Balochistan freedom leader Hyrbyair Marri pooh-poohs Teheran statement
Marri also cautioned the West not to believe the lies of Pakistan army chief Gen Asim Munir — a self styled Field Marshall who had lunch with President Trump three days before U.S bombed Iran.
Founder of the Free Balochistan Movement and former government minister in Balochistan, Hyrbyair Marri, has castigated the Iranian government for seeks by the support of the Muslim world against Israel’s attack and asked Teheran to look its face in the mirror.
In a tweet on X Sunday, Marri said, “The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman recently stated that any attack on Iran is an attack on the whole region, urging Muslim Arab brothers and sister to speak out against Israel's actions. But in doing so, he completely ignores the ongoing systematic violence and repression by Iran against Baloch, Arabs, Kurds, Azeri and others.”
Hyrbyair Marri, who was a minister in the government of former chief minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal in the 1990s was arrested along with his right hand man Faiz Baluch on suspicion of being the main leader of the Baloch Liberation Army. They were arrested days after the killing of his guerrilla leader brother Mir Balach Marri was killed but were freed after the now jailed former premier Imran Khan appeared in their defense and said he will do the same terror like Baloch militants.
He asked why is an attack on Iran framed as an attack on the Muslim world, yet Iran's brutal treatment of these nations, including summary executions, torture, disappearances, and imprisonment, (should be) disregarded? “This blatant hypocrisy must not be overlooked,” Marri said.
He said for centuries, the Baloch, Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, and other oppressed nations under Persian occupation, have faced cultural erasure, state violence and persecution. “Their very existence has been under threat, much like the Jews who resisted annihilation and survived genocide. The Baloch, and others, continue to resist attempts of genocide, mass murder and forced assimilation.”
Since Pakistan is regarded as a bastard state of the British Raj, Pakistan army chiefs maintain very close ties with the British security and defense establishment and that was the reason why Hyrbyair Marri and Faiz Baluch were arrested on a charge of terror on December 4, 2007.
He said the Baloch are not just fighting for survival, but for freedom. “We refuse to be silenced, enslaved, or surrender to tyranny,” Marri said, adding, “Our struggle is just as valid as any other struggle for human rights, self-defence and freedom. It's time the world recognises this hypocrisy and called for equal accountability.”
In an earlier tweet, Marri addressed the lies Pakistan’s omnipotent army chief and self-styled Field Marshall Asim Munir told Trump at a meeting at a rare meeting at the White House Wednesday.
Citing Reuters report, published on 19 June, Marri said Pakistani General Asim Munir told the U.S. President Donald Trump that occupied Balochistan on both the Iranian and Pakistani sides would become a problem if Iran were to collapse.
“This framing is not only misleading but deeply dishonest. The Americans should not heed to this unscrupulous general,” Marri said.
The former government minister said Balochistan is not the problem, it is the solution and the key to regional stability. “The real sources of instability in the region are the Iranian and Pakistani Islamic republics, both of which have long histories of fueling extremism and suppressing occupied nations through violence and state-sponsored terrorism,” he said.
In Marri’s view, Iran has exported terrorism through proxies like the Houthis in Yemen, Assad regime, Iraqi militias and Hezbollah in Lebanon, undermining neighboring countries and threatening regional peace.
Marri pointed out, “Pakistan has followed a similar pattern, cultivating terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to conduct attacks in Kashmir in India, and using various factions to wage a bloody civil war in Afghanistan for decades. These are not isolated incidents but a well planned policy of using extremism and militancy as tools of foreign policy.”
He asked the Americans and the West not to forget that the core of the problem is Pakistan because it exported nuclear know-how to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
“Moreover, both Iran and Pakistan have repeatedly engaged in nuclear brinkmanship, Iran with its uranium proliferation and Pakistan with nuclear arsenals, have been using it for political leverage to secure cushy financial aid, international concessions, and legitimacy for their authoritarian regimes. Their strategy of exporting terrorism and threatening regional powers, including their neighbours, Israel and India. This has only entrenched their rule on the occupied nations like Baloch, Pashtuns, Kurds, Al Ahwaz Arabs, Azeri Turks and others.”
He said in contrast, the Baloch struggle is not rooted in extremism but in a legitimate movement for dignity, justice, and freedom.
“If the world seeks true peace and tranquility in the Middle East and South Asia, it must stop viewing Balochistan through the lens of Pakistani or Iranian propaganda. The time has come to recognise, who the real threats are and who are the potential partners for peace and stability. Independent Balochistan is the need of the hour,” Marri’s tweet concluded.
Marri is son of the late Khair Bakhsh Marri, who was regarded as Godfather of Baloch militancy. He and his younger brother Mehran Marri have remained steadfast with their deceased father’s lifelong mission of a free Balochistan.
However, his two elder brothers Jangyz and Gazzain, are toadies of President Asif Ali Zardari, president of the Pakistan People’s Party. Intriguingly, Hyrbyair Marri’s F.B.M. representative in the U.S. is also seen in the company of a P.P.P. leader who had hosted the I.S.I.’s main frontman in Balochistan, former caretaker premier Anwaarul Haq Kakar.