Pakistani security force, Frontier Corps, has been alleged to have raided and looted house of renowned deceased Baloch activist Karima Baloch.
Sameer Mehrab, brother of Karima Baloch, while talking to media outlet The Balochistan Times, has said that about a dozen vehicles with FC sepoys entered their home in their hometown in District Kech, Balochistan, on the morning of April 1 and left around noon.
“My family no longer lives in Tump, but that does not stop the Pakistani forces from invading our house,” he told Balochistan Times. “The FC even steals stuff.”
Karima Baloch, who was among the BBC’s list of 100 accomplished women worldwide in 2016, was found drowned on 21st December in mysterious circumstances in Harbourfront near Toronto’s lakeshore. Karima Baloch, who was the first female chairperson of the Baloch Students Organization Azad (BSO-A), had sought asylum in Canada.
Karima Baloch’s death engendered a massive uproar in Balochistan and abroad. Activist and rights groups organized protest throughout Balochistan and several major cities of Pakistan, including the federal capital Islamabad.
The burial of Karima Baloch was also interrupted by the Pakistani authorities. The dead body of the activist was flown from Canada to Karachi where it was to be handed over to her family members. However, the dead body was seized by the Pakistani authorities and the family were pressurized to board a plane to Turbat. After they refused, they were moved, along with the dead body, by a heavily armed convoy of the Pakistani security forces to Turbat.
Tump, Karima Baloch’s hometown, was also cordoned off by the security forces. Thousands of outsiders were not allowed to enter the area and attend Karima Baloch’s funeral.
Later, at multiple instances the relatives of Karima Baloch were allegedly beaten up by the Frontier Corps for wanting to offer fateha at the activist’s grave.
“We have a political opinion, we speak about the rights of the Baloch people. It’s not the first time they have looted our house and it will certainly not be the last. “They use such ugly tactics to silence us, but what they do is strengthen our resolve,” Sameer Mehrab told Balochistan Times on Thursday.
Pakistani armed forces are also alleged of killing two of Karima Baloch’s uncles and abducting dozens of others in the past two decades.