FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-222-2009
November 9, 2009
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
PAKISTAN: Human rights defender names his alleged murderers shortly before his death; government fails to provide protection
Mr. Nisar Baloch, aged 46, was shot dead on November 7, by motorbike riders. Police have refused to mention the names of the murderers in the First Investigation Report (FIR), owing to the fact that the accused persons belong to ruling political party, MQM, which has a background of target killings. On November 6, the day before his murder, Nisar Baloch addressed members of the press at a press conference and clearly stated that the City’s Nazim (mayor) Mr. Mustafa Kamal, as well as the Town Nazim of the SITE town, had the intention to murder him. He stated further that he would be murdered the next day by the aforementioned people and by activists of the MQM Altaf Hussain group. He blamed the party in ruling alliance for their encroachment onto the land of Gutter Baghicha, an amenity plot of 1017 acres.
His death is the second incident in the victimization of housing rights defenders in the past five years in Karachi. During both incidents, the MQM was in power. The son of Baseer Naveed, radio broadcaster and leader of the resistance movement against the construction of the Lyari Express, was abducted on November 8 2004 and his body was found with torture marks on the wall of Naveed’s radio station, two days after his abduction. Nisar Baloch was another activist in the movement against the construction of the Lyari Expressway, through which more than 300,000 people were supposed to be displaced.
Mr. Nisar Baloch was a well-known figure who worked against the grabbing of amenity plots by the government and other such powerful people. The land of Gutter Baghicha, a park, was declared to be an amenity plot in 1972. However, when the MQM took control of the city’s mayorship in the early 1990s, parts of the Gutter Baghicha were illegally allotted to officers of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). The local people of trans-Lyari resisted, and refused to allow the KMC to encroach upon the park. The Karachi NGO Alliance, (through which Mr. Nisar Baloch was running the people’s movement against the grabbing of this parkland) got a stay order from the Sindh High Court against construction in this park. However, the MQM, which has remained in power since 1989, (whether the ruling government was civilian or military,) did not respect the court’s order. The details of other land-grabbing incidents by the MQM can be read about below:
•http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/16-ardeshir-cowasjee-i-own-karachi-and-can-sell-it-ii-759-hs-05
•http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/16-ardeshir-cowasjee-i-own-karachi-and-can-sell-it-3-159-hs-06
•http://dawnnews.tv/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/ardeshir-cowasjee-i-own-karachi-and-can-sell-it-4-ts-03
Clearly, the values which uphold law and order in this country have deteriorated to a state of abjection. When a man says in a press conference that he will be killed the following day by the mayors of Karachi and the SITE town, and the police fail to provide protection to him because of the political pressure they are under, it is clear that the situation is deplorable. Even the journalists present at the press conference did not take Baloch’s apprehensions seriously, and did not give coverage of his concerns to the public. Furthermore, the police at the Soldier Bazar Police Station, in whose jurisdiction this murder occurred, have refused to put the name of murderer on the FIR. This is illegal, and clearly indicates that the police have become sub-servants to the cadres of ruling parties.
Housing and resettlement policies in Pakistan are unclear and ambiguous, leaving room for manipulation by those in ruling political parties, and the opportunity to grab land and convert it into commercial plots. About half of Pakistan’s population lives in slum communities, and often in a state of squalor. Judicial negligence, combined with the inaction and ineffectiveness of the courts in dealing with the housing needs of the people and matters of land-grabbing, has benefited the land-grabber tremendously.
The government of Sindh should act immediately to arrest the culprits on these murder charges including, Mr. Mustafa Kamal, City Nazim and Mr. Izhar Uddin, Town Nazim of SITE town, (the name of the latter was stated by Mr. Nisar Baloch during his press conference, one day before his death,) and the high officials of the Karachi Police, including the Chief Police Officer and Station Head Officer (SHO) of the Soldier Bazar Police Station. A thorough inquiry should be conducted into the extra-judicial killing of Nisar Baloch.
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
—————————–
Asian Human Rights Commission
19/F, Go-Up Commercial Building,
998 Canton Road, Kowloon, Hongkong S.A.R.
Tel: +(852) – 2698-6339 Fax: +(852) – 2698-6367
MQM Zinda baad …
Altaf bhai zinda baad ….
kkb
dont need to say anything
I hope the next operation is in Karachi, can we use a F16 to take out MQM leadership in 90.
