Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Dr Paul Andre Degeorges, a renowned, respected ecologist, cultural and political activist, very kindly e-mails me a lot of valuable material. Recently he sent me a talk, “The Story of Your Enslavement” by Canadian blogger, essayist and author Stefan Molyneux. It is an exceptionally profound historical analysis of the subtle methods colonists and governments use […]

The elections in Balochistan will be less than credible because elections held in an environment of terror and harassment, where people are permanently terrorised by the security forces and their proxy death squads can never be free or fair. The turnout will be naturally extremely low due to the overall security situation, which has for […]

The headline, “Election security: Balochistan braces for surgical operation” in a national daily left me amazed at the deviousness media uses in its reporting of distressing events and issues to make them look completely innocuous, or even praiseworthy. The crafty employment of words and phrases is truly beguiling and lethally effective in constructing or deconstructing […]

Ironically, an irony that escaped him, Sardar Akhtar Mengal’s decision to participate in the forthcoming elections coincided with March 27, the day Baloch nationalists observe as a ‘Black Day’, because that day in 1948, Balochistan was forcibly annexed, depriving the Baloch of their freedom. Interestingly, on March 25 on arrival he had said that nothing […]

In a world where material interests seem to dominate the relationships between individuals, groups and countries, one is pleasantly surprised when someone decides to reject those norms and charts the course he thinks is more in keeping with his worldview and the norms that should prevail and dominate. Such a path, though honourable, comes at […]

The Pakistani state’s ‘abduct and dump’ policy in Balochistan continues as viciously as ever and the recent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report was a lot of water off duck’s back. Those who put no premium on human lives exhibit callous indifference and care not a whit for reports. This newspaper reported on the […]

As expected, the new prime minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf stated, “I categorically declare that Balochistan issue is on my priority list and I have invited disgruntled Baloch leaders to start dialogue with the government to resolve the crisis at the earliest.” He also regretted that Balochistan remained on low priority in the past, and therefore, […]

A society is identified and judged by the values and ideals it relates to through its actions and observance. Ironically, here Valentine’s Day is more fervently observed and celebrated than the International Day of Disappeared Persons or the International Day against Torture. The state for sure and a majority of the people probably do not […]

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, also known as the United Nations Convention against Torture, is an international human rights instrument aimed at preventing torture around the world. The United Nations General Assembly adopted it on December 10, 1984; it came into force on June 26, 1987. June […]

Nations are products of long historical and evolutionary processes; most present nation states evolved thus. But when states are formed on an artificial basis of contrived nationhood or on the basis of religion, as was the case with Pakistan, Israel and Yugoslavia, they of necessity turn into fascist states, dominated by a militarist ideology. Serb-dominated […]