HRCP slams ‘disappearances’ in Balochistan, killings in Sindh

Lahore, April 29: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed serious concern at reports of apparently unauthorised raids and disappearance of several individuals in Kech and Gwadar districts of Balochistan and the killing of two political workers in Sindh.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Commission said: “It is a matter of great concern that the practices that have brought Pakistan to a precarious state continue even on the eve of the elections.

HRCP has learned that on Sunday night, security forces in Turbat and Tump tehsil in district Kech raided three houses and took away nine persons. Uniformed security personnel in more than a dozen vehicles had conducted the raid in Turbat.

A day earlier, in tehsil Pasni of district Gwadar, the security forces had arrested 42 people. Forty of these men have since been handed over to the police but the remaining two, Musaddiq Aslam and Master Raza Khan, remain in the security forces custody. HRCP demands that the detention of the 11 men must be acknowledged immediately and they should be either charged or released without delay. HRCP reiterates that due process rights of all those picked up must be respected without exception.

Equally disconcerting are reports that dead bodies of two young men, Sajjad Markhand (18) and Amir Khawar (25), have been found in Dadu district in Sindh. Both men were affiliated with Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM). As demonstrated by the events of the last few weeks, some political affiliations can make individuals more vulnerable than most. The JSMM activists have had to contend with such vulnerabilities in the last few years. The two men were reportedly picked up by the police and security agencies near General Post Office at Larkana on April 24. Their bodies showed signs of torture and both had been shot multiple times.

HRCP believes that the authorities must take serious note of such reports without waiting for pleas for action from civil society. The Commission calls for an independent probe to determine why the two men were picked up and murdered with a view to bring their killers to justice. HRCP believes that respect for rule of law by all concerned is the only way to fix many of the ills that afflict Pakistan and hopes that those at the helm of affairs can begin to share that view.”

Zohra Yusuf

Chairperson

Category: English