GEO TELEVISIONS FAMOUS ANCHOR PERSON KAMRAN KHAN SAHAB CAN,T YOU SEE THIS ANDHER NAGRI CHOPAT RAJ …..
I SAW YOUR PROGRAM DISCUSSING ABOUT NOT ALLOTING LAND TO CDGK DESPITE OF HUGE OFFER…. YOU DEFENDED CITY NAZIM AND MQM DO YOU GET YOUR SHARE FROM THEM???? I DON,T EXPECT THAT COURAGE FROM YOU THAT YOU WILL ASK YOUR GOD FATHER ALTAF BHAIIIII KAY KION LAGA HAI YE LOOT SALE?????
Dear fellow Pakis.A person from u who is not a burocrate nor a rich family casted,neither he has any family political support comes just to change the system which have rotten the bases of Pakistan by just not allowing the capables to get what they are capable of.Y is he not being accepted with open heartedly as now all the corruption part has also been proved wrong by the same army personals who were the main roll players in 92 operation and like they said any evidence against MQM was not found of socalled terrosim or any other illegal activity…then y 15 thousand of MQM workers were brutally murdered on roads of karachi without any evidence by the security forces and who was the master mind behind this?15 thousand murders goes directly on the head of state at that time…He briefed people in Punjab that MQM is Indias agent! so that MQM could not stabalise and rise against the fuderalism but they crushed manpower but not their thinking and walla now r proving their words right.Please think with broad mind.We the new generation should not repeat same mistakes which our elders did and respect all views.then only our views will be respected.
where were these human rights people when brutal murdering of 15 thousand MQM people was done on roads without any evidence by security forces and who permitted them to do so?
@Paki….
Nice remarks and i am totally agreed with ur statement that “Please think with broad mind.We the new generation should not repeat same mistakes which our elders did and respect all views.then only our views will be respected”
Is MQM enough broadminded? Is the leadership of MQM is ready to say that they represent Pakistani not “HINDUSTANI”(urdu speaking)? Is MQM prepared enough to accept PUNJABI, PATHAN and SINDHI ( not only interm of creating Punjabi Pakhtoon wings in MQM)?
Brother u said like 15,000 youngster were killed and state is responsible…Brother i born in karachi and i know what happen in 92 and onward….state killed the terrorist and if MQM own them….NO comments then..
MQM a middle class party with an agenda of removing poverty and so called ANTI FUDEL party…..through out the history of MQM they remained and yet they are the rulling partners of JAGIDARss…Useless to talk about their policy since they have one line agenda….”EARN FOR ALTAF”
Yes, i am agreed ” we really need to think about a leader who is even not the pakistani citizen and i personally believe (may be u dont) that Pakistan must be ruled and would be saved by only those who have only one passport that is “Pakistani Passport”. dual citizenship reflects a prominant thought that I DONT BELIVE ON EXISTENCE OF PAKISTAN ANY MORE “. How can anyone with dual citizenship can think about the prosperity of his/her country.
MILLION $ Q “Name only one single public representative in US who has dual nationality or UK or even in INDIA”?????
Pakistan Zindabad
کیا عدلیہ بھی مصلحت پسندی سے کام لے گی. اب عدلیہ کو صرف انصاف کرنا ہو گا چاہے کوئی نظام بچے یا نہ بچے.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/news/columnists/
MASLIHAT PASANDI NE HI TO GARAK KAR DIYA HAI OR KUCH HUM LOGO KI BAY HASI
COWAJS JEE IS RIGHT
THE desecration of Gutter Baghicha, a designated parkland for the people of Karachi, has been written about umpteen times over the past couple of years, but no effective action was taken by those concerned.
On Nov 7, 2009, Nisar Baloch, the spearhead of the Gutter Baghicha Bachao Tehreek and a member of Shehri, two NGOs which have been trying for the last two decades to save this lung of the city,was shot through the head by unidentified assailants as he was leaving his house.
………….. post link to article ……………………
My dear freinds , is it easy to kill or murder 15000 thousand ppls in couple of days was this a atomic war or soo , open your eyes mans , is it to speak not is to kill since last 8 yrs , 22000 of pakistanis lost thier lives in 200 bomb blasts , huge blast . is not as easy its just to take sympathy
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