Articles for author: Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Who is to blame?

Augusts do not augur well for Baloch people. Not that other months are any less gory and less punishing for them but somehow this month becomes painful for a reason of its own. To mention just a few; on August 26 falls the martyrdom of Nawab Akbar Bugti who was unlawfully killed in the Marri ...

Is PTM an ‘engineered protest’?

The statement from the Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said on April 12 that “engineered protests” would not be allowed to reverse the gains of counterterrorism operations and cautioned the nation against forgetting sacrifices of “real heroes”. He, without naming the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), blamed it as something which was ...

Balochistan: Political awakening

Recently, Brahumdagh Bugti, the leader of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP), through a tweet, subscribed to the Pakistani version of the events of March 27th 1948, which Baloch observe as a black day as Balochistan was illegally annexed to Pakistan. He said it was only Kalat and not Balochistan that was annexed and then in ...

On the question of Baloch-Pashtun unity

I do not want to be seen as someone throwing a monkey wrench into the works and undermining the move towards a prospective Baloch-Pashtun unity but there are certain things which all those advocating and proposing this unity should understand and keep in view. I for one would be the happiest if this much-wanted unity ...

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Internet photo

MQM-Altaf not a friend to Baloch

A Baloch activist friend who lives abroad recently wrote to me and expressed concern that some quarters among the Baloch are trying to forge a Baloch-MQM (Altaf)* alliance on the plea that the MQM is anti-establishment and will prove helpful to the Baloch. It is a tricky path to tread with such alliances which join ...

‘O’ Gracious God

This is the English translation of Gul Khan Naseer’s Balochi poem ‘Ya Khuda Wanda’.   ‘O’ Gracious God bestow the Baloch nation with people who are: Sagacious, valiant, magnanimous, compassionate and courageous too Their prudence and sagaciousness be more glorious than the brightest morns Their evergreen wisdom be resplendently dazzling in magnificence and majesty Their ...

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

Khush Hal Balochistan or Khush Hal China?

Recently the Pakistani army chief, during his visit to Quetta, said that the army would provide full support to the federal and provincial governments for the execution and success of ‘Khush Hal Balochistan’ (KHB) programme. This initiative aimed at development of the province was discussed at a meeting presided over by the army chief during ...

Women, children and family members of Abdul Razzaq Baloch, who had been missing since March, hold a banner and posters during a protest outside Karachi Press Club June 4, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer/Files

Baloch, Balochistan and their Struggle

Nations cannot be manufactured on basis of common religion, ideology or geography as has been the case in Pakistan, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Soviet Union and Yugoslavia are no more and in Pakistan fault lines appear daily; you cannot simply lump people together and tell them they are a nation now. Certainly you cannot manufacture ...

A slow motion Chernobyl disaster

Coal is an unforgiving servant as it exacts its proverbial ‘pound of flesh’ from its masters. To begin with, mined coal needs to be washed of impurities which produce a fantastic amount of coal sludge (slurry) that in turn needs a dam for storage. This sludge contains mercury, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, nickel and selenium, all ...

Balochistan and March 27

The present situation in Balochistan is critical in the political context which is naturally overshadowed by an armed conflict that has ebbed and flowed in different periods but never seen a complete victory of either side. This situation has now become critical as both sides struggle hard for political and military gains. The Baloch armed ...