(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Notes from South Asia: New Criminal Laws India, Maldives India Breakup, Baloch Protests, Pakistan [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-28 Hello, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Notes from South Asia. You can find the previous edition here. Today, we will cover Indian government’s new laws that concentrate state power, continuation of Maldives’ break up with India and Pakistan’s Baloch protests. There will be a few other stories, especially in the India section. I am sorry for not seeing some of your comments last week. After I saw that I didn’t have any comments Saturday morning, my time, I did not check again (had been per-occupied at the time with another diary, which may have been the cause). I will do better in future. India New Laws: Citizen Be Damned Sanjay Hegde (Advocate practicing at the Supreme Court of India) writes about the overhaul of Indian Penal Code, Evidence Act, and Code of Criminal Procedure for the (Kolkata) Telegraph. Throwing away the old Acts also means discarding a century of judicial interpretation. Above all, criminal laws demand certainty. Replacing settled law with fresh legislation means an otherwise unnecessary exercise in re-interpretation. It is not that there has been fresh vision and an entirely new legislative conception in Code Modi. Over 80 per cent of the old Sections have been faithfully reproduced and reincarnated in the new sanhitas. But it will now be open to lawyers to argue and judges to rule that even identical Sections, re-numbered and re-chapterised, have acquired a new meaning in new contexts. He is bemoaning the fact that while most of the text has been reproduced under different headings (and named in Hindi), the new names and headings would lead to increased litigation because both the government and the people will claim this is wholly new legislation. Stare Decisis is deceased (well not exactly, but all the precedent established for these same laws would no longer be of value, Mr. Hegde says). But as he says, if the changes were towards freedom, it would have been acceptable. Instead, the changes are in favour of concentration of power. Under the new code, the policeman’s power to arrest an alleged offender, handcuff him and keep him in police custody have now been enhanced and left to his discretion, with minimal judicial supervision. He can compulsorily take from convicts and persons arrested in connection with an offence punishable under any law for the time being in force or detained under any preventive detention law “measurements” including finger impressions, palm-print impressions, foot-print impressions, photographs, iris and retina scan, physical and biological samples and their analysis, behavioural attributes including signatures, handwriting or any other examination. A court or police officer in charge of a station may direct the production of any document, electronic communication, including communication devices that are likely to contain digital evidence or other things. The investigating officer is also exempt from physically attending the trial and his testimony can be secured by videography. All in all, it does appear that the draftsmen have given carte blanche to investigators and woe betide any suspect who is subject to investigatorial process. The pro-police tilt is further evident in Section 172 of the Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita that makes it mandatory to conform to the “lawful directions of a police officer”. Lack of compliance with such directions on anyone’s part enables the police to detain or remove such a person. Section 173(3) grants enhanced discretionary powers to the police. In cases of cognizable offences punishable by three years or more but less than seven years, police officers are required to now first undertake a preliminary investigation to ascertain whether or not there exists a prima facie case. This Section, which empowers police officers to exercise their subjective satisfaction before the registration of an FIR, has a great potential for abuse. More crimes will go uninvestigated because the police will simply refuse to even register an FIR. A major thrust of the Nyaya Sanhita is to re-criminalise all that the Supreme Court has decriminalised in the past. Adultery has been made criminal for both sexes. While the crime of sedition has been dropped, its spirit survives clanking its chains. Section 150 of the Nyaya Sanhita criminalises “acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”. It criminalises words, signs, visible representation, electronic communication and use of financial means for the purpose of exciting secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities or separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India. Please read the whole piece if you can spare the time. Even if you are not a lawyer (I mean, I am not a lawyer, so). It shows both the reckless disregard for knowledge and wisdom among the current administration—why change law names and code numbers but have the same text