South Asia (Page 12)

As Pakistan gets ready for the general elections next year, political media dominates the country. However, hundreds of people marched on Islamabad, the nation’s capital, in December, and they did so with a very diverse goal in mind.

One of them was Sammi Deen Baloch, who demanded to know where her father was while hugging a layered photo of him, as she had done on many occasions over the previous 14 times.

or perhaps if he is still intact.

The 26-year-old is one of several people who led the march, which saw demonstrators walk nearly 1, 000 km from the unrest-filled province of Balochistan in search of family members who they claim had “forcibly vanished.” Police used tear gas and water guns to separate the audiences after at least 200 people were detained.

Strategies like this are common in the state that is rife with conflict, and women play a significant role in planning them.

In the west of Pakistan, Balochistan has been the scene of a protracted republican uprising.

militant separatists claim to be fighting for a completely Balochistan.

The protesters claim that during a terrible combat operation, Bangladeshi security forces picked up, abused, and killed their loved ones, many of whom were men, with impunity. The government in Islamabad have refuted these claims.

They think that over the past 20 years, there have been dozens of such disappearances.

Forced disappearances are defined by the UN as” the arrest, detention, abduction, or any other kind of deprivation of liberty by officials of the state.”

Deen Mohammad Baloch, Sammi’s parents, was kidnapped when she was only 11 years old. He was the doctor on change when military forces detained him in a public hospital in south-western Balochistan in June 2009.

We are unaware of what has happened to him as of now. My mom is unsure of whether she is also married or a wife. She told the BBC,” And we still do n’t know why they took him.

According to The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, a non-profit organization that represents the families of those who vanished in Balochistan, they have received about 7, 000 cases since 2004.

As of January 2024, the state had 2, 752 active cases of enforced kidnappings, according to the government-appointed Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance, but Pakistan’s interim prime minister claimed in a recent discussion with the BBC that only about 50 people were missing.

A bill to criminalize forced kidnappings was passed by Pakistan’s National Assembly in 2021, but it has not yet been implemented. Over the years, court directives have also been issued to keep the state accountable for these disappearances, but rights organizations claim that these promises have been ineffective.

Baloch protesters, many of whom supported patriotism and irredentism, have been labeled as confederates or troublemakers by the state.

However, according to Pakistani blogger Taha Siddiqui, many of the people who have been arrested recently are Baloch residents who are unrelated to the military resistance.

Instead, he claimed, leaders “detain” “on bare suspicion and at times on bogus information provided by rival pro-Pakistan teams based in Balochistan.”

Activists have been urging Bangladeshi authorities to deal with the accused lawfully rather than unilaterally detaining them.

” Create them to the court if they had done anything wrong.” Our community has suffered greatly as a result of these forced disappearances. Since 2009, my entire life has changed. We’ve endured a great deal of psychological abuse. I’m not sure what kind of lifestyle we lead. Sammi said,” It hurts a lot.

Mahrang Baloch, who organized the protracted protest last year and was detained half during it, told the BBC that she hoped it “brought worldwide attention to the human rights violations and state oppression prominent in Balochistan.”

The 30-year-old, a well-known number in the Baloch opposition movements, claimed that her parents Abdul Gaffar Langove was abducted in 2009 and later discovered dead with evidence of abuse. In 2017, her brother was imprisoned for three weeks.

The number of forced kidnappings and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan has increased to an alarming level, and many people are still missing. After being abused and held in secret cells, some may be freed. However, she claimed that their mental and physical health are not at all normal.

Baloch person who is currently living in exile in London claims that he fled Pakistan out of concern for kidnapping.

” The Balochistani people had been the target of the Pakistani army’s attempts to impose identity on them. The province has a lot of gold and other natural resources, but the Baloch people do n’t get any assistance from the government. The man, who spoke to the BBC under the condition of anonymity, said that some places do n’t even have proper drinking water.

He cited instances of Baloch campaigners who suddenly passed away while in captivity, such as Toronto, Canada’s advocate Karima Balioch, who was discovered dead in December 2020 close to Lake Ontario. Sajid Hussain, a Muslim journalist who had been the editor-in-chief of The Balochistan Times while living in exile in Sweden, was discovered dead in the river northeast of Stockholm earlier that month. The circumstances surrounding both fatalities were cautious, according to specialists in the relevant nations.

