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Balochistan is Pakistanís largest province, comprising approximately 43 percent of the countryís total land area. It is rich in mineral resources and is the second major supplier of natural gas in an energy-starved Pakistan. Control over these resources and the extent of provincial autonomy have long remained contentious issues. But a larger issue has remained the exclusion of the Baloch people from the decision making regarding how their affairs are governed and persistence of the state with the use of force to address questions that are essentially political in nature.
Balochistan stands out for more than one reason even in the appalling human rights situation across Pakistan today. The stateís security apparatus in the province has been accused of serious human rights violations. By far the largest number of enforced disappearances in any province of the country has been reported from Balochistan. In a recent aggravation, bodies of missing persons have started turning up in the province with increasing frequency. The right to life and freedom from arbitrary detention are violated with impunity. Violent streaks of sectarianism, extrem ism, nationalism and separatism have all played a part. An armed insurgency is underway in the province. Bands of extremists have a free hand in intimidating and killing people. Targeted killings and kidnappings for ransom are pervasive. Members of religious minority communities are at greater risk and have been forced to migrate to other parts of the country and abroad. Journalists and hum an rig hts defenders have been targeted for highlighting violations of rights. The state accuses other countries of seeking to destabilise Pakistan by interfering in Balochistan. Even if such a role is
there, it has been made possible because the situation was volatile enough to begin with. Besides demands such as the release of the missing persons, the people in Balochistan also have the same demands and yearn for the same rights as the people elsewhere in Pakistan. They demand realisation of their economic, social, cultural and political rights, in particular access to healthcare, education and work opportunities, building and improvement of basic infrastructure, and a say in matters that affect their life, including their rights over natural resources. Deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Balochistan, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) organised a fact- finding mission to the province from May 4 to 7,
Earlier, HRCP had conducted detailed fact- finding missions to Balochistan in 2005 and 2009. In October 2009, the entire Executive Council of HRCP spent one week in Balochistan, visiting various parts of the province to see firsthand the human rights situation as well as to meet senior government officials and representatives of the people. At the conclusion of the 2009 mission, HRCP had suggested the following recommendations with a view to improve the situation. These remain as relevant and direly needed today as they were in 2009.
- There is an urgency to create a climate of confidence and trust in Balochistan so that wider consultation with all stakeholders becomes possible. As a first step towards confidence- building, demilitarisation of the province is essential.
- There is a need to restructure laws related to civil armed forces and define their role and the
Introduction
substance of reform needs to be debated in parliament.
- In the long run, all political forces of the province should be brought into the political mainstream.
- The people of Balochistan need to be assured that they will have full authority to decide their affairs including the management and control of the provinceís natural resources.
- Baloch peopleís overriding concerns about missing persons and displaced people should be addressed and decision-making powers restored to civilian, elected representatives of the people. On the issue of disappearances there is need to set up a high-level commission with powers to investigate cases of disappearance, examine witnesses and summon any state functionary who has had anything to do with these matters.
- All those illegally held must be freed and compensated. Political prisoners need to be released and perpetrators of hum an rig hts violations brought to justice.
- There is a need to raise awareness among the people outside Balochistan on what is going on in the province.
- There is a need to set up industrial zones in Quetta and other urban centres of the province where the young people could use their potential and get employment.
- Civil society needs to increase its activities in Balochistan to monitor the human rights situation and democratic development and mainstream the concerns of the Balochistan people.
- National mediaís coverage of Balochistan is sketchy and inadequate; it needs to allocate more print space and airtime to the issues confronting Balochistan. The coverage of Balochistan issues needs to be made part of the national coverage.
- The quality of education is quite low in Balochistan and owing to continued violence and subsequent closure of educational institutions the students of Balochistan have suffered in terms of education. In the circumstances, Baloch students
cannot compete with the students of other provinces and need to be given preferential treatment in admission to colleges and universities and in government employment.
- Last, but not the least, actions speak louder than words. The government needs to take practical steps to provide relief to the people of Balochistan, such as providing employment to the youth, increased funds for the p rovincial government, withdrawal of army and paramilitaries from the Baloch territory, release of political prisoners and disappeared persons and constitutional amendments for greater provincial autonomy. In short a political settlement is urgently needed and vital if Balochistan is to be spared any more pain. The May 2011 fact-finding mission by HRCP was also aimed at assessing what changes had taken place in Balochistan since October 2009. Members of the mission visited Khuzdar, Turbat and Quetta and met a wide cross-section of people. They also met government officials, wherever they responded positively to HRCPís requests for meetings.
