Bodies of three Baloch abducted persons found

Occupied Balochistan: Three brutally tortured bodies of Baloch missing persons have been found from two different areas of Balochistan, on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Sources reported that on Saturday the body of Fida Jani Bugti, a young Baloch student, was found from Kuchlak area of Balochistan. Mr Bugti had disappeared three days ago from Quetta.

Two more abducted Baloch’s bodies found dumped on roadsides today in Pasi today morning. The victims were identified as Zahid Hussain son of Muhammad Baloch a resident of Zarren Bogh area of Dasht Makuran and Molana Abdul Khaliq Baloch Son of Hamid Baloch resident of Palliri region of Gawadar, Balochistan.

Abdul Khaliq was abducted on abducted by Pakistani FC during a raid on his house on 14/10/2011 while Zahid Hussain Baloch was abducted on 20/10/2011 from Makuran. Both the victims had obvious sign of torture and bullet wound on their bodies.

Continuing abductions: On 18 November 2011 Pakistani security forces abducted a teenage student, Mukhtar Baloch s/o Abdul Rauf Dashti, a student of Kech Grammar school. The whereabouts of Mukhtar remain known like hundreds of others who are being illegally detained by Pakistan ISI, MI and other security agencies in their secret torture places.

Pakistani security agencies continue to kill and dump Baloch political activists right under the nose of so called champion of International Human Rights but these organisations have so far turn a blind eye to the Pakistani atrocities against Baloch people.


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Baloch Journalist Explains 'Painful Decision' To Apply For Asylum In U.S. - RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal reports.

Malik Siraj Akbar a journalist from Balochistan has described how the disappearances and deaths of colleagues back home prompted him to make the "painful" decision to apply for political asylum in the United States, RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal reports.

He was granted political asylum in the United States earlier this month while on a fellowship at Arizona State University.

Malik Siraj Akbar

Malik told RFE/RL on November 17 that he decided to apply for asylum after he began receiving information from his native province of Baluchistan in western Pakistan that many of his friends and colleagues had disappeared and were later found dead with gunshot wounds.

"The conflict has been going on for eight or nine years now. Many human rights activists, journalists and democracy fighters in Baluchistan have been under pressure all this time. But in the last 15 months, the situation became even worse," Malik said.

"Many Baluchi journalists disappeared and were subsequently found dead. Nobody was held accountable for that, and therefore there is every reason to suggest that the government was involved in the abductions and killings."

Malik added that Baluchistan was currently not a safe place "where a person can pursue the career of journalist." He said the government in Pakistan tried to depict professional journalists in Baluchistan as enemies and criminals, although they simply try to perform their job in an unbiased and fair way.

Malik also said that "unfortunately, not all the stories and ordeals faced by journalists and human rights activists in Baluchistan get out to the outside world," although international human rights watchdogs and the Committee to Protect Journalists have been trying to inform the international community about the situation there.

Malik used to work as the editor of "The Baloch Hal," Baluchistan's first online English-language newspaper, which was often critical of the Pakistani government. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority banned "The Baloch Hal" one year ago

Pakistan has 1,339.25 tonnes of gold reserves in Balochistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has 1,339.25 tonnes of gold reserves situated in Balochistan with 63.50 tonnes at Saindak and 1275.75 tonnes at Reko Diq, sources told Daily Times on Monday.

These two major gold reserves are situated in district Chagi, Balochistan. The sources further said the Saindak Copper-Gold Project, Balochistan is the only project in the country, which is producing gold/silver as a by-product in a normal quantity. The gold production was 7.891 tonnes and silver 11.293 tonnes during five years from 2005 to 2009. Occurrence and showing of gold and silver had been reported from various parts of the country, including Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, reserves of these occurrences had not been confirmed except in Saindak and Reko Diq.

In 2006, the production of gold was 1.410 tonnes, while silver was 2.403 tonnes, in 2007 gold was 1.576 tonnes and silver 2.136 tonnes, in 2008 gold was 1.542 tonnes and silver 2.088 tonnes, while in 2009, the gold production was 1.592 tonnes and silver 2.157 tonnes. The country also has rich copper resources, and according to estimates there are about 4.805 billion tonnes copper reserves of which majority are in Balochistan and some nominal quantity in Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) and Gilgit-Baltistan. Balochistan’s copper reserves consists of Saindak with 412 million tonnes, Reko Diq 3.720 billion tonnes, Dhasht-e-Kain 200 million tonnes, Ziarat Pir Suyltan 200 million tonnes, Kabul Koh 50 million tonnes, Missi 100 million tonnes and Bandegan 0.032 million tonnes.
About 123 million tonnes of copper reserves in FATA areas Boya, Shinkari-North Waziristan have been found, the sources added. In Gilgit-Baltistan (Bulashgah, Gilgit) 0.5 million tonnes of copper reserves were discovered. Officials in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources told this scribe that feasibility studies have been conducted for copper-gold projects at Saindak and Reko Diq in the year 1988 and 2010, respectively. The Saindak project is in production since 2003.

Reko Diq deposit is in development phase and government of Balochistan as regulator is processing application for conversion of exploration licence into long-term lease. At present, the officials said two foreign companies are working for the copper-gold deposits, MCC of China on Saindak Project and Tethyan Copper Company, joint venture of government of Balochistan 25 percent, Antofagasta-Chile 37.5 percent and Barrick Gold-Canada 37.5 percent on Reko Diq project.

The officials further said Saindak Copper Gold project is the only productive unit in the country. The government of Balochistan receives royalty at the rate of five percent of sale proceeds and 60 percent share from Saindak Metals Limited/government of Pakistan.

Based on current production level, the annual revenue of the province from this project is estimated at Rs 1.300 billion. As per feasibility study, the life of mine of Reko Diq project is 56 years and estimated annual revenue of government of Balochistan during the above period is $110.8 million, the officials maintained.

However, private sources opposed the Reko Diq project exploration/mining lease to foreign companies. They describe it as the most unfair business deal of the decade, the multi-billion-dollar Reko Diq copper-and-gold project has been placed at the mercy of a consortium of companies who may walk away with its riches, robbing the country of a golden opportunity to lift itself out of its growing external debt. Private sector said that the geologists have estimated that Reko Diq contains mineral deposits worth $500 billion and if the authorities did not take action immediately, this golden opportunity of turning around Pakistan’s fate will be lost.

Source: Daily Times

By Ijaz Kakakhel

Sui :Attack on occupying forces two killed and three ijured

Sui,Occupied Balochistan:The  roadside remote controlled bomb hit a vehicle of the paramilitary Frontier Corps in Sui town, some 450 kilometres southeast of Quetta.

“Two soldiers were killed and two were wounded in the bomb blast,” A senior Frontier Corps official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

Another senior government official in Quetta confirmed the incident and casualties, adding that the explosion also destroyed the vehicle.

Meanwhile the spokesman of Baloch Republican Army Sarbaz Baloch claimed responsibility for the attack on occupying forces via satellite phone from an undisclosed location, said that ,BRA fighters attacked a vehicle of occupying forces with a remote controlled explosive device in "Pat Feedar" area of Sui six personnel were killed and three were sustained injuries and the vehicle was destroyed in the blast.

Baloch Republican Army vows to carry on the attacks till complete withdrawal of occupying forces and liberation of Balochistan.

Source : Daily Tawar