Following airstrikes from Iran in January, which prompted Pakistan to strike Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province in retaliation, Balochistan late came back into the spotlight on a global scale.

Both state claim they were aiming their weapons at insurgents in Baloch.

Balochistan has generally been used to describe a larger region that includes Afghanistan and Iran.

Baloch organizations in Pakistan and Iran are engaged in a long-running struggle for greater independence, with some battling for an impartial Balochistan position.

Balochs accuse the Bangladeshi government of neglecting the state’s development while abusing and profiting from its resources.

It is also an important component of the multi-billion dollar China-funded China Pakistan Economic Corridor project, but many people think the Baloch people wo n’t benefit from the employment opportunities offered by the project.

According to Burzine Waghmar of the SOAS South Asia Institute at the University of London,” the entire state is racked by disillusionment, sadness, and anger towards Pakistan as well as those Punjabi socio-political leaders who call the pictures in Pakistan.”

The issue in Balochistan should be resolved, according to protesters and observers, but they have little faith that the approaching elections will bring about change for the Baloch people and worry that it may yet further deprive the community of its rights.

According to Mr. Siddiqui, the condition has been encouraging non-Baloch candidates to run in Baloch districts, which will further alienate the already-outcast area.

According to Mahrang, the election has much significance for the Baloch.

” In Balochistan, human rights violations and extrajudicial killings may continue regardless of which state comes into power. She claimed that the leadership has not expressed real concern about it.

Pakistan’s former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif only returned from exile last year but is now the clear front-runner to win the 8 February election.

Few could have predicted his return to the top, despite his dominance in Pakistani politics these past three decades.

His last term ended in him being convicted of corruption, and the time before that, he was toppled in a military coup.

Still, he appears on the brink of making another successful comeback, a dramatic turnaround for someone who had long been viewed as an opponent to Pakistan’s powerful military.

“He’s a top candidate to be the next premier not because he’s wildly popular – he certainly is – but more so because he’s played his cards right,” says analyst Michael Kugelman, the South Asia Director at the Wilson Center think tank.

Mr Sharif’s arch-rival and former Prime Minister Imran Khan – previously backed by the military – is now the one locked up in jail, his popular party restricted across the country.

One might say that Mr Sharif is the king of comebacks. He’s certainly done it before.

Ousted from his second term in a 1999 military coup, he returned in the 2013 parliamentary elections, staging a triumphant comeback to become Prime Minister for a record third term.

That was a historic moment for the country, as it was the first transition from one democratically elected government to another since independence in 1947.

But Sharif’s last period in office was marred by upheavals – starting with a six-month opposition blockade of the capital Islamabad, and ending with court proceedings over corruption allegations which eventually led to the Supreme Court disqualifying him in July 2017. He resigned shortly afterwards.

In July 2018 he was found guilty of corruption by a court in Pakistan and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Two months later, Islamabad’s high court suspended the sentences and ordered his release, pending the conclusion of the appeals process.

He then fled to the UK, where he’d been living in exile the past four years until his return last October.

Even in absentia though, he has been one of the country’s leading politicians for the past 35 years.

Nawaz Sharif was born into the family of a prominent Lahore industrialist in 1949 and made his mark in politics representing an urban constituency.

He first came to national prominence during the early days of Gen Zia’s martial law, serving as Punjab province’s finance and then chief minister from 1985-1990.

Observers recall him as not being a particularly impressive political figure, but said he nonetheless proved himself an adept administrator. He became prime minister in 1990, but was dismissed in 1993, clearing the way for the then opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, to form a government.

Owner of Ittefaq Group, a leading steel mill conglomerate, he is among the country’s wealthiest industrialists.

A protégé of military leader Gen Zia ul-Haq – who ruled Pakistan from 1977 to 1988 – Mr Sharif is perhaps best known outside Pakistan for ordering the country’s first nuclear tests in 1998.

After becoming prime minister again in 1997 with a comfortable majority, Mr Sharif appeared to dominate the political landscape and exerted a powerful hold over all the country’s major institutions – apart from the army.

Then, frustrated by opposition in parliament, he tried to pass a constitutional amendment that would have enabled him to enforce Sharia law. He also confronted other power centres – a mob of his supporters ransacked the Supreme Court and he tried to rein in Pakistan’s powerful military.

