According to reports from Sibi district of Balochistan, FC Colonel and Subedar have threatened local landlords with dire consequences for not paying extortion.
Local sources told TBP that the a colonel rank officer of the Frontier Corps(FC) has threatened to arrest and disappear the local landlords or their family members on terrorism charges if they did not pay the extortion money. FC Colonel and Subedar in Lehri area of Sibi have ordered the residents to pay extortion for planting crops, sources said.
Local landowners said that despite the dire economic situation in the area, they would have to face dire consequences if they did not pay extortion to the FC.
While on Thursday, three persons including two brothers have been forcibly disappeared from Sibi district after the said threat. Two brothers, Ismail and Altaf Hussain son of Hameed went missing in main city of Sibi while Nadir son of Nobat was abducted from Lehri area of the district.
On the other hand, military officials today issued a statement claiming that security forces in Lehri and Sibi areas of Balochistan, acting on a tip-off from intelligence agencies, arrested two persons involved in financing armed groups. As per officials, the arrestees have been moved to an unknown location for further investigation. However, the authorities have not yet revealed the identify of the abductees.
It may be recalled that earlier there were allegations on FC for extortion from coal mines and oil tankers in parts of Balochistan. In 2019, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan released a fact-finding report stating that the HRCP mission had found that the security forces in Balochistan were levying a security tax on production per tonne, which is not officially enforced.
Addressing a public meeting in Turbat, on Thursday, organized by Haq Do Tehreek Balochistan, the head of the movement Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman Baloch also criticised the forces saying “FC is not a force but a source of looting.” He said the 32-day sit-in protest was ended on November 15 after a written agreement with the government. If the demands are not met, the movement which started on August 19 in Sarbandan, would continue till the last political activist is alive.
He further said that this land is the mother of Baloch nation, not the legacy of any Army general or Colonel. “We are going to hold a referendum against FC in Makran,” Maulana said. He said that youths like Hayat Baloch are shot dead by FC in broad daylight and they say that it was a mistake. If we make such a mistake, would we be forgiven? Maulana asked.
Fc is a paramilitary force of Pakistan, the task of which is to help local law enforcement, and to carry out border patrol, counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling operations. The force is unpopular among the local population who associate them with human rights violations and heavy-handed operations.