I have the honor to present to the honorable Ed Royce, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, the United States House of Representatives, the following recommendations regarding the Iranian and Pakistani Baluchistan:
1- Apply the Leahy Amendment without waivers to all Pakistani military units in Baluchistan.
2- The U.S. should condemn in the strongest possible terms the grave human rights violations perpetrated by Pakistan and Iran against the Baluch.
3- The U.S. should set up daily broadcasts in Baluchi language through Voice of America.
4- The U.S. economic aid should be specifically earmarked for education and health projects in Pakistani Baluchistan.
5- The U.S. should support and strengthen Baluch-Afghan alliance to counter Pakistani and Iranian moves in Afghanistan.
6- The U.S. should support the Baluch demand for holding an internationally supervised referendum to exercise their right to self-determination.
7- The U.S. should support an independent Baluchistan as a buffer state to counter the Chinese designs in Baluchistan’s natural resources and Gwadar port and to prevent the threats posed by China against the US interests in Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Strait of Hormuz, Arabian Sea and beyond.
In addition, the US Government should call on the Pakistan and Iran governments to:
· Stop the execution of Baluch activists and accede to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;
· Investigate all alleged human rights abuses in their respective Baluch provinces;
· Bring all perpetrators of abuses to justice, whether they belong to the state or not; in trials
meeting international standards of due process;
· Ensure that all individuals brought to justice receive a fair trial and are not subjected to torture
or other abuse in detention; and
· Ensure any military operations comply with International Humanitarian Law applicable to non-
international armed conflict.
Respectfully,
American-Baluch Council