Thank You, Great Britain

Under imperialism, Britain did much harm to the world including creation of Pakistan on August 14, 1947 by Lord Louis Mountbatten, Viceroy of India and uncle of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

But now it seems London wants to make amends to those affected.

The BLA, whose cadres are considered the best foot soldiers against Talibanization of Baluchistan, was outlawed by the British government in fall 2006 under pressure from the previous military regime of coup leader-turned-president Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

The ban on the BLA came  just weeks before the assassination of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, 79, former governor and chief minister of Baluchistan who was killed extra judicially by the Pakistan army..

Marri, speaking after the not guilty verdict at the Woolwich Crown Court, said that his faith in the British people has been vindicated. "The 12 jurors upheld the values of justice and recognised the Baloch people's right to self-defence. They decided that we were no more guilty of terrorism than Nelson Mandela and the heroes of the anti-Nazi resistance in occupied Europe," he said. 

He added that the long suffering people of Balochistan will be delighted that the British courts have ruled that campaigning for democracy, human rights and self-determination is not a crime.

He regretted that Britsih security have wasted possibly millions of pounds on these pointless, unfounded allegations of terrorism.

The British foreign spy service MI6 was involved in the investigations against Marri and conducted minute investigations into his businesses in Prague, Czech Republic.

"I believe the British government was blackmailed by Musharraf's men. They threatened to cut off all cooperation with the UK in the war on terror unless we were arrested," Marri said. 

He said the new democratic government of Pakistan [led by President Asif Ali Zardari, who is by race a Baluch] opposed the prosecution and confirmed that the terrorism charges were fabricated by Musharraf's henchmen.

Musharraf, son of a dancer from Lucknow -- an Indian city famed for its brothels-- himself has no stnading in Pakistan but became a paper tiger of the West after the 911 attacks.

"What is truly shocking is that the British government bowed to pressure from the Pakistani dictatorship and had us investigated and put on trial. This is a gross abuse of the anti-terror laws," said Mr Marri.

Faiz Baluch, originally from Iranian occupied Baluchistan, said the verdict as a great victory for British justice and for the people of Balochistan.

"This prosecution arose out of the British government's appeasement of the dictator General Musharraf, in order to win his cooperation in the war on terror. The jury has implied, by their not guilty verdict, sympathy with the suffering of the Baloch people," Baluch said. "The terrorist who should have been in the dock is Musharraf. He is the one who inflicted terror attacks on the people of Baluchistan."

He said the acquittal brings to an end a 15 month-long nightmare, eight of which was spent in the Belmarsh prison.

International gay and human rights activist, Peter Tatchell, an intimate friend of Faiz Baluch, said: "Marri and Baluch were set up by Musharraf's agents because of their highly effective exposure of Pakistan's war crimes and crimes against humanity in annexed Balochistan."

Tatchell, who some Baluch call the St. Jude of England -- though a Facebook group has been launched against him--, said during the trial, the judge accepted the Baloch people are an oppressed minority, and that they have been victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Pakistani military, police and intelligence services.

"These crimes include the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, extra-judicial killings, disappearances, torture, detention without trial and collective punishments such as the destruction of villages, crops, livestock and wells  - all of which are illegal acts under international law," Tatchell said

He said despite this persecution and terrorisation by the Pakistani state, the judge suggested that the Baloch people do not have the right to use violence to defend themselves and that anyone who supports or condones armed resistance groups in Balochistan is endorsing terrorism.

Even the mere political or moral approval of armed self-defence is now a criminal offence under UK law.

Tatchell recalled that Musharraf offered to hand over Rashid Rauf, implying that action against the Baloch activists was a precondition for surrendering Rauf to the UK, as reported in The Guardian on 28 March 2007.

Rauf is wanted in the UK in connection with the 2006 terror plot involving liquid explosives on trans-Atlantic airliners, which resulted in the conviction of three men in London in September 2008. He is also sought in connection with a murder in the UK.

Tatchell said, "For nine years, the UK's Labour government supported Musharraf's dictatorship politically, economically and militarily, despite him having overthrown Pakistan's democratically-elected government in 1999. Labour sold him military equipment that his army uses to kill innocent Baloch people. The US supplies the F-16 fighter jets and Cobra attack helicopters that are used to bomb and strafe villages.

Tatchell narrated the people's history and explained  that formerly a self-governing British Protectorate, Baluchistan secured its independence in 1947, alongside India and Pakistan, but was invaded and forcibly annexed by Pakistan in 1948.

The Baloch people had voted against the incorporation in their bicameral parliament. "Democratically elected Baloch leaders who have refused to kow-tow toPakistan's subjugation have been arrested, jailed and murdered," Tatchell said.

The Asian Human Rights Commission reports that Pakistani army raids have resulted in 3,000 Baloch people dead, 200,000 displaced and 4,000 arrested. Thousands more have simply disappeared, including at least 140 women have simply disappeared.

Marri was represented by Henry Blaxland QC, Rajiv Menon, and Jim Nichol, while Baluch was represented by Lady Helena Kennedy QC, Hossein Zahir, Gareth Peirce and Sajida Malik.

Their lawyers team now enjoy celebrity status in Baluchistan, a Texas-sized stateless region divided among Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.