professor Dashtiyari was gunned down by unidentified persons on Wednesday night  by unidentified attackers while he was on his way home. The professor instantly succumbed to the injuries after receiving bullets in his head and and neck.

Baloch nationalists have blamed the death squads of the country’s military for target killing of the top scholar. However, no responsibility has been claimed by any group yet.

Professors assocociation at the University of Balochistan and the Baloch Students Organization (BSO-Azad) have strongly condemned the killing. The University of Balochistan has announced a three-day mourning over the killing.

Saba held a Masters Degree in Philosophy and Islamic Studies and taught theology. He was fluent in many langauges including English, Persian and Arabic.

Born in 1953 in Layari district of Karachi in a lower-middle class family, Mr. Dashtiyari taught Islamic studies at the University of Balochistan and was respected as a top Balochi language writer and intellectual whose literary works appeared in leading journals and magazines. He had authored several books and laid the foundation of a premier Balochi language academy in Karachi.

“He devoted his whole life for the promotion of Balochi language and culture,” said an intimate friend of the professor while reacting to the incident.

For the last couple of years, he had become a staunch backer of the Baloch armed resistance for national liberation. He had participated in plenty of protest rallies and spoken openly in support of an independent Balochistan.

“He was a liberal and open-minded person,” said Ubaid Baloch, a student of the University of Balochistan, “he was one of the few professors who was willing to sit with the students at the cafeteria to discuss politics and religion with an open mind. We have lost a very liberal Baloch.”