January 17, 2006	Tuesday	Zilhaj 16, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 16: The Baloch Rights Council, Karachi, has condemned the alleged attack on the residence of Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri and bombardment on civilian population in Kohlu and Kahan in Balochistan. It has also urged international organizations to pressure the government to stop the military operation and bloodshed in that province.

In a joint statement issued here on Monday, BRC leaders Yusuf Naskandi, Abdul Wahab Baloch and Nisar Baloch, said that the government had crossed all limits in unleashing atrocities on innocent Baloch people, who were being picked up and tortured by security agencies.

Even the domestic servants of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in Sui area were not being spared as they were being arrested and chained, the statement said.

The tyranny reminds one of the middle ages when slaves in a colonial country had been subjected to inhuman treatment, according to the statement.

It wondered that the US and European human rights organizations had still been keeping a discreet silence over the serious violation of human rights in Balochistan.

The BRC also called upon all Baloch nationalists to shun their petty differences to forge unity and intensify their struggle for national rights.

Meanwhile, the Sindh National Party has condemned the military operation in Balochistan and urged the government to recognize the rights of smaller nations.

It also urged the rulers to hold general elections in the country and hand over powers to the elected representatives.

The SNP also demanded shelving of the Kalabagh Dam project.