Balochistan: Military tortured family members of exiled HR activist

Asadullah, the younger brother of Lateef Johar, an exiled human rights activist and deputy coordinator of our organization was called to the FC (Frontier Corps) camp, located in Gosháng village in Kolwa, Awaran of Balochistan two weeks ago. He was hanged by military men and severely tortured for hours.

It is not the first time that military attacked the family of Johar. In 2015, his mother and sister were tortured by the same force and their houses were burnt to ashes.

Raising the voice against any human rights violations in the society is considered a noble cause across the globe but the situation in Pakistan speak to the contrary. To keep us quiet, the perpetrators do not need to torture our families, instead stop human rights violations and respect civilians’ rights.

We condemn this unlawful action of the military and urge the human rights bodies to raise the issue with Pakistan as it is a member of United Nations Human Rights Council and a state party of human rights conventions. A state party must respect the treaties and conventions it has signed. In case of failure to respect those commitments,  to question the eligibility of a state party.

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.