Rights group condemns killing of Baloch political refugee Razzaq Mandai in Afghanistan
Jan 22, 2022
London [UK], January 23 : The International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (IVBMP), a collective representing family members of Balochistan's forcibly disappeared, has strongly condemned the killing of Razzaq Mandai, a Baloch political refugee, in Afghanistan.
In a statement to the media, IVBMP said, "We are aware of his case. He fled Balochistan to save his life. He was facing life threats because of his political struggle against Pakistani oppression in Balochistan."
"He was also registered with the UN Refugee Agency in Afghanistan because he wanted the UN to transfer him to a third country so that the Pakistani intelligence agencies and their proxies would not be able to easily harm him," IVBMP added.
The Baloch group rejected the lies propagated by Pakistan Army-sponsored journalists and social media figures, who have falsely claimed that Razzaq was a senior commander of an armed group. "In fact, he was a refugee who went to Afghanistan because he could not flee to a third and safer country from Balochistan."
Exposing the lies of Pakistani sources, the IVBMP said that they have misspelt his surname as "Mandali" which shows that instead of finding the truth and independent reporting, Pakistani media and journalists publish the fabricated propagandas of the Pakistani intelligence agencies.
"According to our information, Razzaq was murdered in Afghanistan's capital Kabul by hired guns of Pakistani intelligence agencies. After committing this crime the Pakistani intelligence agencies ran fake news in their media outlets," asserted IVBMP.
They said that at the time of issuing this statement on January 22, the whereabouts of his dead body are still unknown and volunteers in Afghanistan are still trying to locate his dead body.
The Baloch group further maintained, "if people who knew Razzaq Mandai and were unaware that he has been murdered until they saw the news and pictures of his dead body in Pakistani media, then it only requires common sense to understand that the real perpetrators are Pakistani intelligence agencies. Pakistani state agencies have committed a crime and murdered a Baloch political refugee on Afghan soil."
The International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons also urged the UN Refugee Agency and international humanitarian organisations to take immediate and practical steps for the protection of Baloch refugees in Afghanistan and transfer them to a safe third country.
IVBMP said that it is the responsibility of international humanitarian organisations to save Baloch refugees in Afghanistan and expose Pakistan's systematic killing of Baloch refugees outside Balochistan.
