Baloch rights activist counters Pakistani propaganda against forcibly disappeared individuals
Mar 25, 2024
Quetta [Pakistan], March 25 : Prominent Baloch rights leader Sammi Deen Baloch on has countered the blame of forcibly disappeared individuals joining the armed rebellion against the Pakistani administration.
In a video message, Sammi narrated that the Pakistani administration has employed its entire resources to prove that all the forcibly disappeared individuals are terrorists and are involved in anti-Pakistan activities.
Sammi Deen Baloch said, "The demand for the recovery of the missing persons in Balochistan is gaining international support and attention. In retaliation, on one side, the Pakistani administration has started its campaign to justify the brutalities their representatives inflict upon us. And on the other hand, it is using its entire machinery to falsify and demean the entire issue of enforced disappearances."
Baloch further said that the popular fake propaganda made by them is that all the forcibly disappeared people are not victims but are orchestrating anti-Pakistan activities in the hilly areas of Pakistan.
https://twitter.com/SammiBaluch/status/1771562264325161211
Countering the fake propaganda, Sammi Deen Baloch stated, "In Balochistan, none of the abducted individuals are kidnapped from deserted locations. They are generally abducted from their own houses, offices, markets, and educational institutions. Most of the time, these individuals are abducted in front of their family members."
Hence, there are eyewitnesses present for each abduction. In some cases, there are also pieces of evidence in the form of CCTC footage, she added.
She further questioned that if all the abducted Balochis are terrorists, then who are the ones who are released by the Pakistani army?
"It happens rarely, but sometimes, some of these individuals are released. The majority of them are subjected to mental and physical torture. The family of many abductees are still protesting, and sometimes the lucky ones who return give statements of being captured and tortured in secret cells of the Army. The only question here is that, if all abducted Balochis are terrorists then who are the ones who the Army releases? And why does the media and administration don't ask these people where were they? Does it not mean that these people have returned from jail cells?" she added.
Elaborating on the atrocities inflicted upon the Baloch communities, she stressed that every individual in Balochistan has either seen or suffered abduction, be it a kid, a youngster, an old citizen, anyone from the working class, or a student.
"Most of these abducted individuals remain missing and the ones who fatefully return one day are barely alive. The ones who come back mostly spend their entire lives adjusting to their normal lives or flee from the country once and for all. Barely a handful of these tortured individuals join the armed rebellions. There are only two cases where an abducted individual was involved in such an armed protest," she said.
Sammi Deen Baloch said that the entire fake propaganda machinery is now trying to prove that all the forcibly disappeared people are terrorists, "building their entire argument just upon these two cases."
"The information about abductions and the release of both of these cases is available in the public domain. However, there is no evidence of when, where, or why these individuals joined armed resistance after they were subjected to inhumane torture. It would have been beneficial if the entire mechanism of the Pakistan Army, had worked for the betterment of the Baloch people and improved their policies and their laws," she said.
Furthermore, she stressed that the media has kept our issues in the dark.
Referring to the long march organised by prominent leader Mahrang Baloch in December last year, Sammi Deen Baloch stated, "When we had come to Islamabad for talks, you were arresting us and putting us in jails, In a way, this proves that you are not interested in a civilised way of conflict resolution and don't want to talk to peaceful people, instead, you will only talk with the people who take up arms. And then when you get attacked, you blame everything on the forcibly disappeared people, calling them terrorists."
Blaming them for the problems, Sammi Deen Baloch said, "I think you fail to understand that all these problems were created by you. Moreover, you cannot deny everything with the help of fake propaganda. Ultimately, you need to improve your policies and laws."