But Mr Sharif’s overthrowing in 1999 by then army chief Pervez Musharraf showed how dangerous it was for any politician to attempt to curtail the military’s influence in Pakistan.

Mr Sharif was arrested, jailed and eventually sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of hijacking and terrorism. He was also convicted of corruption and banned for life from political activities.

But an alleged deal, brokered by the Saudis, saved him and other family members from being put behind bars. Mr Sharif and 40 members of his family were exiled to Saudi Arabia for what was supposed to be a period of 10 years.

Owen Bennett-Jones, BBC Islamabad correspondent at the time, recalls that when Mr Sharif was removed from power, many Pakistanis expressed great relief, describing him as corrupt, incompetent and power-hungry.

Mr Sharif’s first time in the political wilderness lasted until his triumphal return to Pakistan in 2007 following a deal with the military.

Back in Pakistan, he patiently bided his time in opposition. His party won about a quarter of parliamentary seats in the 2008 elections.

Though tipped to win the 2013 elections he surprised many with the scale of his victory. He saw off a spirited challenge from the party of former cricketer Imran Khan, who became prime minister after him, in politically crucial Punjab province.

But after assuming power in 2013, Sharif faced a six-month blockade of Islamabad by Mr Khan’s PTI party which accused him of rigging the elections.

There were public accusations that the blockade had been launched at the instigation of some officials in the military’s notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

Analysts believe the military establishment wanted to put Sharif under pressure to prevent him from expanding trading ties with India – a process begun under the previous government.

Sharif had promised in his third term to turn Pakistan into an “Asian tiger”, with new infrastructure and a government with “zero tolerance for corruption”.

But problems multiplied and the only economic highlight – the Chinese-funded $56bn China-Pakistan economic corridor- has been mired in the country’s fragile economy with only some projects delivered so far.

In 2016, the Panama Papers leaks unleashed a new threat for the prime minister which resulted in claims of corruption being investigated by the Supreme Court.

The allegations related to his family’s ownership of apartments in an upmarket area of central London, with questions being raised over the money trail that led to the acquisition of those properties.

Sharif denied all wrongdoing and called the charges politically motivated.

However, on 6 July 2018 a court in Pakistan found him guilty of corruption and sentenced him – in absentia – to 10 years in prison. When the sentence was announced he was in London where his wife was receiving medical treatment.

Sharif’s daughter and son-in-law were also convicted.

The former leader chose to stay in in London as his rival Imran Khan ruled the country.

But Mr Khan’s term in power was also turbulent and his relationship with the military deteriorated.

In 2022, Mr Khan was ousted in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence paving the way for Mr Sharif’s party, helmed by his younger brother Shehbaz, to take charge.

Mr Sharif has been tilting to get back into power even since Mr Khan’s fall, stepping up political engagements.

He flew home in 2023 – a historic return – and in the months since has managed to dislodge all the legal cases that were still outstanding against him.

His path is clear to retake power if his party wins the most votes.

Not that they”re a shoo in- there’s a lot of resentment against Mr Sharif and his party, who are blamed for Pakistan’s economic misery. Mr Sharif is also heavily tarnished by his corruption accusations.

“They are going to win it but no party really ever comes in with an absolute majority, apart from Sharif once,” said Dr Farzana Shaikh, an associate fellow at Chatham House’s Asia-Pacific programme.

“Everything points to him coming in as prime minister, or head of the largest party,” she said, but added that it was uncertain what type of working majority he might have.

It is a turbulent, volatile time in Pakistan politics and Mr Sharif is presenting himself as the experienced leader with a track record of three premierships.

He’s promising to stabilise the economy and “right the ship” in Pakistan.

But analysts are still wary.

“Sharif’s supporters will hope his narrative of stability, experience, and dependability will get him votes- and also make the army comfortable with him, or at least comfortable with his party,” says Mr Kugelman.

He has a number of issues to navigate – not least an economy in crisis, for which his party is largely blamed, and widespread feelings the vote will not be fair because his main opponent is locked up.

“He is struggling because his party, led by his brother, was senior partner in the former coalition government, which had to implement a series of economic policies which have exacted a very high toll,” says Dr Shaikh. “Sharif and his party have been blamed for the economic misery if not the crisis that engulfs the country.”

And then there’s the military, which has a big say in how Pakistan is run.

While abroad, the ex-PM had been very vocal on occasion against the armed forces.

