The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons held a press conference in the Quetta Press Club on Friday where the VBMP General Secretary Sammi Deen Baloch addressed journalists and the public on the recent alarming developments in Balochistan. She said that after the Panjgur and Noshki attacks, “enforced disappearances” and “kill-and-dumps” have seen an alarming spike in Balochistan, and the trend is frightening.
Sammi Baloch said that “enforced disappearances” have been a major human rights issue in Balochistan for the past two decades – the rate of disappearances has increased and slowed down at times, but it has never stopped. But in the past two weeks, especially after the attacks on FC headquarters in Panjgur and Noshki, “enforced disappearances” have increased manifolds.
She said that the Pakistani security forces have “abducted” dozens of individuals from Panjgur in the past few days. She said that the forces have moved the detainees to unknown locations and their conditions and whereabouts remain unknown – their family members are concerned about their wellbeing.
Sammi Baloch also disclosed the details of several individuals who were allegedly “abducted” by the Pakistani forces in the past few days. She said that a first-year student of the Islamic International University Islamabad, Ehtisham Sarwar, was abducted by the Pakistani forces from the main Panjgur Bazar on February 3. He was killed in custody and his mutilated dead body was thrown in the wilderness, she added.
She said that Altaf Jara, a student, was killed in a “fake encounter” by the Pakistani forces in the Tajaban area of Turbat on February 4. The forces also “abducted” Malik Meeran, a social activist and a businessman, and several others from Panjgur, including Rajab Dil, Murad Basit, Hassan Shabir, Haji Karim, Masroor Arif, Yahya and Raees.
Sammi Baloch said Turbat, Noshki and other areas of Balochistan also witnessed their share of “enforced disappearances.” On February 8 and 9, the security forces “abducted” several individuals from different areas of Balochistan, which includes Nazeer Rehmat, Niaz Nouroz, Raziq Baloch, Waheed Baloch, Fareed Asim, Mol Jaan, Yaseen, Karim Dad, Samiullah, Sawad Khan, Shabir Jan, Amanullah, Abdul Samad and Dhani Baksh Bugti.
She said that Hafeez Baloch, an MPhil student in the Physics Department of the Quaid-e-Azam University, was forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani forces from Khuzdar, She said that Hafeez Baloch had come home for holidays and he was teaching at a science academy when the forces picked him up and moved to an undisclosed location. Whereas, two other students, identified as Haroon and Nadeem, were also detained in Quetta.
Ms Baloch said that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, had vowed to the VBMP that all the Baloch missing persons will be safely released, but what is happening is quite the opposite – enforced disappearances have seen a sudden uptick throughout Balochistan. She said that we appeal to all the relevant authorities to end this practice and ensure the safe release of all the missing persons.
VBMP was formed by the families of missing persons to raise voice against forceful disappearances in Balochistan, allegedly by Pakistani security forces. VBMP has organized numerous events, protests and rallies, including a long walk from Quetta to Karachi and then to Islamabad. VBMP has set a protest camp which is nonstop protesting for last 4588 days.
As per VBMP, more than 45,000 Baloch men, women and children have been disappeared, who are languishing in torture cells