Balochistan: 42 disappeared, 15 killed in January

Human Rights Council of Balochistan has received partial details of 42 cases of enforced disappearance and 15 cases of killing in seven out of thirty-two districts of Balochistan during the month of January 2023.

Disappearances:

Twenty-seven out of 42 disappeared people are students, who are one of the primary targets of the security forces for years. 39 persons among the disappeared ones were picked up by soldiers of Frontier Corps, the FC, two were abducted by the Counter Terrorism Department of Police, the CTD while one person was abducted by armed men, allegedly called Death Squads, the criminal groups serve as a proxy of the security forces to counter a nationalist insurgency in the region. However, sixteen were later released while the whereabouts of 26 people remained unknown at the time of writing this report.

On 01 January, FC soldiers abducted nine persons from different areas of Quetta, Kech, and Awaran districts of Balochistan. Two students, Zohaib Raisani and Noor Ahmed Muhammad Hasni were abducted from their room at Universal Complex Quetta at 1:30 pm. Liaqat Sakhi Dad and Bakhtiar Shafi Muhammad were abducted from Kech. Four persons, Khaliq Dad Niaz Mohammad, Akbar Guldad, Nazir Ahmed Akbar, and Bahar Mahmood, were abducted in the Nokjo area of Mashkay, Awaran. Abdul Haq Jangi Khan of the Parwar area of Mashkay was summoned to the Army Camp of Khandri and abducted and disappeared.

On 02 January, Pakistani security forces summoned Abdul Ghafoor son of Abdullah, a resident of Malar, to the Malar army camp. He was detained and disappeared.

On 04 January, a singer of the Balochi language, Sohail Ahmad Bijjar, a resident of Bog, Kech was abducted and disappeared by Pakistani forces for the second time. He was disappeared and tortured by security in 2017.

On 06 January, forces raided a house in the Kalri area of Gichk district Panjgur and abducted and disappeared Jangian Mazar along with his four sons, Waheed, Nasir, Saber, and Naseeb Jangian and Manzoor Dad Karim.  Shams Saleh was abducted and disappeared from Turbat, Kech. Others were released the next day while there is no news of Manzoor Dad Karim.

On 07 January, FC soldiers abducted and disappeared Bilal Ghafoor and Umer Dad Muhammad from their homes in the Gomazi area of Kech.

On 10 January, soldiers of the Counter-Terrorism Department broke into a house in Gazi, district Sibi and abducted and disappeared Raza Muhammad son of Sher Muhammad. He was beaten, blindfolded, and dragged to military vehicles in front of family members and has been missing since then.

On January 13, forces abducted Wazir Ahmed Ali, a resident of Kolwah, district Awaran from Hub Chowki, while Bijjar and Noroz, two brothers were abducted during a raid on their house in Hozai, Mand, district Kech. Bijjar was later released while the whereabouts of Noroz remained unknown.

On 15 January, FC soldiers abducted and disappeared Muhammad Essa and Shabir in Mashkay, Awaran.

On 16 January, the forces disappeared Subhan Qaisrani and Masood Rehman Qaisrani from Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan.

On 18 January, FC soldiers abducted and disappeared Adnan Jamaldini and Naqeeb Jamaldini from Ahmadwal’s military check-post when they were going from Dalbandin to Nushki.

On 19 January, Shandar Dilawar was abducted and disappeared by the forces from Sibi.  Nasrullah son of Haji Huzoor Bakhsh Mengal was forcibly disappeared by armed men in the Mangochar area of Mastung.

On 20 January, Pakistani forces raided A-one city in Quetta around 9 pm and abducted three Baloch students, Kiya Muhammad Ashraf, Atif Muhammad Fazal, and Sher Khan Sumar. Atif and Sher Khan were later released.

On 21 January, a student, Junaid Sazbal, a resident of Keelkore, Balgetar was abducted by FC soldiers from Salalah Bazar Turbat, while CTD soldiers abducted a journalist, Hamad Ali from the Industrial area of Quetta.

On 26 January, forces disappeared Salim Muhammad Karim, a driver by profession from the Yousuf Goth area of Karachi whereas, Nasrullah, son of Haji Huzoor Bakhsh Mengal was forcibly disappeared by armed men from the Mangochar area of Mastung.

On 27 January, forces disappeared a student, Nasibullah Bakhtawar Shahwani from Mastung.

Killings:

Fifteen people were reportedly killed in Balochistan during the month of January. Bodies of four previously missing persons were found dumped in different parts of Balochistan during the month.

In Khuzdar, the mutilated body of Mohammad Azam Jarozai was found on 14 January 2023 and the body of Abdul Wahid was found on 25 January. The body of Sadullah Khan Mohammad was found in Qalat, on 26 January, and the body of Sarang Mari was found in Quetta, on 27 January. They went missing long before their bodies were found.

FC soldiers killed four persons during a military operation in Kech and Gwadar districts on 18 January.

On 04 January, armed men in Dera Murad Jamali killed two persons, a man, and a woman.

On 18 January, Babu Khan son of Allah Rukhia was killed in the Absar area of Turbat. BLA, an armed nationalist group claimed responsibility for the murder in a statement saying that Babu Khan was working as an informant for Pakistan Army.

Human Rights Council of Balochistan (Hakkpaan) is a non-profit and non-partisan human rights group based in Balochistan and Sweden. It collects reports from Balochistan, a region Pakistan government does not allow any media and HR group to visit and report. Human rights violations in Balochistan is not a new phenomenon, but it got its worst levels after the Military coup de tat of Pakistan in 1999. Thousands of Baloch have been reported missing, hundreds killed in fake encounters and so-called kill and dump policy of the military. HRCB collects the data from Balochistan itself, through its network of volunteers and supporters, organizes and reports them to the human rights mechanisms of the world.