Although I never met and had contact with Sajid, but being a Baloch activist we all somehow share a bond. When someone, with exceptional qualities, like Sajid exists in your ranks it is hard to distance yourself from him. Sajid Hussain was famously known in the Baloch society because of his journalistic work, especially to those who follow the politics of Balochistan.
Sajid Baloch had been affiliated with Baloch students Organisation for four years. In 2004 he became a member of BSO’s central committee, the highest decision-making body of the organisation. Maybe that was a reason that I formed an indirect fondness with Sajid because I have also remained a member of BSO.
Ghulam Mohammad Baloch a prominent leader and uncle of Sajid Hussain was killed in 2009. Ghulam Mohammad Baloch was whisked away from a law chamber opposite to the session court in broad daylight, after a few days his dead body along with his two comrades were found from a deserted area of Murgaap. The Pakistani authorities are believed to be the culprits of Mr Baloch’s murder.
Sajid never wanted to be missing and meet the same fate as his uncle. Sajid flew to UAE and later to other countries including Oman and Uganda before finally arriving in Sweden in 2017. In 2019 he was granted asylum in Sweden. During his exile, Sajid continued his journalistic and literary work. The most remarkable work of his was launching Balochistan Times, an online magazine covering Balochistan. He was the Editor in Chief of the magazine.
Last January he was among the book launch event of an online Balochi-English dictionary and book of Balochi grammar. Sajid was also one of the contributors in the book and helped linguists Carina Jahani and Taj Baloch in writing the book.
The family of Sajid was expected to join him very soon. His wife and two children were happy to meet him soon. The long wait was finally getting over shortly. But everything rolled around, all hopes faded in a sorrow. Who had thought that Sajid will go missing from Sweden, but that’s the fate of Baloch intelligentsia and activists no matter in which part of the world you hide, it seems you will not be safe from Pakistani authorities?
Mr Hussain made headlines on national and international media and trended on social media when he went missing from the Swedish town on 2nd March 2020, where he had moved to a student accommodation because of his studies. On 1st May 2020 Balochistan Times announced the sad news of the recovery of Sajid Hussain’s dead body by Swedish police from a river near Uppsala.
The Swedish government and its authorities failed to provide protection to Sajid Hussain who had sought refuge in the country.
The Uppsala police department acted negligently by not considering the matter as a serious matter for about a week. The Uppsala police seemed to be incompetent to find Sajid’s dead body for weeks. The authorities still do not have an answer about Sajid’s mysterious death. Sajid came to Sweden with much ambitions and hope for a new life to finally settle with his family.
Swedish government must act and initiate an investigation and consider this case as an international crime possibly carried out by a state secretive agency. Pakistani ambassador must be called to record protest over the assassination of Sajid Hussain in Sweden. The Baloch diaspora and activists believe Sajid’s death is not natural and it is a murder. The Swedish authorities must find the culprits behind this heinous crime. Sajid’s family deserves to know the facts behind Sajid’s mysterious and untimely death.
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.