International Friends of Baloch People | 07.09.2007 20:49 | London | World
Baloch nationalists under the leadership of present king , Khan of Kalat Mr.Mir Suleiman Daud Khan ; are in the final stage to file their case for autonomy of Balochistan in International Court of Justice , Hague .


Dr.Wahid Baloch, President of BALOCH SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA

intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2007/09/baloch-leaders-to-convene-world.html

Baloch nationalists under the leadership of present king , Khan of Kalat Mr.Mir Suleiman Daud Khan ; are in the final stage to file their case for autonomy of Balochistan in International Court of Justice , Hague . Their team of lawyers will soon file the case , press release said . And a seperate fund called "Balochistan Legal Fund"-BLF will be established to meet the legal expenses , according to press release issued by Dr.Wahid Baloch , President of Baloch Society fo North America ( Bso-na.org) . Dr.Wahid who returned from London after a four day trip to meet Khan of Kalat and Baloch Diaspora in UK said this in press release .

Soon after British left undivided India , the state of Kalat was independent for few months , later in 1948 acceded to Pakistan under duress . Since then the baluch people have fought five bloody insurgencies in an effort to secure their rights promised by British government in various treaties and also Pakistani founder Mr.Mohammad Ali Jinha . The current ongoing upraise received a serious blow last year when a senior nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti 79 was assassinated by Pakistani forces , as he took to mountains of Balochistan and wages a guerilla war against Pakistan when his demands for more rights and revenue that comes from Oil and Gas of the province were rejected . Shortly after the assissanation of Mr.Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti , the present Khan of Kalat Mr.Mir Suleiman Daud Khan called an all-baluch tribal jirga , a historic even after 136 years . The Jirga concluded to take the case for autonomy ( and their treaties) to the International Court of Justice in The Hague . Last year Khan of Kalat left Pakistan on this mission and is currently in London mobilizing support for his case .

Dr.Wahid Baloch (BSO-NA)
Mr.Mir Suleiman Daud Khan appealed to baloch people to take active participation as the case "is not the case of a single person but of an entire nation" . He said “ The Baloch Nation must come forward to participate actively for their own case as this is not the case of a single person but of an entire nation and it must be won with help and support and active participation of all Balochs share holders.”

The funds will be collected from Baloch Diaspora and Friends of Baloch from allover the world , all baloch people are encouraged to participate and donate , said the press release . The details of the fund and instructions on how and where to donate will announced soon ,said Dr.Wahid Baloch .

IntelliBriefs reported few weeks back that Baloch leadership is planning to organize a world conference to unite baloch people . This latest press release of BSO-NA says World Baloch Conference will be held next year in Europe to discuss plans for the uniting all Baloch Diaspora on a single platform . However the press release didn’t mentioned exact location and when .

World Baloch Conference (WBF) will be held next year in Europe to discuss the uniting of all Baloch Diaspora into a single platform. "The time and place will be decided and announced after consulting other Baloch friends from Sweden, Gulf States, Moscow and Canada in order to ensure their participation and contribution" said the press release

Sources say President of BSO-NA Dr.Wahid Baloch will be actively participating in coming months to make the WBC conference success . It is believed that he will be overseeing all activities related to this from fund raising and campaigning along with leaders in UK . He received blessings from King Mr.Mir Suleiman Daud Khan to go ahead ,sources told IntelliBriefs . It needs to be seen whether some Baloch leaders who are keeping a distance from Mr.Mir Suleiman Daud Khan will be responding positively to his efforts and also to the conference . This conference will accelerate the pace of baloch movement at international level and soon pave way for establishment of separate diplomatic network similar to Kurds . Baloch seems to emulate the strategy adopted by Kurds and make a huge presence internationally . In this effort Baloch leadership is encouraging active participation of Baloch Diaspora and seeking their opinion . Analysts say global and regional powers will keep an eye on this significant event as it progress ,considering the strategic significance of Balochistan .

International Friends of Baloch People
Homepage: bso-na.org

These 3 articles point the motivation behind the eagerness of Pakistani government to develop Mega Projects in Balochistan . If one connect them , the main player is China ,these "trade and industrial corridor " from Balochistan to China will not benefit Baloch people in anyway (baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/15695/index.php).
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Holistic approach for development of Balochistan; PM

ISLAMABAD, Sept 16 APP; Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Sunday said that government has adopted a holistic approach for the development of Baluchistan and the economic and political initiatives are being made in tandem to expedite growth and development in the province. Talking to Maulana Abdul Bari Provincial Minister for Public Health Engineering Baluchistan at the PM House he said that government is working to bring development, stability and growth in Baluchistan.

He said the Rs. 164 billion allocated by the federal government for 140 ongoing development projects in Baluchistan are manifestation of the government’s commitment to bring Baluchistan at par with more developed areas of the country. These projects will lead to creation of more jobs and better facilities of life for the people, the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister said that the development of dams, Gawader port, expansion of road network and development of fisheries and minerals programmes undertaken by the government will change the fate of Baluchistan.

He said government is particularly focusing on strengthening of infrastructure and 35% of NHA budget is being spent on building a network of roads and highways in the province which will open up more income generation and employment opportunities in the province.

The Prime Minister said that the Government wants the Pakistani youth to be fully equipped with the religious and worldly education to achieve a progressive, enlightened and Islamic Pakistan as envisaged by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

The Prime Minister said that the government is against extremism as it is against the spirit of Islam and Pakistan’s national interests. He said that the government believes in dialogue with all political forces so that a conducive environment for the development, peace and progress can be ensured.

