PAKISTAN: Sudden increase of disappearances in Sindh before Independence Day

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the sudden increase of disappearances of activists including peasant leaders, human rights defenders and nationalists. Security Forces geared up their process of arrests and disappearances. It is based on information that the Sindhis, the indigenous people, will observe a Black Day on Pakistan’s Independence Day, August 14 2017.

It is feared that missing persons will be kept in military torture cells and will be subject to severe torture to make a confession about suspect assertions of their custodians.

Among the latest disappeared persons are a 14 year-old child, one journalist, and a prominent human rights defender, Mr. Punhal Sario. Punhal is also the Convener of the Voice of Missing Persons of Sindh. Recently he organized a Long March of 200 kilometers against the continuous disappearances in the Sindh and Balochistan Provinces.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Armed with guns, Pakistan Rangers, and persons in plainclothes, from State Intelligence Agencies, have raided the houses and work places of various activists in Sindh Province and took them away. Since then they are missing. An unknown organization–the Sindhu Desh Liberation Army, has called for a Black day on August 14, Independence Day. This has infuriated the security establishment.

Throughout the day, a white, double cabin van, number SP 2939, was seen raiding houses and picking up activists. The van held Police Officials, uniformed Rangers and others in plainclothes.

On August 3, at 8.00 PM, Mr. Punhal Sario, chief of the Voice of Missing Persons, Sindh, and a prominent peasant leader, was coming from a meeting. He was arranging a Writers Conference, scheduled for the next day. He was driving along with his friends in his car and came up to a check post opposite the Police Station. The police asked Sario to exit the car. As he came out, Rangers and plainclothes men dragged him into a white vehicle, number SP 2939, and drove away with him.

Under Mr. Sario’s direction, a Long March was organized for the recovery of disappeared persons from Sindh and Balochistan Provinces. The route was more than 200 kilometers long, from Hyderabad to Karachi. Enroute, he was picked up once, but later released due to pressure from the Media and civil society. Sario’s family and friends approached the Police who denied having arrested him. The family has filed a petition in the High Court for his return.

However, it is general knowledge that the Judiciary in Pakistan does not bother with urgent cases where the Military or Intelligence Agencies are involved.

On August 5, a young man, Mr. Mehboob Chandio, son of Haji Buxial Chandio was arrested by Police and Rangers. He was removed from his house, situated at Gharibabad, near Sial Naka, Dadu District. Again, the white van with the same number SP 2939 was used to pick him up. Law Enforcement personnel entered the house at about 2.30 a.m. After rounding up all family members at gun point, they started searching the house. Not finding any ammunition or contraband, they whisked Chandio away in a convoy of more than three vehicles. Their destination was Hyderabad and the Military Detention Center.

The family members have filed a petition in the Sindh High Court for his return. One year ago, another brother was picked up and confined in the Military Torture Center in the Dadu District. After some months he was released after being severely tortured. His elder brother, Mr Wali Chandio, a prominent journalist in the District and former president of the Dadu Press Club, was threatened many times by different Agencies.

On the same day, Rangers and Police raided various houses in the Gharibabad, Dadu District. They picked up Mr. Rfiq Mallah, 22, son of Ahmed Mallah,a resident of Gulsha Munir, Dadu. He is a daily wage earner.

On August 6, Rangers and Police raided and picked up Mr. Shoaib Korejo son of Ayub Korejo, from Saal Misri Shah Street, Dadu Districtand and transported him away.

A 15 year-old child, Master Masroor Panhwar son of Ghulam Mustafa Panhwar, resident of Azizabad, Dadu District, was picked up in the same way as the other missing persons.

Two more young Sindhis were abducted from Quetta, Balochistan on 30 July by Security Forces who suspected that they are fugitives from Sindh. Their whereabouts remain unknown. They are following…..