FC uniform.
Of those who reappeared after prolonged disappearances, most were left at remote places, and could not identify the exact location of their place of detention. This could be because of fear of retaliation for revealing any information regarding their custody by the FC, or because they were detained in such a manner that made it impossible for them to locate these places.
While First Information Reports (FIRs) had been registered with the local police in almost all cases of enforced disappearance, there had been no efforts by the police to investigate the cases. It seemed that the involvement of the state security agencies, particularly the FC, was well known and the police did not take any action despite the cases being brought to their attention. This indicated that there was either an unstated policy not to interfere with actions of the FC or the civil law enforcement authorities themselves feared the military and paramilitary forces. In one particular case, a young man named Abid Saleem was picked up from Chitkar Bazaar in Panjgur on January 23, 2011 together with five other men, who had no connection with him. Everyone present in that part of the bazaar saw uniformed FC personnel together with plainclothesmen take the boys into custody. An FIR was registered on January 26, 2011 with Panjgur Police Station and FC personnel were nominated for the disappearance. This was one of the many cases noted by the mission where FC personnel had been specifically nominated in the FIR on
charges of abducting individuals. However, the mission did not come across even a single case where the police had included the FC personnel in the investigation. Instead of making any efforts to recover the disappeared persons, the police did not even ask any questions of the FC personnel. (See Annexure 4) The mission learnt that at least one of the persons picked up along with Abid Saleem was found alive. He had been shot and severe torture was inflicted on him and he was thrown by the roadside together with the dead body of another person disappeared with him on January 23 from Chitkar Bazaar in Panjgur. His tormentors had apparently thought that he too had died after being shot in the throat. There had been no investigation in this case by the police although an FIR was registered at the time of the disappearance. No medical records were collected, even though, reportedly, the survivor did receive medical treatment. The mission did not meet any person who had returned from enforced disappearance, but from information given by the families of the disappeared with whom they had reportedly been in touch, it appeared that torture during detention was common. The mission noted that the civil authorities in Makran Division were accessible to the people and in almost all cases heard by the mission the families of the victims approached them to brief them on their cases. However, the FC and other intelligence and security agencies involved were totally
Families of missing persons voice their concerns.
inaccessible to the people. The mission was informed that the people distrusted the security forces as much as they feared them.
The people were generally disappointed by the role of the political figures in their area. While they acknowledge that these people were sympathetic and accessible for listening to their grievances, they were completely helpless and had no influence over the military and paramilitary authorities. The people were aggrieved that these political elements lacked the courage to take political initiatives to curb the illegal activities of the FC.
Enforced disappearances have created an acute climate of fear amongst the people of Makran Division, with many families affected by such incidents. These incidents have contributed to the growing alienation of the people from the state and hatred towards the security forces and intelligence agencies under the control of the Pakistan military.
The mission observed that young men between 16 to 25 years of age were being particularly targeted. Many of them were either students or unemployed youth. Some of the incidents indicated random picking up of young men, for example, from picnic spots and markets.
The mission was unable to gain authentic information on the affiliation, or otherwise, of any of the disappeared with any political or armed groups, nor was it in a position to ascertain their political views. It is, nevertheless, a distinct possibility that many of these young persons were targeted because of their political views rather than any legitimate suspicion of their involvement in illegal activities.
Many of those interviewed by the mission had appeared before the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances set up by the government in early 2010. While most of them initially had high expectations of that Commission, its inability to procure the recovery of their missing relatives had given way to disillusionment and disappointment even with the judicial process employed by the Supreme Court.
