Dalbandin resident Ghulam Muhammad held a press conference in the Quetta Press Club alongside his family on Sunday where he accused that a man named Saqib son of Mir Abdul Khaliq Muhammad Hassani is threatening to abduct his minor daughter at gunpoint. Saqib reportedly tried and failed to kidnap the seven-year-old girl and threatened her father that they will pick her up at gunpoint if he refuses to give her up.
Ghulam Muhammad said in the press conference that Saqib Mohd-Hassani is threatening him and his family to hand over his seven-year-old daughter to him. He said that the man was fully intoxicated and flanked by armed guards who are provided to him by the law enforcement agencies.
Ghulam Muhammad said that Saqib Hassani has threatened him that if he did not marry off her minor daughter to him, he will kidnap her at gunpoint.
Breaking into tears, Ghulam Muhammad said, “I fled to Quetta along with my family in the dead of the night and I have come so far in pursuit of justice and if the authorities fail to protect my daughter and my family from that corrupt man, my family and I will self-immolate on the Dalbandin Chowk.
The Balochistan Post contacted local sources in Chaghi to confirm the allegations and learned that Saqib Hassani heads a “death squad” – locally armed militia allegedly supported by the Pakistani military. These militias have been accused of carrying out human rights violations like enforced disappearances and kill-and-dumps at the behest of the Pakistani security forces. In exchange for their services, the Pakistani forces have given a free hand to these “death squads” throughout Balochistan.
The sources said that Saqib Hassani belongs to the group which was previously headed by Hafeez Muhammad Hassani who was allegedly picked up by the Pakistani forces in August 2016. Major Naveed of the Pakistan army has reportedly demanded 6.8 million rupees ransom for Hafeez’s life. Major Naveed was reportedly given a life sentence in a military court in August 2019.
The sources said that Hafeez used to traffic drugs throughout Balochistan with the help of Major Naveed. The major had once accused Hafeez of financial malfeasance and kidnapped him for a 6.8 million rupees ransom. The forces got the wind of the situation and fearing that their charade may come undone, they killed and buried Hafeez in a wilderness. Saqib was then promoted as the head of Hafeez’s death squad, the sources said.
Baloch National Movement (BNM) Chairman Dr. Naseem Baloch expressed sympathy with Ghulam Muhammad and said that the incident befalling his daughter and his family is “heart-wrenching.” He said that kidnapping threats and forced underage marriage cannot be tolerated. He said that examples of such inhumane incidents do not occur anywhere in the world, not even in the most anachronistic societies, but they have become commonplace in Balochistan due to the Pakistani security forces. He said in a media statement that the “death squads” are involved in social crimes like enforced disappearances and the harassment of Baloch women and children.