UN expresses concern over killings of top Pakistani provincial leaders of Quam Dost Committee

The United Nations voiced its serious concern over the killings of three leaders from Balochistan province, the largest in Pakistan, calling for immediate investigations into their murders.

The three men were members of the Balochistan Quam Dost Committee, recently created by the Pakistani Government to investigate missing persons cases in the province in the South Asian nation’s east.

The UN, which expressed its sympathies to the families of the deceased, called on authorities to ensure that the committee continues its important work.

Last weekend, a staff member of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was released after spending two months in captivity.

John Solecki, the head of the agency’s office in Quetta, Balochistan’s provincial capital, was abducted in an attack on 2 February that also left another colleague, Syed Hashim, dead.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his gratitude to the Pakistani Government, Balochi authorities and others who helped secure Mr. Solecki’s release, re-affirming the UN’s commitment to helping the people of Pakistan. (UN: 9 April 2009).

Victims
According to media reports, the activistst killed are Ghulam Mohammed Baloch, central president of the Balochistan National Movement; Lala Munir Baloch, a central leader of the Balochistan National Movement, and Sher Mohammed Baloch, deputy general secretary of the Balochistan Republican Party.

Baluchistan
Balochistan, or Baluchistan is the largest province in the country by geographical area. It constitutes most of the region of Balochistan and is named after the Baloch people.

Its neighbouring regions are Iranian Balochistan to the west, Afghanistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to the north and Punjab and Sindh to the east.

The capital and largest city is Quetta. Balochistan is believed to be rich in mineral resources. It is the second major supplier, after Sindh, of natural gas to the country.

Balochistan was not a part of Pakistan when the British departed from India in August 1947. The area was annexed by force in March 1948. Since then, Pakistan’s army launched four military operations that has left thousands of Baloch killed.