Author: Adil Baloch
Rashid Hussain was illegally detained by the UAE secret police on 26th December 2018 and held incommunicado for 6 months. After his detention, Amnesty International and U.N. bodies looking into disappearances requested the UAE authorities not to deport him to Pakistan for fear he would be killed. But on 22nd June 2019, despite all concerns, Rashid Hussain was forcibly deported back to Pakistan and handed over to the Pakistani secret agencies. Since then nobody has any idea about his whereabouts.
But the question is who was Rashid Hussain Baloch and how did he end up in the torture cells of Pakistani army?
Rashid Hussain was born on 1st January 1995. He was born and raised in Khuzdar, Balochistan. He was a human rights activist and member of Baloch social media activists (BSMA). Pakistani forces have already killed his cousin Majeed Zehri and his uncle Haji Mohammad Ramzan Zehri (Majeed’s father).
Just like any other ordinary Baloch, he carried the pain of his people in his heart. Belonging to a victim family, he was familiar with the pain and sufferings one goes through when a loved one gets killed or goes missing. This was the reason why he used to raise voice for the missing persons and human rights violations committed by the Pakistani army in Balochistan and this is also the reason which made him a target of Pakistan.
Due to his own personal activism and the fact he had close friends and family members getting abducted and killed by the Pakistani forces he had to leave his homeland and live in self-imposed exile in Sharjah,UAE.
He was living in exile from 2017 till his illegal detention in December 2018. Since then his family have been campaigning and protesting for his safe release but they’re yet to receive any news of his well-being and whereabouts. His sister Fareeda Baluch has been tirelessly campaigning for his release on twitter and his mother Baz Khatoon has been seen protesting against his disappearance on several occasions. In an interview with TBP his sister Fareeda Baloch said “when a family member disappears in such a way and you know nothing about their whereabouts it really affects the family. We have been left with no hope. Nobody has supported us other than the Baloch nation. All we are left with is to protest on the roads, whether in Quetta or Karachi. Nobody has been listening to us, but we are still trying to raise our voice. Therefore, my mother and sisters have been protesting throughout the year for Rashid Hussain.”
Rashid’s mother has been regularly attending protests and sit-ins for the release of her son. She has been seen crying and pleading to the authorities to present her son in front of the court and conduct a fair trial.
In an interview with the Reuters, She said “just tell us our kids are safe, put them in jail, we don’t have any problem with that. If they were in jail at least we would know they are safe, at least I could take some food there for my son, or a blanket to keep him warm, or a change of clothes.”
After knocking every door looking for justice, the family of Rashid Hussain has always returned empty-handed and disappointed. It is the responsibility of the international community, human rights organizations and media to raise their voice against Pakistan to save Rashid Hussain and the thousands of other Baloch missing persons.