Victims tortured and executed
US and UK supply weapons to Pakistani military killers
London – 31 March 2011
Peter Tatchell of the Peter Tatchell Foundation writes:
“The mutilated bodies of five more disappeared persons have been found in Pakistani –occupied Balochistan. The bodies bore bullet wounds and marks of torture. The dead included current or former student leaders. Witnesses stated that they were abducted by persons in uniform and in plain clothes who identified themselves as Pakistani intelligence agents, according to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC),” said Mr Tatchell.
See the full AHRC report here: http://tiny.cc/qy1nt
“These extra-judicial murders are the latest of dozens of targeted assassinations of Baloch nationalist leaders and human rights campaigners by the military and intelligence services of the colonising power, Pakistan. The apparent aim of the Pakistani security services is to decapitate and liquidate the leadership and defenders of the Baloch nation.
“Disappearances in Balochistan have become routine, with thousands going missing in recent years. Most are unaccounted for. Some have ended up in the torture chambers of the western-backed Pakistani military. In the last year, more and more disappeared persons have been extra-judicially killed, probably to ensure that they can never testify against their abductors and torturers.
“In 1948, less than a year after securing independence from Britain, Balochistan was invaded and annexed by Pakistan. The Baloch people never voted to be part of Pakistan. They have been under military occupation ever since. A succession of Baloch national leaders have been overthrown, jailed or assassinated.
“Pakistan is a neo-colonial occupying power. It is denying the Baloch people the right to self-determination; systematically violating human rights, destroying Baloch culture and exploiting the mineral riches of Balochistan while leaving its people in abject poverty.
“Britain and the US supply military equipment to the Pakistani armed forces, some of which is being used to suppress the Baloch people. US-supplied fighter planes and attack helicopters are used to bomb and strafe Baloch villages,” concluded Mr Tatchell.
See this report about the wave of killings, in yesterday’s Guardian:
http://tiny.cc/lahny
Read Peter Tatchell’s Guardian articles which give more background information:
On the recent history of massacres by the Pakistani military: http://tiny.cc/oxfau
On the history of the Pakistani conquest and annexation of Balochistan: http://tiny.cc/guptp
Take Action – Protest against Pakistan’s atrocities
Please email or write a letter of protest to the Pakistani authorities.
A sample letter is on the AHRC website here: http://tiny.cc/qy1nt
This sample letter gives the email addresses for the President and Prime Minister of Paksistan:
Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
[email protected]
Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister of Pakistan
[email protected]
You can also email or write to the Pakistani High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hasan:
[email protected] and [email protected]
Wajid Shamsul Hasan
High Commissioner for Pakistan
34 – 36 Lowndes Square
London SW1X 9JN
Thank you.