Different sections of society have expressed anger over the alleged abductions of Baloch women, however the family has denied the incident all together
According to the details received by the Balochistan post, waves of anger emerged when a news broke out about the abductions of Baloch women, and Baloch social media users stormed the social media platforms with the hashtag of #SaveBalochWomen.
Initially, the news spread through WhatsApp groups, where a local ‘death-squad’ was accused of abducting two women from Soordo area in Panjgur district, who were released after three days of sexual and mental torture.
Rumors were confirmed when three organizations condemned the incident through separate press conferences, first condemnation came from a leftist women organization, Women Democratic Front, led by Ismat Shahjahan.
In a joint press statement, Jalila Haidar, President of Balochistan Chapter, Farkhanda Aslam, Aliya Bakhshal and Ismat Shahjahan, Central President of the party, condemned the abduction of Baloch women in Panjgur and demanded an independent investigation of the incident.
Whereas, Baloch Human Rights Organization (BHRO) also condemned the abduction and torture of Baloch women in Panjgur and released details of other incidents of violence against women in a press statement on Wednesday.
“Members of death-squad abducted wife and daughter of Abdullah S/O Abdul Samad, a resident of Panjgur, when they were on their way to Soordo town in Panjgur to visit their relatives. They were kept in prison where they were subjected to physical and mental torture for three days and released afterwards”, BHRO said in a press statement.
“Yesterday, Pakistani forces abducted five people from Soorgar area of Jhaoo town during an operation. The abductees included a woman and her new-born baby too, who were identified as Gul Nisa and her baby, Nazar S/O Muhammad Hussain, Shehak Gumani S/O Dad Muhammad, Deen Muhammad S/O Salman and Omer jan S/O Shahdad”, BHRO added.
BHRO accused Pakistani forces of the abductions and expressed concerns over the surge in the abductions of Baloch women in the recent years.
However, after the uproar about the abductions, family members of the allegedly abducted women from Panjgur, held a press conference and rejected the news about the abduction and torture of their women.
“People are accusing Mehrullah of abducting our women and subjecting them of physical torture, but we want to clear it Mehrullah is our blood relative and he cannot do it, furthermore, our women never went out of the house due to the recent death of our father and we were observing the 40th day of his demise”, said Talha Aziz and Abdul Samad, family members of the alleged victims of abduction and torture.
Dr Murad, General Secretary of Baloch National Movement, however, said that the family was forced to deny the incident by the same death-squad who had committed the crime.
“A local death squad, patronized by Pakistan army, had abducted two Baloch women who were residents of Hammal Abad in Panjgur district. They were harassed and subjected to torture for three days in a military camp. When the news leaked and the pressure was increasing, the death squad members forced the affected family to deny the incident in a press conference”, said Dr Murad.
He also urged International media and rights organizations to take notice of the wrong-doings of Pakistan army in Balochistan.
“Silence of the world has given a free hand to Pakistani forces who continue to commit war crimes in Balochistan”, he added.
Balochistan is plagued by the enforced disappearances of Baloch youth and activists. However, recent instances of ‘women and children abductions’ has added to the concerns of Baloch masses.
International campaign groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused Pakistani security forces as the perpetrators of ‘illegal abductions in Balochistan’.