Mr. Bilawal Chandio, son of Abdul Latif Chandio, resident of village Gul Mohammad, Tulaqa K.N. Shah, Dadu, NICD 41203-6598536-5,

Mr. Gulsher Tagar, son of Abdul Rasheed Tagar, resident of village Soomar, Tauka Matiari, District Matiari, Sindh. NICD 41801-06-19626-7.

A journalist’ Ghulam Rasool Burfat, a sub-editor at the Sindhi newspaper was missing after the raid at his house. He is the brother-in-law of an exiled chairman of banned nationalist group, JSSM. According to Dawn, his close relatives were picked up by men in civvies. This occurred, after raids on their houses in different areas on Friday, according to Mumtaz Burfat, sister of Shafi Burfat.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

On 24th May 2017, the AHRC reported the enforced disappearances of four persons from Sindh Province in its Urgent Appeal 037. The men were disappeared after being picked up from their homes by Intelligence Agencies. These include –a famous writer, a teacher, a government employee, and an Ahmadi. All four detainees–Mr. Ghulam Raza Jarwar, Mr. Ali Ahmed Bughio, Mr. Shadi Khan Soomro, an Ahmadi, Mr. Abdul Aziz- are from Badin District, Sindh Province. The Police deny their arrest and have advised family members to take up the matter with higher authorities. Family members fear they will be extra-judicially killed. In particular is a Mr. Ghulam Raza Jarwar who was abducted previously. He was detained at a Military Detention Center for some months before being released. The Media has quoted sources from the security establishment saying that the four disappeared persons are accused of being associated with the JSQM (Arisar group), a nationalist party, known as being anti-terrorist.

In another case reported by the AHRC in its Urgent Appeal 025 on April 17, 2017 is Mr. Hidayatullah Lohar. He is headmaster of a Government primary school in Golo Ganwans village, Naseerabad, Qambar Shahdadkot District, Sindh Province. He too, was apprehended by four plainclothes personnel and two Police Officers. The same day Mr. Khadim Arijo, son of Daud Arijo, superintendent at the Ministry of Food of Sindh, was arrested. Both Mr. Arijo and Mr. Lohar have been taken into custody for their affiliation with Jeay Sindh Quami Mahaz (JSQM Arisar group), a Sindhi nationalist group, struggling for the nationalist rights of Sindh. However, both families deny the victims’ affiliation with any nationalist or political group. Four more activists, Jeay Sindh Quami Mahaz (Bashir Querashi group), Dr. Shayan Arijo, Mr. Aijaz Tunio, Agha Shahzaman and Bux Ali Mugheri were taken into custody by Law EnforcementAgencies and Pakistan Rangers in the last week of March 2017. They were from the Hyderabad and Naseerabad Districts respectively. Their whereabouts are unknown. Their family members have been threatened not to talk to the media or the public.

On 3rd August 2017, the AHRC reported in its Urgent Appeal 108-2017 of the illegal detention and disappearances of a 16 year-old boy and a 21 year-old young man from Hyderabad Sindh. The young boy, Master Saif Jatoi, the son of a prominent columnist was taken from his home and dragged off by Officials in plainclothes. The Police-as is always the case- refused to file a FIR of the abduction by the LEA. The writ petition against the boy’s disappearance is still pending in the Courts.

The 21 year-old laborer Mumtaz Somroo was also picked up by plainclothes Agency personnel on the eve of 10th July. Being extremely poor, the family is unable bear the legal costs to access justice. It has not approached the Courts for his release as the Police have not registered an FIR.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the following Authorities to immediately stop the disappearances of activists from Sindh on the pretext of holding a Black Day on Independence Day, August 14 2017. The Government must control its Armed Forces and Police who adopt illegal, unconstitutional and immoral methods of disappearing innocent persons. Contact or call them, if there is evidence of illegal work by missing persons. They should be produced before a Court of Law. Please urge them to return the missing persons as quickly as possible. Those officials who are responsible for such crimes must be punished and tried in the Courts.

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Working Group on Involuntary and Enforced Disappearances (UN WGEID), calling for his intervention into this matter”.

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