Nasrullah Baloch, Chairman of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) called on the Commission Of Enquiry On Enforced Disappearances (COIOED) to fulfil its promises. He said that he had met with and briefed the chairman of the commission on the issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, and he had been assured that the missing persons will return home by March 2018 or their families will be informed of their condition. Three years later, the commission has failed to fulfil its promises, he said.
Nasrullah Baloch said that he had met with the newly elected chairman of the commission on enforced disappearances, Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal, earlier this year and briefed him on the grim situation of enforced disappearances in Balochistan. He said that he had requested Iqbal to personally chair the court trials on Baloch missing persons, but to no avail. “Since our meeting, the fourth trial on Baloch missing persons has started in Balochistan – in his absence”, he said.
The VBMP chairman said that he had also informed Javed Iqbal that many names were being slashed off of the missing persons’ list – especially the cases where the evidence of enforced disappearance is substantial. He said that the COIOED chairman had asked for the names of these individuals, and we had submitted the names of Zakir Majeed, Ali Asghar Bangulzai and several others. Five months later, these names are still not registered, he said.
Nasrullah Baloch said that he had also complained about the inappropriate behaviour of the COIOED employees and workers directed towards the families of the Baloch missing persons. “We were told that these complaints will be addressed and the cases of the Baloch missing persons will see rapid progress in the next few months. Unfortunately, the commission has reneged on its promises: the cases of missing persons are still not solved and their families continue to suffer”, he said.
The commission on missing persons was established by the Pakistani government in 2011 with the mission to “trace the whereabouts of allegedly enforced disappeared persons” and “fix responsibility on individuals or organizations responsible.” But despite all the grandiose promises, the commission has miserably failed to address the issue of enforced disappearances. Rights groups and activists have called it a “good-for-nothing” organization and chided it for doing absolutely nothing to trace the thousands of missing persons and failing – or unwilling – to fix responsibility on the culprits.
In a report in September last year, the International Commission of Jurists chastised the commission on enforced disappearances on its failure to address the issue of missing persons. “This Commission has failed in holding even a single perpetrator of enforced disappearance responsible in its nine years,” Ian Seiderman, ICJ’s Legal and Policy director said.
“The Government has used the Commission to deflect criticism and claim it is serious about addressing enforced disappearances”, ICJ said. “In reality, however, the COIED has led to a compromised inquiry process where investigations do not lead to accountability, nor do they result in proper and adequate reparation for victims.”
Enforced disappearances are primary among the various thorny issues plaguing Balochistan today. According to the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons and several other human rights groups, thousands of individuals are picked up from different areas of Balochistan, allegedly by the Pakistani forces and law enforcement agencies. These individuals are kept in confinement for years – many are killed and their dead bodies are thrown in the wilderness. Only a few lucky ones are released, and most of them suffer from a motley of psychological issues like PTSD and depression.
Enforced disappearances have taken a grim turn in Balochistan in the past few years. Hundreds of individuals, primarily Baloch students, are allegedly picked up by the Pakistani security forces arbitrarily. A few days ago, Aftab Qambrani, a resident of Quetta’s Killi Qambrani, was reportedly abducted by the Pakistani forces dressed in plainclothes. Zulfiqar Palal, a resident of Hub Chowki, was also picked up by the forces from his house. Pala’s family members and friends have set up a protest camp and are demanding his safe release.