Maulana Abdul Bari Provincial Minister for Public Health Engineering Baluchistan thanked the Prime Minister for taking special interest for the development of Baluchistan. He said that the Mega Development Projects will bring prosperity to the people of the province. He said that as a result of various initiatives taken by the Federal Government tremendous job opportunities are being generated, bringing marked improvement in the living standard of the people of Baluchistan.

He also thanked the Prime Minister for taking personal interest to provide relief and rehabilitation to the flood affected people of the province.

Pakistan to establish trade and industrial corridor with China

By Sajid Chaudhry

www.dailytimes.com.pk/

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has approved the establishment of a trade, energy, transport and industrial corridor between Pakistan and China and in this regard a 16 member Policy and Supervisory Board has been constituted under the chairmanship of the President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

The approval for constitution of a more than 10-member Steering Committee under the chairmanship of the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission has also been accorded. The approval for the constitution of board and committee was accorded for quick implementation and proper monitoring of the decision taken during a high level meeting presided over by the President of Pakistan. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also participated in the meeting.

The president, in this regard also approved a set of 14 important measures to make this initiative a success, a senior government official told Daily Times on Saturday. The meeting, while considering the proposal of the establishment of trade energy, transport and industrial corridor between Pakistan and China decided that Pak-China bilateral working group would be constituted to prepare and finalise action plan for building the multi-modal corridor. The meeting decided that general attractive concessions would be given for the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
Site for China-Saudi oil refinery in the proposed Oil City at Gwadar be identified and terms and conditions be decided on priority basis. Government of Balochistan has been asked to identify state land for development of projects at Gwadar out of which 50 square kilometres be allocated to Chinese developers at nominal rates for establishment of SEZs.
The meeting decided that the Gwadar seaport development programme (Arthur D Little and Chinese Plans) was approved in principle and it was decided to commence negotiations with Chinese counterparts to attract investment in this area. Financial incentives equal or better than Chinese SEZs would be provided to the investors in the said area.

A team comprising Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Minister of State for Investment, Secretary General, Revenue Division and Energy Advisor would finalise investment incentives with Chinese investors within 90 days before the high-level Chinese visit to Pakistan.
The energy advisor was directed to recommend within 60 days the oil concessions for Chinese companies with the objective of attracting Chinese companies to bring in at least 200 rigs to Pakistan. This policy would be open to other interested exploration companies as well.
As an essential first step, a joint venture company comprising Pakistani stakeholders and foreign companies should start coal mining. Suggested Pakistani equity partners were identified as government of Pakistan (National Logistic Cell, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission) (PAEC) and government of Sindh (Sindh Coal Authority).

During the meeting the prime minister showed his willingness to resolve the issue of land for economic zones in different parts of the country, in addition to special lease of land at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar for international entrepreneurs including Chinese companies to build 15-20 story offices, business support centers and residency blocks for the perspective investors.

During the meeting the initiative proposed by Pakistan’s Ambassador in Beijing to set-up a consortium for earthquake re-construction using Chinese experience in planning earthquake resistant cities was supported.

The meeting decided that a policy and supervisory board would be constituted for providing strategic vision laying down policy guidelines, ensuring timely decisions and regular monitoring the progress. It was decided that President of Pakistan to head the Board and other members will be Prime Minister, Federal Ministers of Ports and Shipping, Communication, Railways, Petroleum and Natural Resources, Industries and Production, Commerce, Water and Power, Governor and Chief Minister Balochistan, Minister of State for Investment, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Secretary General Finance, Secretary General Revenue Division and Secretary Foreign Affairs.

Committee set up for mineral project

www.dailytimes.com.pk/

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: A 14-member steering committee has been constituted for the development of 12.3 million tonnes of copper and 21 million ounces of gold resource at Rekodiq Copper-Gold Project, a senior government official told Daily Times on Friday.

The steering committee has been empowered to finalise the terms and conditions for the mineral agreement with M/s Tetyan Copper Mining Company (TCMC) and coordinate with federal and provincial government and serve as one window facility the investors and the government departments. The contribution of mineral sector to the GDP has increased on commercial exploitation of Saindak copper-gold deposit. Duddar zinc-lead deposit in Balochistan is in construction phase by a Chinese mining company and expected to start commercial production during 2008. M/s Tetyan Copper Mining Company has proved 12.3 MT of copper and 21 Moz of gold resource in Rekodiq in Balochistan.

The company, owned by M/s Antofogasta of Chille and Barrick Gold of Canada, is preparing feasibility study to commission a project to produce 250,000 tonnes of copper and 400,000 ounces of gold. A junior Australian company; Lake Resources is exploring precious metals in district Chaghi, in Balochistan. Rekodiq copper project is being undertaken by the Chilean Antofagasta Company with investment of $6 billion in Chaghi district of Balochistan which would place Pakistan on the world copper map shortly.

Minister for Petroleum and Natural resources Amanullah Khan Jadoon has been appointed as chairman of the 14 member steering committee which also includes Balochistan Minister for Mines government of, Chief Secretary, government of Balochistan, Chairman Central Board of Revenue (CBR), Secretary Petroleum and Natural Resources, Secretary Board of Investment, Secretary railways, Secretary Water and Power, Secretary Communication, Secretary Mines and Minerals Department Balochistan, Secretary Law and Justice government of Balochistan, Secretary Finance Balochistan, Chairman Balochistan Development Authority and the committee has been allowed to co-opt any other member of the ministries and departments concerned of federal and provincial governments respectively for all or any of the terms of reference.