Baloch Human Rights Activist Mama Qadeer Baloch said in a recent media statement that the Baloch missing persons are being executed in the custody of the Pakistani security forces. He said that the Pakistani intelligence agencies and the security forces are directly involved in the “enforced disappearances” and “genocide” of the Baloch people. He said that we have strong evidence to substantiate our claims.
The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) completed its 4720th day of protest in front of the Quetta Press Club. Social and political leaders visited the camp to express solidarity with the families of the Baloch missing persons.
Addressing the gathering, VBMP Vice-Chairman Mama Qadeer Baloch said that “enforced disappearances” are a human rights violation. He said that the Pakistani state is brazenly involved in this inhumane practice in Balochistan.
Mama Qadeer further stated that the Pakistani intelligence agencies and security forces are involved in the abduction and subsequent killing of the Baloch youth. He claimed that the Baloch missing persons are routinely rounded up and shot dead in a point-blank range. Their dead bodies are then thrown in the wilderness, he said.
He said that hundreds of Baloch have been – and are being – picked up from universities, colleges, public places and their homes and extrajudicially locked up in dungeons. He said that the majority of the detainees are students and the youth, but a large number of women and the elderly are also among them.
Mama Qadeer Baloch said that the leaders of this country are fooling the world with their charade. He said that the international human rights groups and the United Nations must take notice of the human rights catastrophe unfolding in Balochistan and hold the Pakistani state accountable for its crimes.
The statement comes in the wake of a recent claim by the ISPR where it claimed that the Pakistani security forces had cornered and killed 9 members of a “pro-independence” group in a military operation in Harnai. ISPR also released the photos of the alleged insurgents which show mostly elderly or middle-aged men with a slovenly appearance – their beards are scruffy and overgrown and their clothes are untidy. The photos made rounds on social media, sparking the debate whether the nine men were actually insurgents or Baloch missing persons. Some social media users argued that the facial features of the nine dead men match those of missing persons, but they are yet to be identified.
The Baloch Liberation Army denied ISPR’s claims in a media statement and said that the nine men have no connection with the group. “Pakistani military’s claims of killing freedom fighters of Baloch Liberation Army during its so-called search operation around Ziarat and Harnai areas are merely propaganda tactics to hide its catastrophic failures in Balochistan”, BLA said.
BLA said that its STOS members had managed to safely escape to their hideouts in the mountains after executing their intelligence operation. The group said that not a single fighter was injured or harmed in any way during the operation.