Balochistan Police’s Counter Terrorism Department claimed to arrest two terrorists from Awaran district of Balochistan on Saturday. In the statement issued to media, CTD claims that the department ceased arms and ammunition in the possession of the alleged terrorists, intended to attack Independence Day celebrations in the province. The identities of alleged terrorists were disclosed as Siraj Ahmed and Hassan Jan.
Given the ill-famed reputation of CTD, Human Rights Council of Balochistan investigate the names and found that both, Siraj Ahmed s/o Wahid Bakhsh and Hassan Jan s/o Rahmat were among the forcibly disappeared persons. Both minors were taken into custody by Army officials on June 11, 2021 and since then remained in incommunicado detention.
According to details, officials in Gishkore Army Camp threatened families of Siraj Ahmed and Hassan Jan to present them in the camp to clear the doubts military had against them. Disobeying the officials would invite military wrath. On June 11, 2021, families brought Siraj Ahmed and Hassan Jan to army camp where soldiers tortured them in front of families before detaining them. The families were sent back with the assurance that they would interrogated and released.
Meanwhile, the army accommodated parents of Siraj Ahmed and Hassan Jan to visit them in the military camps multiple times. However, two days ago, the families were told that Siraj Ahmed and Hassan Jan were sent to Khuzdar for further investigation and it could take six months before they return back.
Siraj is mentally challenged and 15 years old whereas Hassan Jan is 17. CTD false claim to arrest them and framing them in fake charges after two months of their detention furthers the fears of the families of any possible harm to their lives as both families had remain victims of state brutalities in the past. Several members of their families were abducted and later their mutilated bodies were found.
Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) is deeply concerned about the well-being of both minors in the custody of CTD. This year alone, the CTD has killed at least 14 people in Balochistan, 11 of them were identified as missing persons, abducted and disappeared by Law Enforcement Agencies.
We demand a judicial investigation into all the operations of police’s Counter Terrorism department where fake arrests and fake encounters of missing persons seems to be a new pattern.
