Washington DC: March 19, 2012. (By Ahmar Mustikhan) That very day March 7, Lt. Col (Ret.) Ralph Peters was calling the Baloch to clean their house of human rights violators, reports from Mand Bullo said that five unarmed Punjabi civilians were gunned down by suspected Baloch militants. "I am very concerned with Baloch extremists. Killing teachers and doctors is just dumb. It might feel good as revenge but it is not going to win you friends in Washington. Assassinating these folks is just hurting their movement," Peters, a staunch advocate of Balochistan independence, said in his interview to Eddie Walsh in the Huffington Post. The report from Mand Bullo in the Baloch Hal, whose young publisher has helped raise the profile of Balochistan in the USA, said at least five people were shot dead and three others sustained injuries apparently in an incident of target killing in Kech district. According to Levies Force sources, a group of Punjabi speaking people were standing at a bus stop in Mand Bullo area when they were attacked. The victims belonged to different parts of Punjab, including Sahiwal and Faisalabad. “The incident appears to be a case of target killing,” a Levies official said. In a subsequent editorial, the Baloch Hal observed that while no group claimed responsibility for the mass murder, this tragic incident traces its roots to a similar attack by the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) on February 15 in which seven construction workers were killed in the same district of Kech (formerly known as Turbat). The Baloch Hal said one account suggests that the five youngsters were planning to illegally cross the Iranian border so that they could eventually go to Europe from there. Every year, thousands of people, mainly unemployed youth from the Punjab province, attempt to cross the Pakistan-Iran border. Some of them succeed while most of them are detained by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). “As the self-proclaimed Baloch nationalists continue to brutally target kill innocent settlers, they seem to have embarked upon the final chapter of their movement. With these killings, we see a sad but destined end of the Baloch nationalists coming as was witnessed in Sri Lanka in case of the Tamil Tigers. There is no political philosophy or movement more valuable than human life. Every movement that is based on hatred against humanity and sponsors violence should be condemned and discouraged," the Baloch Hal editorial thundered. “The Baloch movement has either been hijacked by this group of hardliners or it has simply become an umbrella for all criminal sections of the society to pursue their personal goals under the pretext of nationalism,” the Baloch Hal said. Sources from Mand Bullo in coastal Mekran confirm the fears expressed in the Baloch Hal editorial. They say that both the February 15 killing of the seven Pashtun day laborers and the March 7 killing of the five Punjabi youthful travelers were the handiwork of Shaukat Buledi, a former employee of international terrorist and mafia don Dawood ibrahim. Shaukat Buledi is now belived to be the righthand man of B.L.F. chief Dr. Allah Nazar Baloch. There are widespread concerns criminal elements, wanted by law for reasons other than political belief, have found refuge in Baloch militant outfits. The Baloch Hal warned violent actions undermine the efforts of international friends of Balochistan. “Some defend these killings of settlers as a ‘justified reaction’ while the others call every victim as an “ISI agent”. Worst still, if one criticizes such brutal killings, one also gets labeled as an ISI agent too. This is a deplorable level of political immaturity,” the Baloch Hal said, adding, “Those who are pushing the Baloch movement to the brink of being declared a terrorist movement are surely not the friends of Balochistan.” The Baloch have to show they are totally opposed to the extremism prevailing in the region, Westerners who show an interest in Balochistan developments says. “You have to be Gandhi if you want support in the West,” opines Canadian TV journalist, Paul Johnson, alluding to the founding father of India who espoused non-violent struggle. However, support to such violence comes from some in the West, including Canada. Despite repeated requests by victim family members, these individuals in Canada remain silent which according to political analysts means silent support to killing of unarmed civilians and political activists. According to Eddie Walsh, from Peters perspective, the Baloch must combat human rights violations by Baloch nationalists and mature their diplomatic engagement with the West. Eddie Walsh article says in Peters view, such extremists represent more than just the inability of the Baloch leadership to control all factions under the umbrella of Baloch nationalism. They also illustrate one of the major problems undermining the insurgency at the operational level: "The Baloch need tactical purpose. You don't just kill Punjabi teachers because you don't want them teaching in your schools. You kill those committing the atrocities -- the Pakistani agents and enforcers," says Peters. When asked by Walsh whether he thinks the Baloch leadership can easily rein in these groups, Peters says he is not sure. But, he is of the view that they don't have an option. If they don't, he believes they are headed for a very uncertain future, "Could they become the next Tamil Tigers, that's a possibility. At present, anything is possible because the Baloch have not even laid out how a government would work. Instead of fighting, they need to look at developing more sophisticated systems, like a constitution, governmental structure, and press relations. Until that happens, it is difficult to say which way they go." The premier American Friends of Balochistan rejects any compromise with militants who target unarmed civilians and political workers, though it fully defends Baloch actions to defend their lives against Pakistan military and Frontier Corps. The A.F.B. says it does not differentiate between Baloch killed by Pakistan military and intelligence services and unarmed civilians and political activists killed by the Baloch militants as the color of human blood is the same. There is hope some saner sections of the Baloch leadership will be able to prevail upon the militant organizations and their overseas supporters to purge their ranks of criminal elements like Buledi. In this connection some in the A.F.B. have sought help of Mehran Baluch, who is Balochistan’s unofficial representative at the UN Human Rights Council, and his brother-in-law Brahumdagh Bugti, 31, president of the Baloch Republican Party. The two leaders can not only help rein in the militants in Balochistan, but can also discipline individuals in Canada who publicly insult veteran leaders like Sardar Ataullah Mengal by calling his stance as “unrealistic.” At least one American met Mehran Baluch in Dubai in recent months to relay to him the A.F.B. concerns after which Mehran Baluch publicly stated militants do not have the right to become judge, jury and executioner. . Jane E. Weisner of Amherst, Massachusetts and Zahid Mir of Columbus, Ohio, say as members of A.F.B. they fully back Mehran Baluch who has worked in Geneva for more than 10 years and is founder of Balochistan House, Paris. “He has always advocated a sensible approach against all forms of violence in Balochistan,” Zahid Mir said, adding, “We hope Mehran Baluch will do more for Baloch Unity.” Malik Baloch another key activist of A.F.B. described Mehran Baluch as accessible to all. “He’s hard working person and hears each single worker of the Baloch cause,” Malik Baloch said. Rashid Baloch, a senior A.F.B. official, shares these views. Baloch is disgusted criminals in B.L.F. have brutalized his once peaceful town of Kech as they do not spare even extremely poor workers from other ethnic groups on the lines of Tamil Tigers. Ralph Peters, who was one of the five witnesses who provided testimony at the February 8 historic congressional hearing on Balochistan at the U.S. capitol, said that his criticism is only meant to "help not wound."