Pakistan treats Baloch people as slaves: Professor Manzoor Baloch

Quetta [Pakistan], February 2 : Professor Manzoor Baloch, a Baloch intellectual and professor, has lambasted the Pakistani establishment for mistreating the Baloch and carrying out atrocities against them for over seven decades.
He spoke about the journey of the families from Islamabad and then back to Quetta at the Baloch National Jalsa on January 27 at Shahwani Stadium in Balochistan's Quetta.

While expressing his views on the inhumane atrocities committed by the State in Balochistan, Manzoor said, "Pakistani establishment is afraid of how to deal with the Baloch and how to silence them. You must remember when Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was martyred and the way Baloch started retaliation, the entire establishment got afraid and anxious. They turned Khuzdar, Panjgur and Mashkai into a battleground by giving support to death squads. They massacred many Baloch in these areas and threatened Khuzdar to pull them to pieces. Now, Khuzdar is flourishing due to efforts by the Baloch."

Manzoor Baloch said that when a seminar was organised in Islamabad many years ago. He said the police fenced the area and treated the Baloch as slaves. "We told the police officer that we are professors and lawyers, but the officer said no matter whether you are teachers and lawyers, you are our slaves. We have seen hatred in his eyes".
He said that now when they visited Islamabad to protest against the enforced disappearances, they saw Baloch flags and banners all across. He added that the Baloch people are not in favour of participating in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan.
"When thousands of our people are languishing in their jails, what elections? What democracy? Tell me honestly as in the past five years, have our issues of safe drinking water, schools, electricity and employment been resolved?", Manzoor Baloch questioned.
In his speech, he said that the Baloch people have been generating huge revenue for Pakistan. However, the Baloch remain unemployed. He said, "We are shamefully confessing that the Baloch are working as toilet cleaners in offices of Pakistan."
Manzoor Baloch said, "This struggle is not only for the missing persons, but it is a fight for our basic rights. This huge gathering is like a referendum for the Baloch. We will take revenge and the day is not far."
He laid emphasis on the unity amongst the Baloch and even focused on writing literature about those languishing in the jails.
Speaking about the genocide of the Baloch people in Pakistan, he said, "We have been fighting against Pakistan for the past 75 years and this is the fifth phase of the Baloch uprising. It was started in the year 2000. Earlier, phases were not that aggressive, but this phase is the longest and has recorded more sacrifices. Our political activists have faced numerous tortures. Their bodies were drilled, eyes were removed and they were given electric shocks."
The Baloch intellectual said that they will be raising their voice politically by approaching the judiciary and media in Pakistan. Highlighting about the history of Balochistan, Manzoor Baloch said that the region has been independent since 1947 as it was forcefully occupied by Pakistan.
He expressed his anger over the way Pakistan has been treating the Baloch and how the resources were being exploited. He called on Pakistan to inform people about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor deal.
"The way Pakistan has done the CPEC deal with China, it should be made public. If Gwadar is developed as part of mega projects, the Baloch identity will be ruined," he said, adding that the Baloch are already turning into a minority as outsiders have occupied their territory.
While addressing a large gathering of young Baloch people in Quetta, Manzoor Baloch said that they need to be awakened about their rights.