Human Rights Council of Balochistan call upon Police CTD to withdraw the fake FIR registered against Abdul Hafeez Baloch and release him immediately. Such attempts against Baloch student would only contribute in already worsened situation of lawlessness and human rights violations in Balochistan.
Abdul Hafeez Baloch is a final year student of M. Phil in Physics in Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad. In the last week of January 2022, he returned to his home town Khuzdar to visit his family. In his part time, he teaches children in an educational institution in Khuzdar. In the evening of February 8, Abdul Hafeez was teaching his students in the academy when armed masked men picked him up from the classroom in front of students. A complain was lodged in the City Police Station Khuzdar regarding his involuntary disappearance about which the police assured the family that they have initiated an investigation.
Meanwhile in the Islamabad, Abdul Hafeez’s fellow students organized a range of protests and demonstrations. The Baloch Students Council Islamabad set up a protest camp for his safe return where the minister of Human Rights, Ms Shireen Mazari also visited and assured her cooperation for safe return of Abdul Hafeez. However, on March 30, Abdul Hafeez resurfaced in police custody in Dera Murad Jamali. Moreover, a fake FIR dated March 15, 2022 was also filed against Abdul Hafeez by Police CTD, Naseerabad claiming that he was arrested from Goth Mohammad Mittal Magsi area of Jafarabad with explosives in his possession.
Human Rights Council believes that it is a heinous attempt to bare students from education and part of larger vicious campaign against Baloch students in Pakistan. We call upon the authorities to impartially investigate the content of the FIR including the police officers named in the FIR. We demand the Police CTD to drop all the fake charges against Abdul Hafeez and release him immediately.
