Pakistan takes to kidnappings on an industrial scale after Shari Baloch’s suicide bombing

By Rahul Kumar

New Delhi, June 7: The Baloch National Movement (BNM), which seeks complete independence of Balochistan from Pakistan, has alleged that Pakistani security forces are kidnapping Baloch people from across the country, including Karachi, Rawalpindi, Awaran, Panjgoor and Lasbela.

In an online press conference on Monday evening, BNM said: "The new trend is that 'enforced disappearances' of the Baloch people are happening from all walks of life, be it government officials, students, labourers or women. We find that students are being kidnapped in large numbers."

The BNM leaders alleged that after the 'Fidayeen' attack by Shari Baloch at Karachi University, there has been a rapid surge in enforced disappearances of Balochs across Pakistani cities.

The nationalist group also released a report on the human rights situation in Balochistan for May 2022.

Giving examples of women being kidnapped, Nazir Noor, the Human Rights Secretary of BNM, said: "Habiba Pirjan and Zaliya Binte Mohammed were both arrested from Karachi on the basis of false information given to the military authorities that they wanted to carry out a suicide attack just like Shari Baloch."

The BNM activists said that Zaliya was arrested and during detention an allegation that she is a suicide bomber was levelled against her.

"Pakistan's airport security issued a fake threat alert to all airports with pictures of her, declaring Zalia a potential fugitive suicide bomber," said the activists at the press conference.

Talking about the second Baloch woman, the BNM activists said Abiba was working as a labourer in Karachi where she had migrated along with her children to escape her drunken husband. She has been kidnapped and her whereabouts are not known.

The BNM leaders said Pakistan's intelligence agencies are carrying out enforced disappearances on the basis of baseless information and mere suspicion.

"Now a handful of people are passing on false information to Pakistani intelligence in order to settle personal grudges with ordinary Balochs and their families," they added.

The Baloch leaders said: "In just May this year, 61 Balochs were forcibly disappeared by Pakistan's armed forces. Twenty-two of them were released after being brutally tortured, while 39 are still missing."

Noor added that from Karachi alone, 20 Baloch were kidnapped by the Pakistani army. The other places where the Baloch were made victims of enforced disappearances were Awaran where seven people were kidnapped while in Lasbela six had been kidnapped. He added that people were also picked up from Khuzdar, Noshki, Shad and many other places.

The press conference also highlighted that dead bodies are still being found strewn across the country. Five dead bodies were found in May--two in Kohlu, one in Panjgur, one in Lasbela, and one in Sindh's Hyderabad.

The body in Hyderabad was identified as that of Imam Bakhsh, a sympathiser and supporter of the Baloch liberation movement.

BNM's Information Secretary Qazi Rehan said: "The Pakistani Air Force and the Army have been attacking civilian areas. Separately, the forces are kidnapping our people in most cases as well as arresting them in certain others. Pakistan should be made accountable for the human rights violations of the Baloch people."

India Narrative had earlier written how Pakistan began to target Baloch women after the sensational Shari Baloch suicide bombing in April which killed three Chinese teachers of the Confucius Institute and one Pakistani driver. The bombing forced Beijing to recall all Chinese teachers of the Confucius Institute from Pakistan.

Many Baloch activists have been saying that since then Pakistan has upped surveillance against the Baloch and has been kidnapping Baloch women on suspicion of suicide bombing.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--indianarrative

( 616 Words)

2022-06-07-19:30:04
Source: IANS