and crimes so as to cause confusion in administration—and the desire to continually concentrate power. Leaflet, which is a law oriented magazine, has a series analysing the three laws. The first has been published: Nipun Saxena’s The unconstitutional trinity— Part 1: Examining the unholy ‘ghost’ of BNSS Much has been said about the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the successor to the Indian Penal Code, 1860, but the real protagonist is the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), replacing the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973. The BNSS has not received much attention since it deals with the intricacies of procedure, not visible to the naked eye, but ask any stakeholders (judges, accused, complainants, lawyers being the prima donna) and they will tell you what the Pandora’s Box holds, which is antithetical to both ‘nagarik’ and their ‘suraksha’. Nagrik is citizen and surakasha is protection. Basically to serve and to protect has become to intimidate and to harass. The twin preconditions that have been attached to Section 175(3) of the BNSS are that prior permission has to be taken from the deputy superintendent of police and after that, a preliminary inquiry has to be conducted on whether a prima facie case is made out or not. The problems with such a mechanism are multifarious. For all offences involving an imprisonment term ranging between three–seven years, an innocuous litigant would be made to run from pillar to post. This would bring back the vexatious days when poor litigants who stepped in as complainants had to prefer applications under Section 154(3) to the superintendent of police, Section 156(3) of the CrPC to the magistrate and Section 200 of the CrPC to register a criminal complaint. Those with the means and resources also knocked at the gates of the constitutional courts to register their FIRs by invoking the writ jurisdiction or inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC. Curiously, under the BNS, there are more than 98 different offences where the period of imprisonment ranges between three–seven years, thereby conferring upon an investigating officer the absolute unfettered discretion to ascertain whether there is a prima facie case that would merit the registration of an FIR. These offenses include theft, cheating, criminal breach of trust, dishonestly receiving stolen property, counterfeiting a property mark and dishonestly executing a property (a majority of white-collar crimes). It also includes crimes affecting religious sentiments (Section 299 of the BNS), words or actions against national integration, also known as sedition [Section 197(1) and (2) of the BNS] obscenity, bodily injury, including very serious offences involving certain categories of grievous hurt, rioting armed with a deadly weapon, exploitation of a trafficked child or person, acid attack [Section 124(2) of BNS] or harbouring a terrorist or organising terrorist camps. One shudders to imagine the plight of a complainant in the face of an unwilling station house officer, where the offences are of such magnitude. It is perhaps for the very first time that a codified law has conferred such powers on police officers in such grave instances to carry out a preliminary inquiry instead of promptly registering an FIR. In the last regime, it was entirely the domain of the criminal courts to find out whether a prima facie case existed, after perusing the entire material on record. If such a power to determine what is or is not a prima facie case is conferred on a police officer, and that too at such a nascent stage, where the information is just received, the abuse of power would be writ apparent. There is no paywall, so you can read it if you would like. But you get the idea, which Mr. Hegde had already described in his article I shared above. Religion within Ethnic Fault lines: Manipur Now, let us look at another case of failure in governance. Manipur. This long piece is from your shores, even if the writers are from ours. But I don’t know if you would have seen it, so I thought to include them. Makepeace Sithlou and Greeshma Kuthar write for Newsline mag: Meitei Christians in India’s Manipur Face Broad Attacks. While the conflict primarily has been ethnic in nature, between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo tribal residents, there has been a communal element to the violence, especially against Meitei Christians. This aspect of the conflict has been underreported by the media and downplayed by Imphal-based journalists; experts; the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS); and Oswald Gracias, a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. “It has been given a religious twist but it is not a religious conflict. It is between two tribes,” said Gracias, in an undated video statement shared by the BJP in July. With a population of 300,000, Meitei Christians often call themselves a “minority within a minority.” (Despite being the majority ethnic group in Manipur, Meiteis are an ethnic minority in India.) While there have been tensions in the