Abdul Qadeer Baloch (), better known as Mama Qadeer (), is a human rights activist from the

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Life

In 2013, Qadeer traveled more than 2,000 kilometers from Balochistan to

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

along with other Baloch men and women to protest against the issue of Baloch missing persons. Qadeer's own son, Jaleel Reki Baloch, had been found dead in 2012. He had been a member of Baloch Republican Party that is declared a terrorist organisation. In March 2015, Qadeer was barred from leaving the country from

Karachi Airport Jinnah International Airport () , formerly Drigh Road Airport or Karachi International Airport, is Pakistan's busiest international and domestic airport, and handled 7,267,582 passengers in 2017–2018. Located in Karachi, the largest city an ...

at the last minute. He was traveling to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to participate in a human rights conference to highlight the plight of Baloch people and the issue of missing Baloch persons. On April 9, 2015, Qadeer was scheduled to give a talk titled "Unsilencing Balochistan" in an event at the

Lahore University of Management Sciences Lahore University of Management Sciences, also known by its acronym LUMS, is a Private university, private research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1985, it is ranked as one of the most prestigious modern Li ...

. The event was cancelled at the last minute by the administration citing ''"order from government"'' as the reason behind the cancellation. The incident was followed by protests from the students and faculty of the institute against the ''"academic censorship"''. Following the cancellation, an event titled 'Unsilencing Balochistan Take 2: In Conversation with Mama Qadeer, Farzana Baloch and Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur' was held at T2F Karachi. Later on, in September 2015, Mama Qadeer was allowed to leave the Pakistan. After that he visited

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 2018. In an interview with Indian news channel,

News 18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief, a ...

, Mama Qadeer asked

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

to provide them 'with weapons, so that they can kill their enemies'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qadeer, Mama Human rights abuses in Pakistan Living people Baloch activists Pakistani human rights activists People of the insurgency in Balochistan Year of birth missing (living people) Baloch nationalists

Life

See also

References