Allah Bux’s afternoon that never ended
Author: Jamal Baloch
It was the evening of 22nd July 2018, and the horrifying text messages from Balochistan were bombarding my cell phone as usual. One of the messages was regarding Allah Bux, mentioning the abduction of his family members which included Allah Bux’s wife Noor Malik, his two daughters Haseena and Sameena by Pakistani forces.
I couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about what will happen to them in military custody, reflecting Pakistan’s terror war in Bangladesh in 1970’s. Later I sought for their relatives so that through them I could reach Allah Bux and know the whole happenings of that day, and could make people aware about it too. Somehow, I succeeded in contacting Mr. Allah Bux and came to know what really happened that afternoon.
It was the afternoon of 22nd July when Pakistani military surrounded and raided Allah Bux’s house leaving a horrifying atmosphere in the neighbourhood. The neighbours witnessed the military personnel enter the house, pointing the barrels of their riffles toward the members of the family and asking them to lay down. They then started beating the women with their riffles and forced them to lay down and searched their whole mud house, where they found nothing except the basic households. Later on, they dragged the women present in the house into a military vehicle and left for undisclosed location, leaving behind dust only. Since then nobody has heard from Noor Malik, Haseena or Sameena.
Following the incident it came to my knowledge that a 10-year-old boy Zameer Baloch who was abducted earlier on his way from Panjgur to Mashkay belonged to the same family and is Allah Bux’s son, who too is missing till date.
Allah Bux, Noor Malik’s Husband and father of two disappeared daughters and a son says he has confirmed information that where his family is forcefully held hostage, but the authorities deny to take any action against the Pakistani forces.
According to Allah Bux, his son Zameer Baloch was abducted on his way back from Panjgur to Mashkay Balochistan, by Pakistani security forces on 3rd of July. On 22nd July 2018 Pakistani forces raided his house along with masked men believed to be members of a Pakistani military death squad led by Ali Haider, a tribal chief in Mashkay. After the abduction, the abductees were transferred to Ali Haider’s residential compound and since then there is no news of the abductees.
Allah Bux and other family members kept struggling for the release of their family members by approaching the authorities but that ended up without any outcome, after which they tried to bring this to international attention by appealing the social media activists and humanitarians to raise voice for them. Allah Bux, the head of the house whose entire family has been abducted, recorded a video with numb eyes and pleaded for his family’s release:
“I am a resident of Nok Abad. I have been abducted and detained at hands of the army, on directions of Ali Haidar. I was released after a month. I used to remain at home in Mashkay because of illness. The army once again came to my place and took away my cattle, those were the only income source of mine, after that I became helpless. I had nothing to feed my family. I moved to Panjgur to work as a labourer to feed my children. My 10 years old son Zameer managed to escape and joined me here, Zameer was abducted by the army and he is still missing. I request from government to release my children. My wife Noor Malik and two daughters Haseena and Sameena are also missing. Many innocent women are missing also. I request the government to show leniency and release them. If I go back and stay with my family, the army will kill me, that’s the reason army has detained my family. I want to know what sins and crimes did I commit?”
https://twitter.com/BNMovement_/status/1027857372239286273?s=19
A similar video was recorded by Zeba Baloch, Allah Bux’s daughter saying,
“My name is Zeba, I am a resident of Mashkay district Awaran. My ten-year-old brother Zameer has been abducted at the hands of Pakistani army. Later my mother, two sisters Haseena and Sameena were also taken away by Pakistani Army and Sardar Ali Haider. I want to ask what is their crime, why were they abducted? I request for their safe release.”
https://twitter.com/BNMovement_/status/1024727319611617281?s=19
On the eve of Eid, Islamic yearly festival, another video of Zeba Baloch was published in social media, in which she once again pleaded for her family’s return:
“My name is Zeba, my brother’s name is Zameer, my mother’s name is Noor Malik and my sisters are Haseena and Sameena. It was Eid we hoped that my mother will get released, but she is still missing. We will be thankful if Pakistan releases them.”
https://twitter.com/SaveBalochWomen/status/1034538378321186821?s=19
But unfortunately, their pleas fell to deaf ears and couldn’t attract the attention of international media or the international community. Till date, there is no news about the abductees nor has any action been taken for their safe release.
This incident isn’t the first of its kind in Balochistan. Thousands of Baloch have been abducted and later killed by Pakistani military in the restive region, where there are reports of rape too.
Since there is a complete media blackout in Balochistan, such incidents fail to get any international attention, but the local activists on social media are trying to reach a wider audience in a bid to deter Pakistani military from committing such crimes. It is very important that the human rights organisations and media pays attention to such crimes committed by Pakistani military in Balochistan. I am still hopeful that one day the human rights organisations and international media will play their due role and highlight such crimes so that such acts are prevented for good.
Jamal Baloch is a human rights activist.
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.