past between Meitei Hindus and Meitei Muslims, Nagas and Meiteis, as well as Kuki-Zo and Naga tribes, Meitei Christians have avoided conflicts. But during the early days of this unrest, Meitei Christians suffered attacks on their churches and residences, as well as threats and intimidation from village committees and right-wing extremist groups Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, which are mostly made up of Meitei Hindus and have been organizing themselves militarily over the past two years in an effort to revive Sanamahism, the Indigenous faith followed by the Meiteis before they converted to Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. In the past five years, the number of Christian converts in the Meitei community has soared. There are over 17 churches in Imphal belonging to the Evangelical Baptist Convention (the largest denomination in Manipur), which exclusively serve a Meitei congregation, said Lalthanglun Guite, a church elder in Lamphelpat, a neighborhood of Imphal. The census reports from 2001 and 2011 show a 62% increase in Christians in the state, with a 15% jump in Hindu-dominated districts in the valley. However, this data is more indicative than conclusive since the migration of Christian tribal people from the hills may have also contributed to this growth. But the increase in the latter’s influence in the state is seen as a threat by the Meitei Hindus and the Sanamahis, who want Meitei Christians to convert to their “original” faith. New Lines met several Meitei Christian pastors in Imphal and the surrounding Meitei-dominated districts whose churches had been attacked, but they were extremely scared to share their stories. One pastor from the Imphal West district requested that we not speak until we were inside his house. “Many of those who attacked my church live in the neighborhood. We cannot be loud,” he warned. Everything inside his church had been piled up and burned. A pastor in the town of Thoubal who had agreed to meet us backed out the moment we arrived in his neighborhood. His church was burned down by a mob of more than 2,000, none of whom belonged to his locality, he said. In June, the archbishop of Imphal, Dominic Lumon, said that 249 churches belonging to Meitei Christians had been destroyed in the first 36 hours of the violence. Scroll had done a piece on them at the time—and I had shared that in Abbreviated Pundit Roundup—but yeah, in general, they have been neglected. Most stories have been Meitei vs. Kuki. Part of the reason is also that many of the people outside India tried to frame it into their existing conception of Hindu majoritarianism, which meant that they have portrayed it as a Hindu vs. Christian conflict. So, some folks have been trying to push back against that narrative. What we can conclude is that it is both. Hindu majoritarianism and Meitei majoritarianism. Religious and ethnic. Ethnic would come first except for the fact that Hindu majoritarian BJP has been supporting Meiteis for Hindu majoritarian reasons. If you are not convinced of our government’s hate and pride filled incompetence yet, let us move onto the next that might convince you. The Wrestlers’ Betrayal Shahid Judge writes for Scroll.in about the culture of fear that grips Indian sport. It was difficult to miss the symbolism of champion wrestler Sakshi Malik’s gesture during a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, when she placed her wrestling shoes on a table. She was literally hanging up her boots. Her retirement was not accompanied by cheers to celebrate the eventful career of the only Indian woman grappler to have won an Olympic medal. She was bowing out in protest. It was surreal, but probably the only thing that was left to do. For more than half of the 2023 calendar, Malik, Tokyo Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia, World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat and many other Indian wrestlers had publicly fought the system. They fought for the ouster of Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP whom they accused of sexual harassment and intimidation. They won that battle. Then they lost the war. Brij Bhushan had been removed as chief of the wrestling body, but in the federation elections on Thursday, his close associate Sanjay Singh was elected as the new president – by an overwhelming majority. The wrestlers declared their surprise. But among their fellow athletes in other sports, there has been shocked silence. Because in India, being an athlete means that you are required to stay within the lines. You cannot protest openly nor take a stand for anything that may be construed as anti-government. Mr. Judge says that the Indian athletes are too dependent on politicians to be able to speak freely about political issues. It is all a part of the culture of fear that dwells within Indian sport. Scroll attempted to contact several athletes to ask them about to comment about the situation in which their wrestling colleagues find themselves. Some of those to whom we called and sent texts were part of the same contingents as these