In particular he blamed an ex-head of the feared ISI intelligence agency and the former army chief of staff for political instability in the country, charges they denied.

He also strongly criticised the nation’s judiciary, accusing judges of collusion and saying he had been the victim of “bogus cases”. This, he said, had resulted in a crippled democracy that hadn’t let any of Pakistan’s prime ministers complete their constitutional tenure in office.

The military has never breathed a word on whether it prefers Mr Sharif or Mr Khan or any other political leader – stating on record that it does not get involved in politics.

But to analysts it would appear he has done a deal now with the military to facilitate his return.

“The fact that he’s received so much legal relief since returning home proves that he’s back in the good graces of a powerful military that exerts heavy influence over the judiciary,” says Mr Kugelman.

He notes the “great irony” of Sharif’s success; at the moment he’s riding high but he used to constantly spar with the military.

“[But] in Pakistan, when you’re a political leader and have the army behind you, your chances of electoral success tend to be higher.”

Just over a week ago, India’s federal home minister Amit Shah announced a plan to fence the open border with neighbouring Myanmar.

He said India would secure the rugged 1,643km (1,020-mile) boundary the same way in which “we have fenced the country’s border with Bangladesh”, which is more than twice as long.

Mr Shah said the government would also consider scrapping a six-year-old free movement agreement, allowing border residents from India and Myanmar to travel 16km into each other’s territory without a visa. He gave few details of how the fence would be built, or over what timeframe.

But the move would be fraught with challenges – some experts say the mountainous terrain makes a fence all but impossible. And India’s plans could destabilise the equilibrium that has existed for decades between peoples in the border area, as well as stirring up tensions with its neighbours.

The move to fence the border – involving the four north-eastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram – appears to have come against the backdrop of two major developments.

First, the escalation of the conflict in Myanmar since the military coup in February 2021 posed a mounting risk to Indian interests. Some two million people have been displaced in the fighting, according to the UN. In recent weeks, ethnic rebels claimed to have taken over the crucial town of Paletwa in Chin state, disrupting a key route from Myanmar to India.

Second, ethnic violence sparked by an affirmative action row erupted last year in Manipur, which shares a near-400km border with Myanmar. Clashes between members of the majority Meitei and tribal Kuki minority have claimed more than 170 lives and displaced tens of thousands of people.

The government in Manipur, led by Indian PM Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has spoken about a “large number of illegal migrants” and said the “violence was fuelled by influential illegal poppy cultivators and drug lords from Myanmar settling in Manipur”.

Last July, India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar informed his counterpart Than Swe from Myanmar’s military-led government that India’s border areas “were seriously disturbed“. He said that “any actions that aggravate the [border] situation should be avoided”, and raised concerns about “human and drug trafficking”.

Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center, an American think-tank, believes the move to fence the border is “driven by India’s perception of a growing two-pronged security threat on its eastern border”.

“It wants to limit the spill-over effects of a deepening conflict in Myanmar, and to reduce the risk of refugees entering an increasingly volatile Manipur from Myanmar,” Mr Kugelman told the BBC.

Some question the validity of this reason. While Manipur’s government has attributed the conflict there to an influx of Kuki refugees from Myanmar, its own panel had identified only 2,187 immigrants from Myanmar in the state by the end of April last year.

“This narrative of massive illegal immigration from Myanmar is false. This is being done to support the narrative that Kukis are ‘foreigners’ and illegal migrants, that they don’t belong to Manipur, and lately, that their resistance is getting support from Myanmar,” said Gautam Mukhopadhaya, a former ambassador of India to Myanmar.

“The logic and evidence for this is very thin. Kukis have inhabited Manipur for ages. The free movement regime has been working well for all communities including Meiteis who have benefitted from it commercially.”

A senior retired army officer, with experience in the region and preferring to remain unnamed, said the necessity for border fencing was not due to civilian migration but because several Indian rebel groups from the north-east had established camps in Myanmar’s border villages and towns.

For decades India’s north-east has been roiled by separatist insurgencies. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a law granting security forces search-and-seizure powers and protecting soldiers involved in civilian casualties during operations, has proven to be controversial. Indian rebels hiding in Myanmar can easily cross the border and “do their extortion and violent activities”, the officer said.

However, the move to fence the border is likely to meet resistance.

India and Myanmar have historic religious, linguistic and ethnic ties – some two million people of Indian origin live in Myanmar, which seeks greater economic integration through India’s Look East policy.

