Professor Nazima Talib

She was a teacher not an army soldier who dropped bombs on Balochs, I will become a teacher not a BLA terrorist who kills people on the bases of race and hate. She was a settler in Baluchistan and I’m a settler from Baluchistan. What happened to her will might happen to me. So what is the difference now between her and my future?

Intellectuals, bureaucrats, security personnel, educationists, politicians, particularly of non-Baloch origin, by terrorists of the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other sectarian/jihadi groups. Professor Nazima Talib Mehdi was Assistant Professor at Mass Communication Department of Balochistan University. Her students told reporters Ms. Nazima was one of the pioneers of the Mass Communication Department of the University of Balochistan. She was also an intellectual and poetess and had participated in several Mushairas in Quetta and other cities, including literary programs of the Radio Pakistan.

It is common practice in the (so called) leftist and progressive circles of Pakistan to blame Punjab for all failures of the country as a federation and also for the sufferings of ethnic and religious minorities. What remains however ignored is the fact that dominant majority of Punjabis (i.e. Punjabis, Saraikis and other ethnicities living in the Punjab province) are as disempowered and miserable as are the people living in other provinces and areas of Pakistan. While by virtue of a number of factors, not least their demographic majority in the federation of Pakistan, Punjabis have a greater share not only in the national parliament but also in other institutions of power including army, bureaucracy and judiciary, the majority of Punjabis however lack influence or participation in such institutions. A powerful elite manages to rule and represent the Punjab province, a state of affairs which is not much different from other provinces which are ruled by the Sindhi elite, the Pakhtun elite and the Baloch elite.

Yet, it remains a popular practice to blame Punjab and the Punjabis for the suffering, discrimination and high-handedness facing all Pakistanis, particularly those of minority ethnic backgrounds, e.g., Sindhis, Baloch and Pakhtuns.

Consequently, what remains widely ignored and invisible in the Pakistani and international media is the plight of ordinary Punjabis who are a convenient scapegoat and at times have to pay for their ethnic origin through loss of life, property or both. However, stories of their plight and persecution remain untold and neglected in the media and the parliament.

This killing is to stop woman for getting education, because many of woman teachers regardless of their race are being afraid to go to their jobs. Many speaks that Pakistan didn’t built schools, universities or colleges in Baluchistan so may I ask now that why you are now demolishing those few institutions by doing such acts? I’m much shameful that many of my old teachers now abounded the education institutions in my city Quetta. So how my people are going to get education with some built closed institutions or does every person have that much money to send their children to other cities or abroad? I guess it is the same ideology to keep Balochs far from education and integration to the society, in past it might be done by Government but now Nationalists and BLA is doing the same job. No difference!!

My nation is being hijacked by some dirty people and became puppets in hand of enemy of Islam & Pakistan. Please do not think that every Baloch is a member of BLA or some other terrorist organization and wants to break Pakistan. We love Pakistan more than any other person and will stand shoulder to shoulder with other Pakistanis brothers and sisters at all costs. We just have to identify the culprits within ourselves. We have to bring them to justice in front of everyone whether they are terrorists, corrupt politicians, and Army or government officers. We have to make an example of them, so nobody can dare to think about any crime against humanity or Pakistan. We have to expose them and their ideology so that people can understand that Islam does not give favor to terrorism, racism or nationalism. We have to unite on the bases of Kalma, not on the bases of race, nation, name, etc. These things are just to identify ourselves but not our identity or ideology.

Our ideology is Islam and our Identity is Pakistan. Which is a Universal truth; people may deny this because of some bad deeds of ourselves but will not be able to change it. We may have forgotten it but we should remember now, what is our destiny? Not a divided Pakistan but a strong Islamic Pakistan. We have to work hard for it otherwise we willbecome easy dish on table for enemies of Islam and our future generations will not forgive us like we curse now the past generations for their mistakes. Enemies of Islam and Pakistan want to divide us more and more on the bases of race, language, etc. Which will not going to happen this time Inshallah!!.

We have faced many challenges before so let us face this challenge with courage. Nations are built by facing and accepting challenges!!! They cannot break us but we will break their dreams.