Baloch Human Rights Organization’s members during a press conference, held in Karachi Press Club showed their concerns on non-recovery of more than one dozens members of same family, abducted by forces during a military operation before 6 years on February 18, 2011 from Tootak, district Khuzdar. BHRO’s activists said that on February 18, 2011, forces abducted more than one dozen youth and elders of Qalandarani family during an operation in Tootak, district Khuzdar. Families of enforced disappeared persons have knocked all the doors of institutions of justice, went to courts and held demonstrations but not a single institution heard them. It is very painful that the federal and provincial governments didn’t consider the problem of missing persons an issue. Such incidents are taking place on daily basis due to the lack of attention of government authorities. It is everyone’s humanitarian responsibility to raise voice for the safe recovery of missing persons, irrespective of any political affiliation. But unfortunately when state authorities themselves don’t pay attention on such serious issues, expectations of people also end.
They added that families of missing person have also filed cases in Supreme Court but due to poor judiciary system no one has been recovered so far. Despite of presence of institutions of justice, jails and administration, personnel of secret agencies abducts people and don’t allow them to hire lawyers nor they were allowed to meet with their families. This ruthful behavior of secret agencies is tragic.
It is very painful for the families of the missing persons that in 2013, mass graves were also discovered from the same area of Tootak. Three of the recovered corpses were identified on the first day. They belong to district Awaran. The next day forces surrounded the mass graves and neither media nor local residents were allowed to visit the place. Recovery of these unidentified corpses has become the cause of mental torture for the families of missing persons. These incidents are not limited to any specific area or family rather they are taking place in entire Balochistan continuously. Media blackout and apathy of authorities have made the issue of missing persons more complicated.
BHRO have received more than 1800 cases of abduction in last year only which is enough to understand the seriousness of the situation of human rights in Balochistan. If someone is guilty he should be present in front of the court, trailed and punish as per rule of the law but in Balochistan, a series of enforced disappearances and illegal detention is continuing and if it is not stopped, people will lose their expectations from the institutions of justice.
We appeal on the behalf of this press conference that government should take steps to present missing persons in front of court.