wrestlers at events like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. No one answered. And who can blame them? Over the course of an athlete’s journey, they learn the skills that will take them to the highest echelons of their sport. They also learn that they must show deference to those who govern their sport – who, in India, are most often politicians. Failing to do so would mean losing the patronage of the state that is crucial for India’s athletes. Often, perceived slights against those in power could mean being ignored for selection for major events. As a consequence, they cannot freely stand up even for a fellow athlete. An update to this story, best told by the Hindu edit on it. The Union Sports Ministry suspended the Wrestling Federation of India in response to wrestlers’ protests. I am not entirely sure this means a lasting win though. Perhaps, they hope that the wrestlers will stop fighting in time. I don’t think they would. Day before yesterday, Vinesh Phogat returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards, which are among the highest honours for sports persons (first and second highest). World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat on December 26 said she is returning her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award to the government protesting against the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh-loyalist Sanjay Singh as the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president, the wrestler wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Vinesh's decision comes days after Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia and Deafylmpics champion Virender Singh Yadav returned their Padma Shri awards. [...] However, the Sports Ministry had later suspended the newly-elected panel for not following the provisions of its own constitution while taking decisions and also asked the IOA to constitute an ad-hoc panel to manage the affairs of the sports body. In suspending the fresh panel, the government cited its "hasty announcement" of organising the U-15 and U-20 nationals "without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers" for preparations. Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian honour (not limited to sports persons). Sorry, I took this much time for India. Now, let us move on. (I will add tweets to other news items in the comments. They are equally important but I have only this much space and you must already be tired). Maldives Fluctuating Relations with India Maldives has said that they will not renew the agreement they had signed with India in 2019 for joint hydrographic survey. Meera Srinivasan reports for the Hindu. Hot on the heels of the Maldives’s demand that Indian troops be removed from the island nation, the Cabinet has decided against renewing a 2019 MoU with India for hydrographic surveying, a top official in Malé told The Hindu. According to Mohamed Shahyb, Chief Spokesperson at President Mohamed Muizzu’s office, the Cabinet recently decided that the MoU, which is due to expire in 2023, will not be renewed. “It’s a decision by the Cabinet,” Mr. Shahyb told The Hindu on Friday, when asked to comment on the reason behind the move. Following the 2019 agreement, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and the Indian Navy have carried out three joint hydrographic surveys in February and March 2021, April and May 2022, and in January and February 2023, according to a statement issued by the High Commission of India in Maldives earlier this year, following the latest survey. The surveys “will generate updated Navigational Charts/ Electronic Navigational Charts” that would “enhance the navigational safety of ships and enhance the Blue Economy of Maldives,” the statement said. Some government critics — mainly those part of the ‘India Out’ campaign led by former President Abdulla Yameen — have been opposed to the initiative. They contend it is an infringement on Maldivian sovereignty. Neither the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, nor the Indian High Commission in Malé has commented on the recent Cabinet decision. Meera Srinivasan has a more detailed report on this new update as well. What is India’s expertise? India has been an active member of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) since 1955. The Indian Naval Hydrographic Department (INHD), or the Marine Survey of India earlier, was established in 1874 in Kolkata. It is the nodal agency for hydrographic surveys and has a fleet of indigenously built modern survey ships. India partners with many countries in the Indian Ocean Region and African and East Asian countries such as Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania, Maldives, Mozambique, Vietnam, Myanmar, Kenya, and Sri Lanka. According to the INHD, its role has broadened over time, owing to the heightening global character of hydrography and “its growing potential as a force multiplier” in terms of maritime diplomacy. Personnel from 39 countries have trained at the National Institute of Hydrography, functioning under the INHD. Why was the 