BHRC condemns Pakistan's reprisal against families of Baloch dissidents
Jul 02, 2020
London [UK], July 2 : The Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC) has strongly condemned Pakistan's act of reprisal against the families of Baloch dissidents, saying it is quite concerning that the state establishment is using every possible instance to justify enforced disappearances.
"It is quite concerning that the state establishment of Pakistan is using every possible instance to justify enforced disappearances, although, the United Nations clearly states that enforced disappearances cannot be justified under any circumstances either in peace or war," the BHRC in a statement.
Following the June 29 Karachi stock exchange building attack, the security forces of Pakistan have raided the houses of those insurgents involved in the attack on Monday.
The forces have raided the house of Tasleem in Dasht, Kech and have forcibly disappeared his three brothers namely Mehboob, Nadeem and Niaz, whereas, Waheed and Abdul, brothers of another attacker Salman Hammal were abducted from their family home in Mand, Balochistan, BHRC said citing sources.
In Balochistan, the BHRC said that the military agencies act as judge, jury and prosecutor while dealing with Baloch dissidents, despite repeated demands by the families of victims of enforced disappearances to disclose the fate of the victims and present them before the court as advised by the law of the country.
"This is contradictory to the state's approach towards the Taliban that it regards as its strategic assets and who in most cases enjoy the legal cover and are trialled in the court of law," the statement read.
The BHRC said that following the attack on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), various media personnel, analysts and social media users linked to the powerful military establishment of Pakistan, interconnected the KSE attackers with the list of victims of enforced disappearances drafted by the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons and tabled in the National Assembly of Pakistan by Sardar Akhtar Mengal of Balochistan National Party.
"These developments reflect that the security forces of Pakistan and its clandestine agencies are not willing to resolve the prevalent human rights and humanitarian problems in Balochistan, including enforced disappearances in a peaceful manner, rather continue using brute military force to silence every dissent and evade accountability for the crimes against humanity in Balochistan," the statement read.
The BHRC said that Pakistan must not be allowed to operate to the exclusion of international law and justify enforced disappearances under the pretext of exercising state sovereignty.
