Quetta, Aug 18 A leading human rights organisation on Monday highlighted the worsening crisis in Balochistan, drawing attention to a surge in enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings committed by Pakistani forces across the province.
Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department, mentioned that in July, 96 cases of enforced disappearances were recorded, with 40 victims later released after suffering severe physical and psychological torture. Additionally, 19 people were extrajudicially killed by Pakistani forces in the same month.
The monthly report of the rights body revealed that in July, multiple cases of enforced disappearances and illegal detentions were reported across 14 districts of Balochistan, in Karachi city of Sindh province, and Dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab province.
It stated that among the districts in Balochistan, Kech recorded 29 cases and Quetta 17 cases, the most affected with the highest number of incidents of forcibly disappeared people.
Raising concern on the rising human rights abuses, Paank mentioned the arbitrary prosecution of an eight-year-old child Shoaib Khalid from Turbat district in Balochistan. It added that based on a FIR lodged against him, the child was produced before Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Court on July 31 on alleged charges of terrorism related to sharing a video on social media. The video allegedly contained a speech by Baloch rights activist Gulzar Dost, who was arrested and later released on bail for advocating better education, health, and job facilities in the region.
“Charging a minor for a social media post is a gross violation of human rights and an attempt to silence the Baloch community’s right to free expression,” said the rights body
Paank condemned the consistent use of arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings by Pakistani forces in Balochistan, stating that it is not only a gross violation of human rights but a direct attack on the region’s civil population. These actions, the rights body asserted, demand international attention, accountability, and immediate intervention.
The rights body on Monday also lashed out at Pakistani authorities for the public screening of a purported “confession” by Baloch scholar Usman Qazi. It alleged that his statement was obtained under duress while he was denied access to legal counsel and a fair trial.
Qazi, a PhD holder and Assistant Professor at BUITEMS University, along with his younger brother Jibran Ahmed, were taken into custody by the Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel in the early hours of August 12 during a raid on their home in Afnan Town, of the provincial capital Quetta.
“Coerced confessions and prejudicial, state-run smear campaigns violate the prohibition on torture and the right to a fair trial. We reiterate his presumption of innocence and call for immediate access to lawyers, an independent investigation into his enforced disappearance, and accountability for officials responsible,” Paank noted.
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