Some of those who had appeared before the inquiry commission complained of intimidation by the intelligence personnel present at the
hearings. Reportedly, the commission members did not intervene in such instances to reassure or give a sense of security to the family members appearing before it or to discourage the intelligence personnel from such conduct. Relatives of the missing persons complained about the inquiry commissionís expectation that the families would produce witnesses, when neither the commission nor the government had made any arrangements for protection of witnesses. The witnesses themselves and the families of the disappeared feared for the safety of the witnesses and did not want to risk exposing themselves to ìmischief of the agenciesî. They also complained that it was a financial burden for them to appear before the inquiry commission in Quetta and Karachi. The commission had made no arrangements for their travel nor reimbursed the travel cost. Some people had appeared before the commission more than once. They claimed that when the inquiry commission called for statements to be recorded by the local police, the statements were either tampered before being forwarded to the commission or those recording the statement were intimidated or coerced into holding back facts that substantiated allegations against the security agencies. Almost all the people that the mission met who had filed petitions in the Balochistan High Court against incidents of enforced disappearance were
Figures on enforced disappearances in Makran: Jan 1, 2007 ñ May 5, 2011
HRCP figures as on May 5, 2011 District Kech: ........................................................ 9 District Gawadar: ................................................. 7 District Panjgur: .................................................... 6 Total: .................................................................. 22
Official figures obtained by HRCP Total missing reported in 2010 & 2011: ........... 53 Returned: .......................................................... 11 Dead bodies found: .......................................... 22 Still missing: ....................................................... 20
responsible civil authorities.
The mission expressed concern that the blatant use of force by the paramilitary force without any accountability had not received any response from the civilian government in the province. No voice was even raised in the Balochistan Assembly with reference to the incident, in which the civil authorities were direct witnesses to the interventions with the FC at the local and provincial level in an attempt to spare the lives of the five men.
The mission noted that concerns raised by the United Nations, other international forums and human rights organizations had contributed to the pressure on the government to provide information in cases of killing of human rights defenders and other serious violations of human rights. The mission was shown requests sent to the authorities by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Summary or Arbitrary Executions as well as from the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances seeking information on progress in the cases of HRCP activists Siddique Eido and Naeem Sabir. Siddique Eido had become a victim of enforced disappearance in Pasni in December 2010 and his dead body was found from Ormara on April 28, 2011. Naeem Sabir was murdered in a targeted killing in Khuzdar on March 1, 2011.
The mission also received information on targeted killing of non-Baloch in Makran Division. Although still relatively fewer in number, the climate of fear that such killings had created amongst the non-Baloch residents in the region was intense. The mission noted that little had been done to investigate the cases and the tendency to relegate responsibility for these killings to vague, unidentified entities was contributing to a sense of insecurity amongst the targeted population of abadgaars (settlers from other regions of the country). The mission also noted with regret that a few amongst the Baloch nationalist elements tacitly condoned these killings and explained them as a ìnatural reactionî to the oppression in the province.
The mission strongly disagreed with such sentiments and categorically stated that no cause
justified the killing of innocent p eople and considered that anyone involved in such practices was committing a heinous crime and violating all principles of human rights.
C. Governance and law enforcement:
i. Civil-military relations in the province
The mission noted the absence of the political government and the civil authorities from critical areas of decision making. The political government had abdicated its responsibility towards the people and hid behind its own helplessness in the face of domination of the military and intelligence agencies in the decision making process in the province. Several incidents recorded by the mission on enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings and other lawless actions of the security forces depicted the manner in which the political government had failed in its responsibility to protect peopleís rights and fundamental freedoms. The mission found it even more disturbing that the government officials at the higher level did not even attempt to negotiate on behalf of the people, and the political elements had not taken any political initiatives to change the power equation in the province. The civil authorities at the local level were more willing to intervene with the military and paramilitary forces, albeit without much success. The mission noted in particular the complete disregard of the military authorities towards the political government and the civil authorities. There was not even a semblance of following the prescribed rules of governance under a democratic dispensation which made the situation in Balochistan different from that in the other p rovinces. The Makran civil administration was very open in their criticism of their marginalisation by the security apparatus from the law and order crisis. The Commissioner said that they did not even know what the militaryís security imperatives were in Makran Division. He emphasised that there was a security crisis and an insurgency was under way in the province and that this reality could not be ignored. He stressed the need for a civil intelligence network that would be accountable to the civil government, be that
provincial or federal. The mission concluded from the information it received that the civil authorities were not being taken on board and there was no sharing of information by the military authorities, which made administration of law and order by the civil authorities impossible.
