Author: H Baloch
In December 2020 the shockwaves from a seismic event of cosmic proportions hit Balochistan in the entirety of its existence. Not only was Balochistan’s present hit by this cataclysmic event but so was its future altered for the worst. This was not a doomsday asteroid hit, not a nuclear strike but something far greater. It was the death of a star called Karima Baloch.
In a deeply conservative society, well en-route the degenerative path chosen by its elite, their overlords in Islamabad and widely endorsed by the wretched masses itself, Karima was hope herself. In a nation whose history is ripe with the sacrifices of rugged men with reputations higher than the tallest mountains, Karima stands taller with Banari Rind -a political advisor to her brother the Great Chakar, who had it not been to Banari’s insistence, would have probably retreated from Delhi – and with Bebo Kambrani, the fifteenth century warrior princess who laid her life down in battle avenging the murder of a shepherd couple’s only son and for the honor of the Khanate.
Death is part of life, it is inevitable. The Baloch are far too familiar with the reality of death and even more so with a particular scenario that seems wild enough to be right out of a John le Carre` novel; an exile somewhere being taken out by secret agents of a rogue government. This has been the fate of some Baloch activists abroad. There was enough evidence for anyone with a critical eye to foresee a trend; Javed Barakzai, Oslo 2004; Sajid Baloch, Uppsala 2020. Karima’s close aide and activist Lateef Johar reported Karima receiving a death threat from an unknown number a week before the ordeal. Not that it was the first time but this time the text gave a deadline, “A Christmas gift you won’t forget”. It is also no secret that the Baloch freedom movement is just as militaristic as it is democratic. Like any other freedom movement, the political parties work closely with the armed front. And amongst the exiles, there are many who have served in Middle-Eastern security services. As mentioned earlier, everybody dies, political dissidents have a shorter life expectancy, especially the important ones and when you receive threats with neon signs on them then why do you fail to act; why were there no security protocols in place?
As the waves from this cosmic event hit Balochistan and the ordeal unfolded in real time on social media, with Karima trending on Twitter, where half of the tweets were coming from the secret service’s trolls defaming and maligning her beautiful existence. What continues to haunt one’s thoughts is the trolls referring to a report from the EU Disinformation Lab (EUDisinfoLab), a NGO based in Brussels. The report released in December 2020, blatantly titled Indian Chronicles, has turned out to be the NGO’s magnum opus as even two years after its publication it stills ranks number one on the EUDisinfoLab website’s Google index. The report also received raving attention from Pakistani media, think tanks and is still cited by the trolls for justifying Karima’s assassination–the report’s cursed page number 24 that mentions Karima in its footnotes alone seems to be good-enough reason to justify her killing. One can write anything; another can resort to violent actions based on those writings but what is saddening is the apathy of those affected by these writings. The least that the EUDisifoLab can be accused of is irresponsible reporting.
Having said all that, let us not forget that Karima was a star, what can mere mortals do when a star dies. People can maybe tweet about it and wait for it to trend, change their display pictures to commemorate the departed star. Maybe write a beautiful elegy like Doctor Allah Nazar. They can also celebrate the star’s amazing life by holding colorful events and paying homage with boring speeches. They sure cannot lodge a complaint with the European Union(EU) for the reckless reporting by one of the EU’s NGOs. Nor can they hire a private detective or cooperate with investigative journalists to uncover the truth.
Neither can the incompetence and intentions of the princes and James Bonds of the Baloch diaspora be questioned. They cannot do much but they can lay the matter to rest by writing it off as a suicide by someone so emotionally strong that she gave the most assuring smile in the most stressful situations. The red giant Betelgeuse, some 640 light years away is dying, what can humans do in the face of such cosmic horror except tweeting and talking about it. The Baloch did the same, Karima was a star and everyone around her despicably human.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Balochistan Post or any of its editors.