Balochistan, the largest of the four provinces of Pakistan, is well known for its abundant resources like natural gas, coal and minerals, its unique culture and extreme climate. Also, its location is of extraordinary geostrategic and geo-economic importance.
It was once a centre stage of the Great Game for Central Asia in the mid-19th century, between the imperial British Empire and Czarist Russia. Reportedly, it has now become a focal point of a new 'Strategic Great Game' being played between the Asian powers for a strong influence over Central and West Asian region.
So, Balochistan has ample reasons for being a subject of extensive media coverage globally. One would easily find media reports about various economic and political developments happening in the region, but what escapes the attention of the mainstream media is the large humanitarian crisis experienced by the people residing in it.
The people of Balochistan have for years been subjected to brutal repression by Pakistani forces. The annexation of eastern Balochistan by Pakistan after the withdrawal of the British from the Indian Subcontinent in 1948 gave rise to the Baloch independence struggle against Pakistani state. Since then, Baloch have fallen victim to forced disappearances and brutal killings by state forces and state sponsored militants.
According to pro-freedom Baloch parties and the Baloch Human Rights Organisation (BHRO), since 2001, more than 20,000 Baloch, including women and children, have been abducted, and around 6000 killed.
For years, Baloch organisations have been trying to collect and disseminate this data to the world, with limited success. In the last two months of last year, Pakistani forces reportedly conducted more than 80 military raids across Balochistan.
One of the cases that featured in all Baloch web publications was that of four women and two boys who were taken by Pakistan forces in November. The Frontier Corps (FC), Pakistan's paramilitary force, conducted three raids in different parts of Awaran district and picked up four women — Sakina Qadir Bakhsh (52), Sayad Bibi Ahmad (47), Hamida Mir Dilbod (35) and Nazal Mir Asadullah (52). A few days before that, two minors, one of them the son of Sakina, were also picked up.
"The abduction of women has intensified tensions between nationalists and the Pakistani government."
After 24 hours of interrogation, the four women were handed over to police and photographed with police personnel along with caches of arms and grenades. They were charged with terrorism charges. It was also reported that Hamida