PAKISTAN: A human rights defender disappeared by Rangers at the alleged behest of a multi-national Oil Company

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the disappearance of a young activist by the Pakistan Rangers. He was organizing villagers protesting the contaminated water provided by a multi-national Oil and Gas Company. At the time of his arrest, the activist was beaten by six Soldiers. He remained unconscious for some time but later was thrown into a truck and driven away.

The whereabouts of one journalist and his two brother-in-laws are still unknown. They are still missing after being arrested by Rangers on August 5, 2017.

CASE NARRATIVE:

On August 10, at 3.a.m. uniformed Pakistan Rangers, wearing masks, arrived in eight mobile trucks. Together with two double-seated jeeps, they raided a small village of Bhaji Lund in Johi tehseel, Dadu district. They were searching for the human rights defender, Mr. Ghulam Abbas Lund. After realizing that they raided the wrong place, dozens of soldiers went to the nearby village, Shameer Khan Lund. They cordoned off the entire village, placing soldiers on the roof- tops. Breaking down the main door, they entered the home of Mr. Abbas and rounded up all the inhabitants at gun-point, including children and women.

Now, whenever they go on raids the Rangers wear masks on their faces. They are afraid that if anyone takes photos or makes movies of them, it will not be easy to hide their identities.

While everyone in the house was sleeping, the Rangers began kicking the males, one by one, to identify themselves. After finding Abbas, six soldiers beat him in front of his family. The assault was so severe that he fainted and remained unconscious for some time. The officer in charge of the raiding team instructed his soldiers to massage his hands so that he would regain consciousness. After coming to, Abbas was thrown without respect into a Ranger’s truck like a sack of wheat. Two Ranger officials sat and laid down on him. Since then his whereabouts are unknown.

Mr. Abbas 32, was a prominent social worker who organized 20 villages on the following issues: clean drinking water, a hospital for all the villages, a school, provision of gas and stopping a multi-national Oil Company from disposing of its oil waste into nearby small irrigation canals. He set up an organization named CHANDAN with one representative from each village. The total population of the 20 villages is about 20,000 thousand people. They are deprived of every basic right including clean drinking water, schools and hospitals, to name a few.

Cause of his arrest: In the Johi sub-district, for 20 years, there was an Australian multi-national oil and gas exploration company BHP. They changed their name to Orient Petroleum Private Limited (OPPL) in 2015. The BHP/OPPL is releasing all its chemical waste in open places. It has contaminated small irrigation canals used by humans and animals for drinking water. The victim along with hundreds of villagers made several protests in front of the Company and Press Clubs of the Dadu and Johi districts. The protestors were questioning the use of community funds embedded in the budgets of MNCs working in this remote area. The Company told protestors that it has spent 22 Billion Rupees during the past 20 years on Local Governments and elected Parliamentarians from the district. However, the deputy commissioner (DC) of the Dadu district and local government officials said they only received 270 million Rupees.

The ruling political party of the Sindh province, the PPP, always wins from the district. Its one National Assembly member, Mr. Rafiq Jamali, is allegedly said to be working under the influence of the Deputy Commissioner and the local Administration of the district. All this is leading to the denial of the basic rights of 20 villages. Three months ago, Jamali promised to lay a clean-water pipeline but the Project is still not completed. The people of several villages have to draw their water from a distance of more than two to three kilometers.

There was another important issue/problem put forward. It related to the employment of the local population. The Company rejected it. All lower staff were recruited from outside Sindh Province, even the Imam of the Mosque (the prayer leader) was hired from Punjab Province. This issue is causing much agitation. In the past 20 years, the Company in exploring for gas and oil has never recruited any local persons such as security guards, drivers, or the like.

Three persons from a family are still missing: A journalist, Ghulam Rasool Burfat of the Daily Sindh Express, a local newspaper, (www.sindhexpress.com.pk), with his two brother-in-laws. They went missing after being arrested in their home on August 5, when Rangers and Police raided their house. Ghulam was residing in Sindh University, Jam Shoro, Sindh, at the time of the raid. His two brother-in-laws, Mr. Zaheer Burfat and Asif Burfat were there in the house, arrested and disappeared. Since then their whereabouts are unknown. They are said to be the relatives of the exiled Sindhi nationalist, Shaf Burfat.

The family members of the disappeared persons are apprehensive about their lives. As in many cases, the torture-marked dead bodies, of disappeared persons, were often found on the side of the road. They have made complaints to the Police and filed petitions in the High Court but up until now no action has been taken.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-112-2017

On 24 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 Enforcement Agencies 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 calling on them to recover both the prominent human rights defender and a community organizer. They had been arrested by the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh region at the behest of an oil exploring multi-national company BHP/OPPL Juhi, district Dau Sindh. Please urge them to safely recover the journalist Ghulam Rasool Burfat and his two brother-in-laws, all missing after their arrests by Pakistan Rangers, Sindh region. 
Please demand that the Government put a stop to enforced disappearances and enforce the Rule of Law. If there are any outstanding cases, the victims must be tried in a Court of Law. The Government needs to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance without any reservations. The must criminalize enforced disappearances under domestic law, in line with International Law and their standards. 

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, calling for its intervention into this matter.

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