Balochistan: College students rally against murder of Principal Zahid Baloch

TURBAT: The students of Atta Shad Degree College and Girls College Turbat held a protest rally against the murder of OASIS School principal Zahid Baloch on Tuesday. The Baloch Students Association (BSA) had given the call for rally.

The rally set off from Atta Shad Degree College and gathered at Turbat Chowk. Students from Girls College Turbat and several other schools joined the rally to register their protest against assassination killing of Zahid Askani Baloch.

A number of activists from Human Rights Commission of Pakistan headed by Ghani Parvez the leader of Human Rights Commission Task Force also participated in the rally to demand protection for schools and teachers in Balochistan.

The participants of rally were carrying placards and banners as they passed from College Road before reaching at the main Turbat Roundabout where they staged a demonstrations and blocked the Roads.

Addressing the rally Mr Ghani Pervez said that educational instituted and educationists are being target killed in Makuran area of Balochistan under a pre-planned conspiracy. “Closing down schools in the name of religion and destroying educational institutes is a sign of ignorance and backwardness,” he said.

He added that anti Baloch elements were involved in such crimes and they wanted to finish the ideology of education because, he said, “the private schools in Makuran region had become a beacon of hope for the people.”

Mr Pervez said that after the discovery of mutilated bodies of Baloch youth, the targeting of private schools in Kech district of Balochistan has begun and particularly in Panjgur Schools are being closed and heads of educational institutions are being target killed in the name of religion.

He said, “Closing down education centres in Pedark, Koshkalat and Dasht areas of Balochistan at gunpoint and the recent murder of Zahid Baloch in Gawadar are a clear message against private schools in the area.

“They want to spread fear and terror so that Baloch youth would abandon education and become lost in darkness of illiteracy.”

He alleged that intelligence agencies are involved in throwing the mutilated bodies of Baloch youth and shutting down private schools in Balochistan.

“They [intelligence agencies] think liberal values are rising in Baloch youth and to eliminate these values they are killing and dumping Baloch and closing down educational institutes at gunpoint. But they should know that their conspiracies will not succeed and people are no longer scared of their ‘kill and dump’ policy,” he said.

He urged the Baloch youth to continue their struggle and be prepared for the challenges ahead to reach to their goal.

Students Noor Ahamd, Durrain Baloch and Maahdem Baloch also addressed their demonstration. They said the broad daylight murder of Zahid Baloch in Gwadar was an attempt to shut the doors of education to Baloch children at gunpoint.

They said their peaceful protests will continue until the protection of teachers and schools in Balochistan. They warned, “If government failed to provide adequate protection to private schools, they will be forces to intensify their protests.”

They said the silence of provincial government about murder of Zahid Askani Baloch was beyond their comprehension.

“It seems that under a pre-planned policy Makuran is being pushed to darkness of ignorance because the state schools do not provide quality education nor do they have any facilities.

“There are only few private schools that are busy in revolutionising education but they are being targeted in the divine name of religion to destroy the future of Baloch young generation,” they said.

The speakers said that unless the youth and educated section of society joins the struggle, it is difficult to achieve the objectives.