The Missing Dr Din Jan
Hakeem Wadhela
The Balochistan Post
Balochistan was occupied by Pakistan in 1948, however, the Baloch people have been struggling to regain their independence from the very first day of occupation. This means the Pakistani brutalities have also continued for last 70 years. Pakistani forces have abducted countless number of Baloch men, women, elderly people and children from every nook and corner of Balochistan. Thousands still languish in Pakistani secret torture cells. Most of these detainees were abducted solely for the reason that they didn’t approve the idea that Balochistan should remain a dominion of Pakistani state. Pakistani Army and the political establishment believe that Baloch voices can be suppressed by forceful abductions, torture and with the notorious ‘kill and dump’ policy. However, they fail to consider the fact that Baloch society has historically always been mutinous to any idea of unjustified subordination. There have been scores of children of motherland Balochistan who have faced gory hardships but have continued to follow the path of restoring the lost independence of motherland.
One of those characters is Dr Din Mohammad Baloch. He was a competent medical doctor but he also believed that a nice qualification is not only to earn money but it can also be used to serve the nation. Along with helping the people in their health issues, Dr Din Jan also used to raise awareness about the slavery of Balochistan and was an advocate of the idea that the struggle for better future and nation’s emancipation is the need of the time. He always peacefully resisted Pakistani occupying forces and was part of many agitations and demonstrations. He used the power of words, ideas and commitment against the mighty guns of an occupying army.
Dr. Din Jan was a medical officer at Ornach hospital, where he used to treat and cure his patients. But his curing skills were not limited to his patients only, he also wanted to find a remedy for the sufferings, subjugation and slavery of the nation. He knew the panacea to these ailments only lies in the liberation of the motherland.
Dr Din Mohammad was one of the most influential leaders of BNM’s history. When I first met him it was some weeks before the central council session of BNM 2008 which was held in Karachi. He came to visit our area along with other leaders of party including martyr Dr Mannan Baloch. They came to see if the area was good and quite enough for a three day closed council session. The session was held in a different area of Malir later on. In the three days of council session I got the chance to meet many party colleagues and leaders and observed them closely. Dr Din Jan was one of the most mature political leader I have ever met in my life. He used to always have a smile during normal discussions but this person would turn into a stern personality when it came to any political issue. To this date, he is one of those personalities who are widely respected by each and every member of the organisation.
He was sincerely focusing on his political and personal life until the night of 28th June 2009, when the occupying forces abducted Dr Din Jan from Ornach hospital. The voice of the voiceless was silenced and he is missing till this date.
Since then the family of Dr Din Jan has been continuously campaigning for safe release of the Baloch leader. I have witnessed little Mehlab Baloch and her elder sister Sammi Baloch pleading journalists to raise the issue of their father’s disappearance. They started their campaign in front of press clubs in 2009 and it is 2018 now but they have never stopped. They were also part of the historical long march in search of missing Baloch people, from Quetta to Karachi and from Karachi to Islamabad, led by Voice for Baloch Missing Persons.
I urge all international human rights organisations to listen to the plea of Dr Din Jan’s family and those of other missing persons and play their due role and pressurise Pakistani forces to release all the Baloch missing persons.
The writer is Organiser of Baloch National Movement – United Kingdom.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Balochistan Post or any of its editors.