The impact on the peop le of a lack of democratic governance was more visible because of the complete inaccessibility of the security forces to the people. The mission noted that the military and intelligence agencies were equally inaccessible for the civil authorities. In the meeting with the Makran Division Commissioner the mission became aware of the frustration of the top local authorities when they were informed that the local commander of the FC became unavailable for any meeting called by the Commissioner and attended only when it suited him, regardless of the importance of the matters on the agenda. The HRCP mission also experienced this inaccessibility when, despite rep eated requests, it was not g ranted an opportunity to meet with the local FC commander in Makran or the FC Inspector General in Quetta. The mission, therefore, had no opportunity to get the FC version regarding the serious allegations against the paramilitary force.
On the other hand, it was observed that despite the knowledge that the civil authorities had no power to help them, people continued to approach the civil authorities and the political elements, including those in the government.
ii. Political viewpoints
The mission met with representatives of political parties and groups that represented a spectrum of political positions and opinion in the province. These groups included:
Balochistan National Party Balochistan National Party-Mengal Balochistan Students Organization Baloch Republican Students Organization (Bramdagh Bugti Group)
Balochistan Students Organization-Azad Jamaat-e-Islami While most of these groups had common
grievances against the state, the alienation from the state was at varying degrees. The student groups, in particular were insistent that the Baloch had no option but to demand independence from Pakistan. Many of these groups did not support use of violence as part of the struggle for independence, but were very clear that the struggle was legitimate and that their right to self- determination should be a part of the political discourse on Balochistan. There were, however, those who felt that violence was justified as part of the struggle for an independent Balochistan in the face of aggression and repression by the security forces in the province. The representatives of one such group that met with the mission were extremely bitter because of what they saw as ìthe injustices by the Punjabî. The demands of the pro-independence groups were: Removal of military and paramilitary forces from the province as a demonstration of a genuine commitment to end ìoccupationî of the province; Eviction of all ìsettlersî from the province, especially the Afghan refugees who had settled in the province permanently with rights of residence bestowed on them to change the demography of the province; Restoration of the traditional Baloch territories, e.g., Jacobabad; Independence of Balochistan as a separate state. Within an independent Balochistan they wished to establish: a. An end to the tribal system; b. Liberal, social democracy; c. A secular state with equality of status for all citizens. The political parties, however, spoke about self- determination more in the context of autonomy. They bitterly complained against the current political government, pointing towards corruption, failure to raise critical issues of military repression in the province and generally about their inability to govern and total subservience to military authority in the province. They insisted that the military had total control of decision making from
the situation in Balochistan
ii. When the media did take up the situation there was a deliberate distortion of the real issues
iii. The regional press and journalists were under threat and feared both the state agencies and the nationalist forces
iv. The regional media was silent on womenís rights issue, particularly on tribal practices that amount to violence against women
Issues related to reparation and compensation for Mirani Dam affectees:
i. Those displaced were still living in camps
ii. Loss of land and livelihoods was yet to be compensated
iii. No protective measures had been taken against future inundation of habitations because of flooding of areas surrounding the dam
iv. There was no support on the issue from the political parties
v. The media had raised the issue, but the government had paid no attention
vi. Amenities had been disconnected in the camps where the affected population continued to live
vii. The Disaster Management Authority had not responded to the demands of the affectees
Visit to Khuzdar
The mission met journalists, representatives of
religious minority communities, workers and families of missing persons in Khuzdar district. HRCP District Core Group Khuzdar arranged a meeting of the mission with a cross-section of the local community, in the context of the March 1, 2011 targeted killing of Naeem Sabir, the HRCP Core Group Coordinator for Khuzdar. The mission began the visit by observing silence and offering prayers for Naeem Sabir at a meeting with members of HRCP District Core Group Khuzdar and later called upon Naeem Sabirís family. No headway had been made in bringing his killers to justice. An organization by the name of Baloch Musallah Difaía Tanzeem had claimed responsibility for his murder. The mission learned that Naeemís brother had also been receiving death threats.
