GENERAL APPEAL (Pakistan): Alarming situation of forced disappearance of political and human rights activists in Balochistan 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the continuous disappearances of political and human rights activists in Balochistan, the southern province in Pakistan. It is alleged that government’s security personnel are involved in these disappearances.

The latest disappearance took place on 7 April 2006. Mr. Munir Mengal, the management director of Baloch Voice, a Balochi-language television station based in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, went missing after arriving in Karachi, Pakistan from Bahrain on April 7. His family alleges that he was arrested by the military intelligence officers at the airport. Mr. Mengal’s wife Mrs. Aziza Mengal said that the victim went to Karachi to recruit technical staff for a TV station, which was scheduled to start its broadcast from Bahrain on June 16. Mr. Mengal’s whereabouts remain unknown. Reporters Without Borders showed its concern about Mr. Mengal’s disappearance saying “Launching a TV station for 10 million Balochi in Pakistan and other parts of the world cannot be considered a crime.” Due to the ongoing military operations in Balochistan, the Government of Pakistan has severely restricted Balochi people’s right to access information. Mr. Ghulam Mohammad, a staff of the Balochistan National Movement said, “When Pakistan has electronic channels of each language, why are Blaochis denied to have their own channel?”

This is not an isolated case. There have been several reported disappearance cases in Balochistan. The whereabouts of most of the missing persons are unknown.  In some cases, the courts ordered that the disappeared be produced before courts but this was ignored by the authorities. Some other disappearance cases are described below:

1. Dr. Haneef Shareef, the prominent poet and writer in Blochi language has been missing for over three months after being picked up by the military intelligence officers in Turbat, Balochistan on 15 January 2006. His whereabouts are not known to his family. Dr. Sareef has written articles and poetry regarding the poor economic and social conditions of the people in Balochistan. Desperate to learn of Dr. Shareef’s whereabouts, his mother and relatives have staged a hunger strike in front of the Karachi Press Club for over 40 days.

2. Mr. Asghar Bangulzai, the political activist in Balochistan, has been disappeared for the last four years since he was abducted by law enforcement agencies on 18 October 2001 in Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan. His young children and relatives have staged a hunger strike for the past five months in front of the Quetta Press Club.

3. Mr. Hafiz Saeed Ahmed was also allegedly abducted by law enforcement officers in 2002 in Quetta. His family members have been on a hunger strike for over four months in front of the Quetta Press Club urging the government to locate his whereabouts and release him.

4. Mr. Rauf Sasuli, a member of the central committee of Jamhoori Watan party has been missing since 2 February 2006. Mr. Salim Baloch, the vice-president of the same political party, has been missing since 10 March 2006. He was arrested by the police after holding a demonstration in front of the Karachi Press Club.

5. Seven members of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO), including its president, Mr. Imdad Baloch, were taken by law enforcement officers in March 2005 and detained in a secret place in Punjab province, where they were severely tortured. Three months later, three students including Mr. Lmdad Baloch, who were suffering from severe medical conditions at the time, were thrown on the street in a remote area in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab province. They later told their families and the media that military officers had tortured them while asking information about the Balochistan Liberation Army, which the students claim they knew nothing of. Meanwhile, the remaining four students are still missing and their families fear that they have been killed as a result of the torture inflicted on them.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Balochistan was incorporated into the new state of Pakistan, as the Indian subcontinent was split at the end of British rule in 1947. Since then, there have been continuous insurgencies by Baloch nationalists in the province seeking greater autonomy.

The Pakistan Army started military operations in Balochistan province in 2001 to construct the cantonments and to have full control over the sea port of Gwader and routes connecting Central Asian countries with those in South Asia. During this time, the clampdown in Balochistan has become serious. According to a January 2006 statement by Pakistani Senator Sanaullah Baloch, at least 180 people have died in bombings, 122 children have been killed by paramilitary troops and hundreds of people have been arrested since the beginning of the campaign in early 2005. On 8 December 2005, the federal interior minister stated that some 4,000 people had been arrested in Balochistan since the beginning of 2005.

Baloch people also suffer from great poverty. According to the Karachi-based Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), poverty levels in Balochistan are the highest in the country. Every second person in Balochistan lives below the poverty line. Only 50 percent of the province’s 7 million people have access to clean drinking water, only half the children attend primary schools and only a third of children between 12 and 23 months are immunised, according to the SPDC.

Balochistan has in fact very rich mineral resources. However, all the resources in the province are controlled by the federal government and no royalty or compensation has been paid to people in Balochistan. Also, the country’s most populous province, Punjab, is controlling the military, the administration and utilises of all the resources. In addition, the government has provided little resources towards social welfare in comparison with other provinces. People in Balochistan blame the federal government for their plight and point out that the benefits derived from the province’s natural wealth have not been returned to it.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send your appeal letters to the central and local government authorities of Pakistan and urge them to locate the whereabouts of Mr. Munir Mengal and release him immediately. Please also urge them to take prompt action to locate all the missing persons allegedly taken by law enforcement officers and immediately inform their whereabouts to their families. Please also urge them to respect the right to access information of the Balochi people and halt the ongoing military operation in Balochistan and take genuine steps to consult with people in Balochistan to restore peace. Please also write to the relevant UN agencies listed below and request them to pressure the Government of Pakistan to intervene in this matter.

 

 

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