Baloch Human Rights Organization (BHRO) organised a protest rally in Karachi against enforced disappearance of Nawaz Atta, Information Secretary of BHRO and other students. The protest rally started from Arts Council Karachi and ended at Karachi Press Club. The participants were carrying banners and play cards on which pictures of the abductees and slogans were written. Hundreds of women, youths and children participated in the rally including Baloch Rights Council’s Abdul Wahab Baloch, Awami Jamhooria Mahaz’s Khurram Ali Nayer and National Student Federation’s Fatima Zaidi.
Baloch Human Rights Organization’s activists addressed the participants and said that the incident of enforced disappearances in Balochistan instead of ending, getting intensity and increasing. From last one decade, the chain of enforced disappearance of youths is continued but now the minors are also not safe from this policy. They said that the ground realities show that the use of force to counter the insurgency in Balochistan has made it more complicated. Thousands of people are forcefully disappeared and much more were deprived of their means of earning and thousands of people were compelled to migrate. The increasing incidents of abduction of innocent people by security forces are self-evident that the state’s institutions instead of ending this policy, intensifying it.
On October 28, 2017, 8 young students including 2 minors were abducted along with Information Secretary of BHRO, Nawaz Atta from Karachi. The ages of abductees are in between 8 to 25 who were living in Karachi for their studies. Abductions of children cannot be justified by any means. There is a judiciary system in Pakistan. If there is any allegation against them, they should be present in court but the law enforcement forces themselves are violating the law.
BHRO’s activists said that the Government of Sindh is silent on the abduction of these students from Karachi. Although the law enforcement agencies are under the jurisdiction of Chief Minister. It is the responsibility of the Chief Minister of Sindh to take steps for the safe recovery of all the students including Nawaz Atta Baloch.
They further added that on November 15, 2017, rangers and secret agents of intelligence agencies abducted Baloch Student Organization Azad’s General Secretary Sanaullah Baloch and 2 other Central Committee member of BSO-A, Hassam and Naseer Ahmed and a member of Baloch National Movement, Rafeeq Baloch from University Road Mosumiyat, Karachi. They are not presented in any court or charged with any allegations nor are they giving any information about their whereabouts to their family members. There were no cases against any of them nor they were wanted for any alleged illegal activity. If they are wanted for any illegal activity, the forces should present them in court and charge them. Abducting and disappearing the students and political leaders in this way is the violation of state’s constitution and UN Charter.
They further said that it is a proven reality that use of violence will never bring a solution to any problem but complicates it. If the Government and state institutions are serious in resolving the issue of Balochistan and human rights violations then release all the abductees and end military operation in Balochistan. International institutions should take immediate actions to end this chain of enforced disappearances and fulfil their responsibility on this serious issue.
