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Heroic refugee arrives in T.O., takes off niqab: 'I knew I was safe'
But She Wasn't!
Updated with 5 min video - a must see
Author of the article: Tarek Fatah
Publishing date: Jan 16, 2016 •
Karima Baloch, 32, fled her native Balochistan. The day she landed in Toronto, she says the first thing she did was
rip the niqab off her face. “I knew I was safe and that I did not have to hide from anyone in Canada,” she said.
(Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network)
She could have ended up as the Joan of Arc of Balochistan, a territory larger than Poland that sits at the mouth of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, leading to the Persian Gulf.
Its people say they’re occupied by Pakistan.
But as fate would have it, Karima Baloch, 32, said she escaped a Pakistani military attack on the town of Tump in Balochistan, getting away in the darkness of night as mortar shells rained on her home.
Karima evaded arrest and stayed underground for nearly a year before landing in Toronto on Nov. 27, where she’s applied for refugee status.
For years, I had seen videos of her leading large processions and speaking at protests, but never her face.
To evade arrest, “Banuk Karima” — as her supporters call her — would wear a niqab, the Islamic face mask, to get lost in the crowd as police would wade in to try to arrest her.
The day Karima landed in Toronto, the first thing she did was rip the niqab off her face.
“I knew I was safe and that I did not have to hide from anyone in Canada,” she told me in an interview.
“Wearing the niqab is oppressive,” she said. “The niqab that is nowadays being forced onto Muslim women has no basis in Baloch culture or history. Every time I had to wear it to hide myself, I felt I was less of a human, more of a farm animal, a piece of property owned by someone else.”
Being a female activist in a largely male-dominated political movement allowed her and many of her colleagues to stay below the radar of Pakistan’s feared security agencies, who’ve been accused of abductions and extra-judicial killings of political activists in Balochistan.
But Karima’s situation changed dramatically on March 18, 2014.
“It was around 4:30 p.m. and the four of us, our chairman, Zahid Baloch, myself and two other girls from the Baloch Students Organization, were walking towards the Balochistan University in the city of Quetta, when we were surrounded by a number of SUVs with no military markings, but vehicles used by the Pakistan Army.
“We women were asked to stand aside as armed plainclothes men took Zahid Baloch and forced him to squat on the road with his face towards the ground. As they kept hitting him on the head, we yelled for help, but were told to go home.”
Karima says that was the last she saw of him as he was driven away blindfolded and in handcuffs.
Karima and her colleagues feared the student leader would be tortured and killed, so the next day family and colleagues of Zahid Baloch went to the police to register a complaint.
But police officials, she said, refused to take on the case. For 10 days, they kept going back to the police station.
Karima says when she and the two other female students said they were eyewitnesses to the abduction, they became instant targets of the Pakistan Army and its Inter-Services Intelligence branch. All three had to go underground, Karima said, to escape government-backed jihadi death squads assigned to kill them.
Asked about Karima’s allegations, Pakistan’s High Commission responded: “Regarding so-called ‘abduction’ of one Banuk Karima Baloch, you will, no doubt, agree that apprehending miscreants, who are involved in killing of innocent civilians, kidnapping for ransom and blowing up of gas pipelines is (a) duty of the State.
“By painting a totally misleading picture, certain individuals attempt to abuse liberal asylum laws of Canada for personal gains.”
The commission suggested the Toronto Sun do an investigation of her claims before printing them.
When asked to comment on the Pakistan High Commission’s allegation against her, Karima angrily denied ever being involved in blowing up pipelines or any terrorist activity. “There is an apt Urdu proverb that applies to the Pakistani official,” she said. “Ulta chor kotwal ko dantey (the burglar blames the police when caught in the act).”
During her year on the run, Karima was elected as the first female president of the Balochistan Students Organization, which has a vast network of activists across Balochistan.
She said one of her colleagues, Lateef Jauhar, who went on a hunger strike for 45 days to demand the release of Zahid Baloch, was also targeted and had to flee his protest camp in the middle of the night.
In April 2014, a call for help was sent to me from mutual acquaintances, asking me to assist Karima and her friends to escape certain death in Pakistan.
Today, because of the compassion and commitment of former immigration minister Chris Alexander and some dedicated government officials, Karima is in Toronto, free of her niqab and able to fight for the freedom of Balochistan.
I expect she and her friends, who wish to remain anonymous, will be accepted as refugees and, in a few years, as Canadian citizens thanks to our country’s decency.
So welcome to Canada, my Baloch friends.
One day, the Balochistan you fled will, like Canada, be “strong and free.”
UPDATE: Dec 21, 2:00 PM
Terek Fatah
Baloch activist Karima Baloch escaped Pakistan in 2016 to seek refuge in Canada.
Unfortunately, Canada could not provide her the safety she required. Her dead body was found today at the Toronto Harbourfront.