2019 MoU significant? The MoU was signed in June 2019, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the Maldives. It was Mr. Modi’s first overseas visit after assuming office for his second term, and his second visit to the Maldives since he participated at President Solih’s swearing-in ceremony in 2018. Months before the time the MoU was inked, President Solih and the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had secured a landslide win in the general elections. The two Indian Ocean neighbours, and their leaders, backed by a decisive majority, committed to close cooperation in development, defence and maritime security. The first meeting of the Joint Commission on Hydrography was held in the Maldives in September 2019. Following the agreement, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and the Indian Navy have carried out three joint hydrographic surveys in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Why has the Cabinet decided against renewing the agreement? While President Muizzu has not made a statement specifically on the MoU on the joint hydrographic survey, a senior official told Maldivian media that the decision was aligned to the current administration’s pledge to terminate all agreements with foreign parties that are detrimental to or endanger the national security of the Maldives. “It is in the best interest of Maldivian sovereignty that this capacity is improved within our own military, entrusting them with the responsibilities of surveilling and policing our waters, and excluding the participation of any foreign party in such an endeavour,” Under Secretary for Public Policy Mohamed Firzul told a media conference. I realised I cannot keep using only the Hindu reports for Maldives given the natural existence of bias. The Sun (of Maldives) reports on the news. Maldives and India signed a Memorandum on Understanding on cooperation in the field of hydrography on June 8, 2019, during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India has been conducting a hydrographic survey of the Maldivian territorial waters under the agreement; studying and charting reefs, lagoons, coastlines, and ocean currents and tide levels. PPM-PNC, which won the Maldives’ presidential election in September, has long voiced alarm that allowing a foreign government access to sensitive data about the Maldives could endanger the country’s national security. In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Mohamed Firuzul Abdul Khaleel, the Undersecretary for Public Policy at the President’s Office, announced the accomplishment of the 17 tasks promised for the first four weeks, under President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu administration’s ‘Haftha 14’ roadmap. Firuzul said that this includes starting the process of repealing provisions on “secret bilateral agreements” signed by the former administration that endanger Maldives’ independence and sovereignty. He said that the administration has decided against renewing the hydrography agreement, which expires on June 7, 2024. Even so, I found a news item that I did not see in the Hindu. Maldives and India held a discussion in enhancing defense co-operation. Maldives and India have held discussions with India on enhancing existing defense cooperation between the two nations. The discussions took place during a meeting between Maldives’ Chief of Defense Force Lieutenant General Abdul Raheem Abdul Latheef and the Ambassador of India to the Maldives Munu Mahawar. The meeting was also attended by Indian High Commission’s Defense Advisor Capital Deepak Bali. Disclosing details regarding the meeting, Chief of Defense Force Abdul Raheem said ongoing defense cooperation activities between the nations were reviewed while deliberations also took place on avenues to move forward with military-to-military engagements. No idea what this means. Party Hopping or Opposition in Trouble Apparently, MPs switching parties is not a thing just in India. Maldivian Sun reports that 13 MPs from the opposition MDP has joined the ruling PNC. 13 MPs who left main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have signed to main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) on Thursday night. The MPs signed and handed over the membership form to PNC’s leader, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. The former MDP MPs have signed to PNC at a time when the main opposition party has accused the government of bribing the MPs to floor cross. The government, however, has denied the allegations. The signing of the 13 MPs strengthens PNC’s parliamentary group. The party will also become the parliament’s minority party with a total of 15 MPs. It would also decrease the number of MDP MPs in the parliament from 56 to 43. All part of democracy though. Pakistan Baloch Protests Baloch women have been protesting in Pakistan asking for return of their family members whom the state has disappeared through the past decade and a half. Sammi Deen Baloch writes for the Dawn why she has been marching since she was 12. Over the last 14 years, I have travelled to