Dreaded spy service I.S.I will now hire, fire government officials in Balochistan. By Ahmar Mustikhan

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The new order was issued by Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, who has for long been identified as a lackey of the I.S.I., which has the blood of thousands of Baloch, Sindhis and Pashtuns on its hands

Quetta: An infamous spy service accused of thousands of extrajudicial killings, carrying out a kill and dump policy and burying Baloch demanding secession from Pakistan in mass graves, has been given the power to hire and fire government employees in southwestern Balochistan province.

The military-installed chief minister of Balochistan Sarfraz Bugti issued the order of giving full powers to the Inter-Services Intelligence on the first of October, a day after the new chief of the spy service Lt. Gen Asim Malik took charge.

Bugtis order notified the Directorate General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as Special Vetting Agency (SVA) for verification and screening for promotions on posts of BPS-19 and above; any new appointments on BPS-17 posts may be verified by the I.S.I.; the federal spy service may okay all postings of Provincial Secretary, Divisional Commissioner, Head of Attached Department and Deputy Commissioner; and the provincial government on receipt of complaints, or on its own accord, have the conduct of an officer scrutinized by the I.S.I.

“Deeply concerned about this shameful decision by the Balochistan government, led by Sarfraz Bhatti, which allowed the infamous ISI for appointment and promotion of provincial employees,” said former Balochistan government minister Dr. Tara Chand.

“This blatant disregard of human dignity is unacceptable! Balochistan government should resign and restore governance to the people!,” Dr. Tara Chand, who is now a hotelier in Miami, said.

The U.S. State Department in its 2023 report on Pakistan said, “Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearance; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or its agents…” Almost invariably I.S.I. and its sister Military Intelligence have the lion’s share of human rights abuses in Balochistan.

Instead of improving its record, the I.S.I. which primarily protects the interests of military generals, majority of who belong to the Punjab, is taking strongest actions to clamp down on political dissent under Gen. Malik. On October 6, it banned the largely peaceful Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (P.T.M.) or Pashtun Protection Movement and on Wednesday Pakistan security forces attacked a peaceful gathering of the P.T.M., killing three Pashtuns. The ban on P.T.M. was condemned by the Amnesty International.

Weirdly, the I.S.I. is trying to promote Islamists just like it secretly backed Osama bin Laden. According to Reddit, the visit of Indian cleric Zakir Naik to Pakistan is a brainchild of Lt. Gen. Asim Malik; his father Gen. Ghulam Mohammed Malik was said to be involved in a fail coup against the second government of now deceased premier Benazir Bhutto.

Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (P.P.P.) is now in the hands of playboy turned politician President Asif Ali Zardari, who is a yes man of the I.S.I. The spy service proxies are even trying to hijack Bhutto’s south eastern Sindh province and with the help of Sindh police killed and burned the body of a medic, Dr. Shahnawaz Kunbhar, after accusing him of blasphemy last month.

President Zardari and his two children, both members of parliament who use “Bhutto” as their middle name for political gain— former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari—, have kept mum on the Kunbhar tragedy.

However, the real heir to the Bhutto political dynasty Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Junior, whose father Murtaza Bhutto was shot dead allegedly by the Military Intelligence when he was six years old, visited with the bereaved Kunbhar family. “We failed this man,” Bhutto said at the grave of Kunbhar and demanded compensation for the bereaved family. He will also take part in the Sindh Tolerance Movement against religious extremism being organized in Karachi by civil society this Sunday.

Dr. Mahrang Baloch and Sammi Deen Baloch. Photo courtesy Abdul Hadeez Baloch, Malir.

On Monday, legendary Baloch activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch was stopped from flying to New York on the orders of Gen. Malik.

The TIME magazine deplored the I.S.I. action and tweeted: “Mahrang Baloch was placed on a security list the day after being named to the TIME100 Next, for her work defending minority rights. Now Pakistan is barring her from traveling to New York.”

Mary Lawlor, U.N. Special Rapporteur for Frontline Defenders, expressed concern over the I.S.I. action against Dr. Mahrang Baloch. Lawlor tweeted, “Very concerned by the blocking of Mahrang Baloch from being permitted to travel to the USA yesterday and the reported harassment, intimidation and mistreatment that followed at the hands of the police @PakUN_Geneva.”

With her spirit steeled in struggle, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, leader of the Baloch Yekjehti Committee (B.Y.C.) was quoted by the TIMES Tuesday as saying, “I was born to resist.” She added, “If I would remain silent, it would be unjust to all of the human rights defenders, it would be unjust to my values. … We will fight this case.”

France-sized Balochistan was forcibly annexed by Pakistan March 27, 1948 and there have been five armed uprisings since then. The present uprising started in August 2006 with the military killing of former governor and chief minister of Balochistan Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.

Thousands have been killed and thousands of others forcibly disappeared by the I.S.I. The fate of nearly 5,500 Baloch is unclear but many of them are believed to be languishing in I.S.I. dungeons.

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"Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" By Nazir S Bhatti

On demand of our readers, I have decided to release E-Book version of "Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" on website of PCP which can also be viewed on website of Pakistan Christian Congress www.pakistanchristiancongress.org . You can read chapter wise by clicking tab on left handside of PDF format of E-Book.

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