My deepest condolences to her husband Hammal Haidar and the Baloch community in US-Canada and in Occupied Balochistan.
Karima will always be remembered for her courage and charm. She was a leader in a man’s world of political giants and guerilla fighters.
May she rest In Peace.
While there is a possibility that she suicided, that does not jive with the attitude of ripping off her niqab and declaring herself 'safe' when she landed in Toronto. This 5 minute video from WION (YouTube news channel from India), and a brilliant young lady who dares to speak truth to power, explains why the Trudeau gov't is attempting to whitewash the murder as a suicide. The video is a bit unnerving for those of us who are watching what horrors Pakistanis are unleashing in the UK - tens of thousands of young British girls being gang-raped and trafficked.
Boko Haram kills 7, abducts 7, burns church in Christmas Eve attack
By Christen McCurdy
on a village in Nigeria. Image via Google Satellite
Dec. 25 (UPI) -- At least seven people were killed Thursday in a Boko Haram gun attack in Nigeria's Borno state, a local official said.
Kachallah Usma, secretary of the Chibok local government area, told CNN the organization killed seven people and kidnapped another seven, including a pastor in the majority-Christian village of Pemi.
"The terrorists killed seven people, burnt 10 homes and looted food supplies that were meant to be distributed to residents to celebrate Christmas," militia leader Abwaku Kabu said.
According to Usma, the group also burned down a church, a dispensary and several houses.
Pemi is located about 12 miles from Chibok, where the group kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls six years ago.
A man purporting to be Abubakar Shekau, one of the group's factions, has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of more than 300 schoolboys earlier in December, but governor Aminu Bello Masari has disputed this claim.
Audu Chiwar, a former secretary of the Chibok community, said he received a call from a local resident saying gunmen had opened fire in the village and that several houses and a church had burned.
One eyewitness said a Christian youth organization had been holding a Christmas parade in Pemi when the attack began.
Kuwait: Three arrested for adopting extremist ideology
Were also found in possession of weapons
Published: December 26, 2020 17:42
Tawfiq Nasrallah, Staff Writer, Gulf News
Dubai: Three young persons have been arrested in Kuwait after being found in possession of weapons and ammunition and adopting extremist ideology, local media reported.
According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas, the Ministry of Interior said it arrested two minors, ages 15 and 16, and another adult, who were in possession of unlicensed weapons and ammunition and carrying extremist ideology, adding that the operation comes as part of its tireless efforts to confront crime, track down criminals and confront them firmly.
Social media
The ministry said in a statement that, based on cooperation between the relevant security agencies, and after searching and investigating outlaws, one of the accused was arrested, who admitted that he had met a person through social media platforms. Discussions between them led them to know that they carry the same ideology.
Following in-depth investigation, the ministry said that two other people were arrested, one of them was a juvenile carrying the same extremist ideology, and after taking the necessary legal permission, their home was searched, and weapons, unlicensed ammunition, logos and photographic devices were found.
Once being confronted with what have been found, they acknowledged and confessed their possession of weapons and ammunition. The accused and seized items were referred to competent authorities to take the necessary legal measure.
7 Taliban terrorists killed in airstrike in Afghanistan’s Balkh province,
8 more in Bala Bolok District
..
Cache of weapons and ammunition also destroyed during strikes
Published: December 26, 2020 11:54
ANI
As many as seven Taliban terrorists were killed in Chomtal district of Afghanistan’s Balkh province in an airstrike on Friday. Photo for illustrative purposes. Image Credit: AP
Balkh: As many as seven Taliban terrorists were killed in Chomtal district of Afghanistan’s Balkh province in an airstrike on Friday. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Afghanistan said that a cache of weapons and ammunition were also destroyed during the strikes.
“7 Taliban were killed in Chomtal district of #Balkh province as a result of an airstrike, today morning. Additionally, 5 others were wounded and a large amount of their weapons and ammunition were destroyed,” Ministry of Defence, Afghanistan Tweeted.
The MoD also informed about the killing of eight other Taliban terrorists in Bala Bolok district of Farah province.
“8 Taliban terrorists were killed and 3 others were wounded in Bala Bolok district of #Farah province, last night. Also, a large amount of their weapons and ammunition were destroyed during reciprocal attacks of #ANA,” MoD said in another tweet.
After a series of videos surfaced showing Taliban leaders continuing their terror activities in Pakistan, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said that the presence of Taliban leaders in Pakistan “clearly violates Afghanistan’s national sovereignty”.
War and bloodshed
Afghanistan has also urged Islamabad “not to allow its territory to be used by insurgents and elements who insist on continuing the war and bloodshed”.
The official statement was released after “a series of video footages emerged in which the Taliban appeared among their followers, disclosing the existence of all Taliban leaders in Pakistan and acknowledging their continued activities in Pakistani territory”.
The Ministry expressed “deepest regret” over some Taliban leaders being seen in the videos visiting training camps.
Chomtal Dist., AFG
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