Under this policy, India has provided more than $2bn in development assistance – roads, higher education, restoration of damaged pagodas – to Myanmar, most of it in the form of grants.

More importantly, the border splits people with shared ethnicity and culture. Mizos in Mizoram and Chins in Myanmar are ethnic cousins, with cross-border connections, especially as the predominantly Christian Chin State borders Mizoram. There are Nagas on both sides of the border, with many from Myanmar pursuing higher education in India. Hunters from Walong in Arunachal Pradesh have come and gone across the border for centuries.

Not surprisingly, Mizoram, defying federal government directives, has sheltered more than 40,000 refugees who have fled the civil war in Myanmar. Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, an ally of the BJP, said recently: “We have to work out a formula on how to solve the issue for the people and prevent infiltration as well, because Nagaland is bordered by Myanmar, and on both sides there are Nagas.”

Also, experts believe that fencing the mountainous and densely forested border will pose significant challenges.

“To fence off the entire border would be impossible given all the mountains along the border and the remoteness of the terrain. It won’t be like building a fence along the border with Bangladesh,” Bertil Linter, a well-known Myanmar expert, told me.

“A fence is impractical, would take years to build and even if is was built at some places, local people would find ways around it.”.

Then there’s the delicate diplomatic question. Constructing a border fence could be a provocative move at a time when Delhi needs to exercise caution in its interactions with Myanmar, according to Mr Kugelman. “India seeks junta support for border security and infrastructure development, among other priorities. Erecting the fence in consultation with Myanmar as opposed to pursing the project unilaterally would lessen the risk of tensions,” he said.

Ultimately, the move underscores India’s border security challenges – the country endures border tensions with arch-rival Pakistan and China – stemming from political tensions, territorial disputes, war, terrorism, or a combination of these factors. India is also pushing back against China in South Asia – and China has stronger economic connections with Myanmar compared to India.

“With India working to strengthen ties with its regional neighbours, and looking to fend off challenges from an increasingly present Beijing in its broader backyard, border challenges are an unwelcome intrusion. But they can’t simply be wished away,” said Mr Kugelman.

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Working with Zayn Malik on a single in Urdu was “a dream come true,” the Pakistani band Aur have told the BBC.

“Previously we only had a Pakistani audience, now we have people from the UK, Brazil, China… so it feels very good,” said bandmate Raffey Anwar.

A remake of Aur’s breakout hit Tu Hai Kahan features the ex-One Direction singer with vocals in Urdu.

The original song has more than 100m views, but the remake is fast catching up, with more than eight million views.

The collaboration came about following discussions between Malik’s and Aur’s management, the band said.

The three bandmates, from Karachi, said none of their friends or family could believe it, when they found out they were collaborating with him.

Many fans were psyched that Malik, who was born in Bradford, is fluent in Urdu.

Malik said at the time he was “incredibly humbled” when Aur reached out to him.

“I love the song and have brought some of myself to it. I hope people love what we’ve done,” he said.

Aur’s music blends R&B and hip hop elements. Band members Usama Ali, 21, Ahad Khan, 20, and Anwar, 18, were already popular in South Asia.

But to work with Malik and get global audiences is “all about dreams coming true”, Ali said.

Closer to home, the three bandmates are also getting a lot of attention.

Khan said their friends and family went “crazy” when they heard about the partnership.

“No one was believing it,” added Anwar.

“When we go out somewhere, people instantly recognise us,” said Ali.

“The reaction has been very good, not just friends, the whole of Pakistan has given us a great reaction.”

Malik, 31, was born in the UK and his father is a Pakistani immigrant.

His music career began in 2010 as part of One Direction, the boy band formed on TV music competition, The X Factor. The other band members are Harry Styles. Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne.

Malik released his debut album, Mind of Mine, in 2016. A song in his 2021 album, Nobody is Listening, also included Urdu lyrics.

The Tu Hai Kahan remake was quick to gain fans online among many Urdu-speaking fans, with one calling it a “gift for his fellow Pakistanis”.

Aur were full of praise for Malik, saying: “He is so down to earth, so humble. He sang in Urdu, what can be bigger than that?”

As for who they want to partner with next, the three bandmates are not holding back.

“21 Savage, and Drake, and The Weeknd,” Khan said.

“We will do it with anyone,” laughed Ali.