Home Premium Bygwaahin Baloch: A never-ending tale of enforced disappearances

Bygwaahin Baloch: A never-ending tale of enforced disappearances

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NEW DELHI: A list released in the first week of April by the Deputy Commissioner of Kohlu district in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, had the names of 22,600 missing persons including over 348 from the same district. The numbers are staggering but the issue has plagued Pakistan’s poorest province for over two decades with little hope for the disappeared.

Combined with over seven decades of state negligence and generational exploitation by Islamabad and Rawalpindi, it has triggered local resistance in the form of a continuous nationalist struggle – currently in its fourth phase since 2006. Allegations of grave violations of human rights (actively and covertly) perpetrated on the Baloch population by “state agencies” have been accompanied by political suppression, enforced disappearances, and ultimately mass graves. The term Bygwaahin Baloch refers to these forcefully disappeared Baloch people whose fate remains unknown and their families have no access to justice.

Former prime minister Imran Khan had promised to resolve the issue of enforced disappearances if voted to power. But despite becoming prime minister in 2018, the number of enforced disappearances showed a horrifying upward trend. In 2020, citing inaction regarding the same, the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) withdrew support to Khan’s coalition.

Two Decades and Counting

Enforced disappearances date back at least to the 1990s but accelerated under the watch of then military dictator Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who used the umbrella provided by America’s “Global war on terror” in 2001, to go after real and perceived enemies in Balochistan. Even today, it’s not clear how many Baloch have disappeared. Government sources put their number at under 100, but Baloch human rights and other groups say 18,000 Baloch people have “disappeared” and another 1000 have been extra-judicially killed. The most recent official figures have been listed at 22,600, as aforementioned.

It must be noted here that the cases of enforced disappearances are handled by the Commission for Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, which was set up under the Federal Ministry of Interior in 2011. Since October 2021, it has received only 8,154 cases from across the country, of which over 5,924 have been disposed off and 2,267 are still pending. However, as one reads through the case details and operating procedures of the Commission, it raises disturbing issues.

First, the Commission is under the Ministry of the Interior, which raises apprehensions regarding the autonomy it enjoys. Second, under the “comprehensive list indicating the status of cases received from the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances”, the majority of cases categorised as “disposed off” are accompanied by the declaration “Not a case of enforced disappearance.” It then cites various reasons for that, ranging from the inability of complainants to produce enough witnesses, to incomplete addresses, alleged “non-cooperative” behaviour by complainants, their failure to identify specific security agencies as the main accused while registering their complaints, as well as the involvement of non-state actors (criminal gangs, etc.).

The operating procedure of the Commission does not provide for any security to complainants during the course of the case investigation. In such a situation, their inability to name agencies suspected of abducting their kin suggests fear of retribution. For instance, the reasons cited for closing the case of one Ali Azghar Bangulzai who was allegedly abducted in 2009, went thus: “The Commission recorded statement of a retired Brigadier, the then In-charge of intelligence affairs at Quetta who denied apprehension or custody of Ali Asghar Bangulzai. Similar statement was also advanced by another Senior Officer of Pak Army. In view of denial at such a high level, the case does not appear to be that of enforced disappearance.”

Third, the form to be filled by the complainants for registering the case with the Commission, apart from asking for relevant physical details for identification, specifically asks for their association with specific organizations (religious, sectarian, or militant) – validating the link between the nationalist movement in Balochistan and instances of enforced disappearances, and hence by extension, an obvious involvement of the state agencies. It needs to be mentioned here that state agencies are also accused of using criminal elements to abduct and kill people. It is notable that despite the large number of those disappeared, only a few cases have been registered. No state agency or any actor linked to them has ever been convicted.

While the Supreme Court of Pakistan has been actively involved in looking into the matter for over a decade now, there’s no visible impact on the ground. The apex court had expressed concern over accusations of kidnapping and abduction levelled against the Frontier Corps, and the recovery of mutilated bodies from across Balochistan between 2008-2012.

Interesting to note that the commission mentioned earlier was established after a previous SC order. Unfortunately, it has failed to fulfil its mandate, which led a UN working group in 2020 to suggest it be wound up. There are also reports that these human rights violations are being given legal cover.

Despite growing international concern, the plight of the Baloch disappeared, and their families has no resolution. Every year the numbers of the bygwaahin keep rising. Despite the judiciary’s efforts, the combined interests of the military intelligence establishment and the political class — to preserve and protect their stakes in Balochistan’s strategic location and mineral wealth – have triumphed.

The author was a Research Assistant at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies and her area of interest is internal security with the focus on Left Wing Extremism. Views are personal.

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