Islamabad many times, holding a framed picture of my father, Dr Deen Mohammed Baloch, and screaming my heart out, demanding to know his whereabouts. Each time I have come to Islamabad, it is with the hope that one day, the authorities will listen to me and give me back my father. Or at the very least, give me some answers as to where he disappeared. You see, my father was abducted from Ornach hospital in Khuzdar, Balochistan, on June 28, 2009. I was a little girl of hardly 10 years old. Two years after his abduction, in April 2011, I participated in a train march along with seven other families, followed by another train march in 2013. In 2014 came the most difficult journey of my life — the long march to Islamabad — when I, along with relatives of other missing persons, marched on foot for 116 days from Quetta to Islamabad — a journey of almost 2,000 kilometres. I was 15 years old then. By the time we reached the capital, my body was shattered and my feet were completely swollen, but I was hopeful that this time, those in power would show some mercy and release our loved ones. I was so wrong. She ends with the current protests. When I traveled to Turbat, I encountered dozens of low-income families from the remote areas of Kech district who could barely afford to travel to the district headquarters. Their loved ones had gone missing unnoticed. Their cases were undocumented. Some poor families did not even own mobile phones; several said their loved ones had been killed during extrajudicial encounters. They had just collected the bodies and returned home. But Balaach’s case changed everything. The court took up his case in the last week of November. Scores of families of missing persons just like mine marched with his lifeless body outside the court premises. It was a unique case where a deceased individual was presented in court. It was then that we decided to travel across Balochistan, visit families, document their cases, and take them to Islamabad — where decisions are made. This time, I did not come alone. We are not a dozen or a hundred; instead, hundreds of mothers, wives, children, brothers and fathers of missing persons have come to Islamabad to be heard, healed and helped. Please give the whole article a read. It is a personal story and there is no analysis or long term history, but you still understand what is going on. No paywall. For Dissent Today, Alia Zehra writes about Mahrang Baloch: Unfazed By Police Violence, Mahrang Baloch Continues To Lead Islamabad Protest Against Enforced Disappearances The organizers have issued a three-day ultimatum to the government to meet their demands, which include the release of all detained protestors from four days ago, as well as locating all missing persons. “It is ironic that those who were demanding the release of missing persons have themselves now gone missing,” Mahrang added. The protest ultimatum will expire today (Monday), after which the protestors will announce their future plans. “We have and will continue to be peaceful, but the government’s policy of indifference persists,” laments Mahrang. Caretaker federal ministers Fawad Hasan Fawad and Murtaza Solangi visited the sit-in and assured the organizers of their cooperation. However, according to Mahrang, no progress has been made on the demands and no government representatives have contacted them since the ministers’ visit. In addition to the recovery of missing persons, the protestors are demanding that the government acknowledge the “fake encounters” conducted by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). “We possess all the necessary evidence to prove the number of missing persons and those who were killed in these staged encounters,” stated Mahrang. Mahrang Baloch is an activist who started the movement after her father and brother were both abducted. Her father was abducted and killed whereas, her brother, who was abducted years later, was released after three months. The article has a short bio. Somaiyah Hafeez writes about the disappearances and the protests for The Diplomat. On Sunday, the procession was attacked by the police in Surab. In Balochistan, enforced disappearances are common, widely believed to be a part of the state’s counterinsurgency operations. Victims of enforced disappearances include political workers, journalists, human rights defenders, and students. Anyone who is merely suspected of sympathizing with the separatists, or of being remotely linked with them, is at risk of being abducted. The military strongly denies these accusations. “Our hearts beat with [the] families of every missing person. We share their pain,” said Asif Ghafoor, the then-director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan armed forces. According to the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), there are more than 7,000 missing persons from Balochistan. However, the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances says there are just 454 active cases from Balochistan as of October 2023. Pakistan’s government has failed to take the issue seriously. Recently, the current caretaker