London: A delegation of the International Voice for Baloch Missing has met with Dr Agnès Callamard the Executive Director of ARTICLE 19 on Tuesday and informed her about the plight of Baloch journalists. The meeting took place after an event titled “Online Iran: Creating a safer place for dissent – Digital security and protecting free speech” at Free Word Centre in London. The IVBMP activists distributed leaflets about the Pakistani state agencies attack and the destruction of the office of Daily Tawar in Karachi, Tawar – a Balochi word which means Voice, is an Urdu language newspaper, which represents the aspirations of Baloch people.The leaflet highlighted Pakistani and Iranian security agencies’ brutality against the Baloch media and Journalists in Balochistan has surpassed the brutalities of the Nazis in Germany, Russia and Europe against the freedom of press during the 30 year of war. It further read that Pakistan and the pro-establishment Baloch parties are trying to suffocate the only Voice of Baloch people, which is the Daily Tawar. The IVBMP delegation also presented a details file to the speakers and organisers of the event highlighting the facts about Balochistan’s historical sovereign status. Faiz Baluch, an activist affiliated with International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, informed Dr Agnes that Pakistan and Iran were committing atrocities against Baloch people and target killing Baloch journalists. He said Iran publicly hanged several Baloch on trumped up charged including young Baloch journalist Yaqoob Mehr Nahad Baloch in 2008. They state also sentenced Mr Mehr Nahad’s 15 old brother for several years. He said Pakistani security forces also abducted, brutally tortured and killed many Baloch journalists including Alyas Nazar Baloch, Lala Hameed Baloch, Mohammad Khan Marri, Razaq Gul, Javid Naseer Rind Baloch and several others. He also informed the executive director of Article 19 that Pakistan and Iran are committing gross human rights violation in Balochistan. Faiz Baluch said, “There is full media curtailment in Balochistan. International journalists are not allowed to visit Balochistan and the local journalists that write about state atrocities are often abducted and killed.”He also said that on 24 March the Pakistani security forces have abducted Haji Abdul Razzaq Baloch, a proof reader of Daily Tawar and his whereabouts remain unknown to this day. The Article 19 takes its name from Article 19 of the UDHR:“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
