Zoom in

Hongkong: Recent killings include that of a journalist and 24 others

It has been reported during the recent weeks that in the province of
Balochistan the mutilated bodies of 25 persons, who had earlier been
abducted by persons in plain clothes, have been found. The deceased
person's family members claim that these people were abducted by
personnel of the Frontier Corp (FC) and intelligence agencies. Some of
them were arrested in the presence of police but despite this, in many
cases the police refused to lodge the First Information Report (FIR)
because of the involvement of state intelligence agencies.

In Balochistan there is a strong movement for autonomy by the people
who want their share of the province's natural resources. They also
want a say in local governance which has never been allowed by any
government. The Pakistan Army has conducted five operations to control
the province through the construction of Cantonments and by the use of
aerial bombardments. During the regime of the former military ruler,
General Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistan army conducted operations
against the nationalist leaders for almost seven years. In 2008 the
civilian government called off army operations but handed over the
responsibility for law and order to the FC, a Para-military
organization. This effectively made the police subordinate to the FC
who has the support and assistance of the army.

On November 18, on the eve of the Muslim Eid festival, the mutilated
body of a young journalist, Mr. Abdul Hameed Hayatan, alias Lala
Hameed, was found beside the River Sami in Turbat, Balochistan. He had
been abducted from the south western port city of Gawadar on October
25. Reporters without Borders (RSF) while condemning his extrajudicial
killing said that his reporting had been critical of the Pakistani
authorities and that this, and his support for the Baloch national
movement were almost certainly the motive for his abduction and
murder. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists said in a press
release that Lala Hameed was on his way to Gawadar on a motorcycle
with a friend after attending the wedding party of a relative in Dasht
(Bairy) when he was kidnapped. Both were allegedly arrested at a
security forces check point in Karwaat region near Gawader and since
then had been missing. Lala Hameed's friends and family members
believe that they were arrested and disappeared by security agencies.

On the occasion of the Eid festival six more bodies were found
abandoned in various parts of the province. Among them there were two
persons who were missing after their abduction, allegedly by the
intelligence agencies in the presence of the FC. Among the bodies were
those of Samiullah Mengal, a student, and Hamid Ismail Baloch, a
Baloch activist. In the pocket of one of the men a note was found
saying that this was the Eid festival gift to the families of the
deceased.

On November 23, the mutilated bodies of five unknown persons were
found from a dried river bed leading down from the Yaroo and Katwal of
Bostan mountain areas. It is thought that the persons had been killed
two to three months earlier and dumped in the river.

Among the latest victims of the ongoing violence are Faqir Mohammad
Baloch and Zahoor Baloch, whose bodies were discovered in the district
of Mastung on October 21, 2010. Faqir Mohammad Baloch, a poet and
member of the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons, was abducted on
September 23. Zahoor Baloch, a member of the Baloch Student
Organization-Azad was abducted on August 23. According to media
reports, both received a single bullet wound to the head at point
blank range and their bodies showed signs of torture.

Other recent victims of the violence include Mir Nooruddin Mengal, a
member of the Balochistan National Party's (BNP-M) Central Executive
Committee who was shot dead by unidentified men near his home in
Gharebabad, near Kalat Bazar on October 13. Yasin Baloch, a member of
Voice of Baloch Missing Persons and brother of Mujeeb Baloch, senior
member of BSO-Azad, who had also been abducted, was shot by
unidentified gunmen near Roshare Kalat on October 10. The victims'
relatives and activists openly accuse the Pakistani security forces
and intelligence agencies of carrying out these extrajudicial
killings.

Mr. Zaman Marri, (38), a lawyer by profession, was abducted on August
19, 2010 near his law office on Jinnah Road, Quetta, the capital of
Balochistan province, while he was on his way home to Killi Kamaloo,
in the outskirts of Quetta. On September 5, Zaman Marri's
bullet-riddled body was found in the Ghuncha Dhori area of Mastung
city, 40 kilometers away from Quetta city. His body was so badly
mutilated it could not be immediately identified.

Mr. Zaman Marri was also pursuing a case on behalf of his cousin, Mr.
Ali Ahmed Marri alias Alliya Marri, who was arrested by plain clothed
persons on April 7 along with three friends, Kamal Khan Marri, Lala
Marri and Lal Mohammd Marri. On September 11, Alliya Marri's mutilated
body was found in the same area where Zaman Marri's body was found.

On October 18 a young boy, Master Abdul Majeed, (14), son of Haji
Mohammad Ramzan Zehri, a well known trader, was abducted, allegedly by
the Frontier Corps, as claimed by his family, and on October 24 his
body was found in Koshak river at Khuzdar district. There were bullet
wounds on his head and chest. He was an activist of the Baloch Student
Organisation Azad and was a student in class eight.

Another student, Master Mohammad Khan Zohaib, (14), also an activist
of Baloch Student Organisation Azad, was abducted in July by plain
clothed persons riding in a black coloured Sarf pickup, which is
generally used for abductions by the state intelligence agencies. His
bullet riddled body was found In Khuzdar, Balochistan province, on
October 20. His family members claim that he was arrested by personnel
from the FC for having links with militants who are fighting for the
greater autonomy of the province.

On September 23, the bullet riddled body of the missing Baloch lawyer
Ali Sher Kurd was found in Khuzdar district. Kurd was reportedly
abducted by Pakistani intelligenge agents three days before. His neck
was broken and his body showed marks of torture.

Maula Baksh Dashti, a key figure in the Balochistan National Party
and a former district Nazim (Chief Official) of Kech (Turbat) District
was shot dead on July 11, by unidentified gunmen in his native
district.

Former Senator Habib Jalib Baloch, Secretary General of the
Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) was assassinated in the
Parkaniabad area of Quetta on July 14, by three gunmen on a motorbike.
He suffered seven bullets to the neck and chest and prior to his death
had been receiving threats.

On July 20, a leading member of the BNP-M, Liaqat Mengal, was shot
dead, also by three gunmen on a motorbike near his house in the Kalat
district of Balochistan.

The bullet riddled bodies of two cousins, student Ashfaq Ahmed
Mullahzai and Muhmmad Farooq Mengal, were recovered in Quetta on July
26, in the Kili Qambrani area. Their relatives claim they had been
abducted in May 2010.

The extrajudicial killings started in Balochistan after the warning
from the federal minister of interior to the nationalists and
militants that the government will not tolerate anymore anti state
activism and would take any action they deemed necessary.

The media of Balochistan claims that not a single day goes by without
disappearances or the dumping of bodies of missing persons. The same
type of warning was given by General Musharraf to the leaders of the
nationalists that they would be hit in such a way that they could not
expect. After his warning the main leader of the Baloch nationalist
movement, Sardar Akbar Khan Bugti, was killed in an aerial bombardment
and a strong military operation was conducted in which planes of the
Pakistan Air Force and army gunship helicopters were used.

It is felt that the extrajudicial killings are being carried out to
provoke militancy in the province which would justify a severe
response by the armed forces.

The Government must take immediate steps to stop the large scale
assassinations and disappearances taking place in Balochistan.
Immediate steps must be taken to inquire into the killings and
lawlessness prevailing in this area. The government must take
extraordinary steps to stop this carnage. United Nations human rights
agencies should also regard the situation in Balochistan as an
exceptional one and must work towards getting the situation under
control. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial
killings should seek an opportunity to visit the region and to inquire
into the matter. Local and international human rights organizations
should demand immediate action from the government and the
international community to deal with this extraordinary situation.