prime minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, said in an interview to the BBC: “There are only 50 cases of enforced disappearances in Balochistan as per the U.N.’s working group.” Kakar, who is said to be close to the military, has previously suggested that the numbers are “exaggerated.” Sarfaraz Bugti, currently serving as the caretaker interior minister, called it a “small issue.” Activists refuse to minimize the issue. “There have been many instances of extrajudicial killings of Baloch missing persons, the incident of Balaach being one of them,” Sammi Deen Baloch, a missing persons activist, told The Diplomat from the protest. “The other three who were killed in the fake encounter were also identified as previously missing persons. Missing persons’ families are concerned that their loved ones could, God forbid, also face the same fate.” She added that the state has been using the policy of extrajudicial killings to weaken and silence the Baloch movement, but the protest in Turbat is in itself turning into a movement. Sammi is the daughter of Deen Muhammad Baloch, a doctor, who has been missing since 2009. Noraiee, H. (2020). The Baloch nationalism in Pakistan: Articulation of the ethnic separatism after the end of the Cold War. Journal of Eurasian Studies, 11(1), 72-85. https://doi.org/10.1177/1879366520901920 has a history of Baloch nationalism. An interesting paragraph. Even since the US-NATO, attacks on Afghanistan in 2001, the dimension of instability started to increase in Pakistan. In that context, the nationalists in Balochistan who had lost supports from Afghanistan and the Soviet Union, and initially lost the sense of direction, they started to take advantage of diverging aspects of the same phenomenon emerged in the forms of polarization and instability inside Pakistan. Under new conditions, notably since Musharraf rule, a large section of the Baloch nationalists, changed their strategies in terms of relationship with the central government in Pakistan, and their international alliances to gain new resources and support. Attacking Taliban in Afghanistan, in early years of the 21st century was seen as an opportunity for many middle-class nationalist Baloch to express their ideas more clearly and argue for gaining support from the United States to enhance the chance of independence or further freedom inside Pakistan. Many of the nationalists simply started to argue that as the Soviet Union and Balkan collapsed and new national states emerged, similar disintegration “inevitably” will happen in Pakistan as they considered as “superficial” state. Moses Twinkle also has a history at India Times. Balochistan, the largest province in Pakistan, is located in Afghanistan's south-west corner, surrounded on the west by Iran, on the east by Punjab and Sindh provinces, on the north by Pakhtunkhwa Province, and on the south by the Arabian Sea. It is divided into 30 districts, with Quetta, the province's most important city, located near the Afghan border and serving as the province's capital, as well as an important commercial and communication centre. It is rich in natural gas reserves, accounting for over 40% of Pakistan's total gas production; it also boasts some of the world's greatest copper gold and petroleum reserves. Geographically and strategically, Balochistan province bears an enormously great significance for Pakistan as a state and an economy. [...] Balochistan as a whole had become a province of Pakistan by June 1948. When the Khan's brother, Prince Kareem Khan, refused to accept Balochistan's incorporation into Pakistan, he declared independence and escaped to Afghanistan. He went to Afghanistan for help and began an armed fight. This is the beginning and perhaps the first wave of insurgency in Balochistan. The Baloch Insurgency, till today, continues to be an enduring armed and nationalist conflict between Baloch insurgents and the Pakistani government in Balochistan. Phases of of Balochistan Insurgency Different cycles of violence, each advancing in its range and scale, had been erupting since 1948. Balochistan experienced five phases of insurgency from 1948 to till date. After the first period of insurgency in 1948, the Baloch have launched a rebellion against the state three times in 1958, 1963–69, 1973–77 respectively. Sounds like Kashmir but it is not as well studied or known, I think. That is it for today. Rest in tweets. Until, next Friday, everyone. Stay safe. Be well. Take care. May there be yearning for truth, fellowship towards all, especially the marginalised and the disadvantaged in this current world order, fill our hearts. May we be skeptical of the word from powers and solicitous of the words and comfort of those denied by those in power. Scheduling Note: I have been posting this series around noon my time (midnight US time) but I don’t know if it is the best timeslot. Should I move it to morning US time? Please let me know. If you don’t, I will experiment with the timeslots, starting with 6:30 AM EST for next Friday’s Notes. 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