Enforced disappearances and recovery of dead bodies
Journalists told the mission that m any individuals who had disappeared had been picked up from outside courts. People whose relatives had been disappeared sometimes requested the media not to report the news for fear that they might also become victims of enforced disappearance. They said that bodies of the missing persons had started turning up in Khuzdar in June 2010. Dead bodies of three victims of enforced disappearance in the district had been found between May 1 and 5, 2011. The people who had managed to lodge cases of abduction of the missing persons with the police faced difficulties as dead bodies of victims of enforced disappearance were often found in the jurisdiction of a different police station and the police that had registered the case for abduction insisted that the case for the murder of the missing person should be registered with the police station where the dead body had been found. Around 50 bodies of victims of enforced disappearance had been found in Khuzdar in less than a year. All the dead bodies showed at least some signs of torture. The mission was informed that
Women protest in Quetta against enforced disappearances.
the typical modus operandi for enforced disappearance was for the security agenciesí personnel to stop young men on motorbikes at a picket where there would be a vehicle with tainted glasses nearby. If the person/s sitting in that vehicle identified a person as a suspect, he would be bundled into the vehicle. Many victims were picked up from their homes. Initially, the local people protested against such illegal measures by holding rallies but stopped doing that after rallies were fired upon. The mission was informed that an armed vigilante outfit calling itself the Baloch Musallah Difaía Tanzeem was openly threatening the people of murder if they tried to register cases with the police about disappearances or recovery of dead bodies of missing persons. They said the threats were made on the phone by callers who claimed to be Baloch. However, when addressed in the local Balochi or Brahavi languages, they reportedly failed to answer which led the people to believe that they were not Baloch. Even half-hearted efforts had not been made by the police to investigate the cases or even question the accused in cases where families of the missing persons had nominated personnel of security agencies for their relativesí abduction.
Challenges for journalists
Representatives of journalists and office- bearers of the Khuzdar Press Club informed the mission that the situation in the district was very disturbing and the media was working under pressure and amid threats from both the authorities and the insurgent groups. The journalists informed the mission that the political parties had stayed silent on peopleís concerns for the last three years. The media was expected to report facts but both the authorities and the insurgent groups demanded that only their version should be given coverage. Three members of the Khuzdar Press Club had been killed on account of their work as the situation had deteriorated, the mission was informed.
Minority communities í concerns
Local elders of the Hindu community shared with the mission their concerns about targeting of
members of their community amid increasing lawlessness in Balochistan. The mission learned that Jawahari Lal, a member of the Hindu community, had gone missing on April 19, 2009 and his whereabouts remained unknown. No one had claimed responsibility for his abduction or made any ransom demands. As many as six members of Jawahari Lalís family, including his younger sister and mother, had died after he went
Enforced disappearances in Balochistan often came to an end with recovery of the missing personsí bodies.
15 minutes, an army vehicle with tinted glasses reached there. Four armed men in plain clothes came out and asked Shamsuddin to accompany them, ignoring his motherís pleas that she was seriously ill and that he should be allowed to accompany her. All this happened very close to the Saryab Police Post. When Shamsuddinís mother reached the home of one of her sons in Quetta, she told him about what had happened. For three days Shamsuddinís family tried to lodge an FIR but the police did not comply. The doctor told the mission that he had also appeared before the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, which had asked the Joint Investigation Committee (JIT) with the CCPO, DIG Operations and an FC officer to enquire into the matter. He stated that the JIT had acknowledged that Shamsuddin was abducted from the place cited by the family but added that it could not be established that those who picked him up were FC personnel. He told the mission that in November 2010 their house was raided and another of his brothers was taken away on charges of possession of illegal weapons. He stated that his family had received threats throughout this period and had been asked not to pursue the case of Shamsuddin. Shamsuddinís brother, who had been arrested in November 2010, was granted bail on March 4, 2011.
Many people that the mission met, including lawyersí representatives, said that they feared that an attempt was being made to blame the Baloch
for the killing of Pashtuns in Baloch-dominated areas.
Political viewpoints
The mission met with representatives of political parties in Quetta. These included: Awami National Party Balochistan National Party Jamaat-e-Islami Jamhoori Watan Party National Party Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party All the political parties that met the mission expressed serious concern over not only the stateís inability to protect the right to life and liberty of the citizens but also the role of official security agencies in violation of the same rights, mainly through enf orced disap pearances and subsequent recovery of bodies of missing persons. Leaders of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) gave a detailed account of the history of the Pashtun and Baloch people in Balochistan. The party emphasised that the Pashtun and Baloch had distinct identities and should have equal status in all respects in the province, including representation in the provincial and national legislatures. They rejected the notion that Pashtun Afghan nationals had been given Pakistani citizenship or had settled in Balochistan with the help of PkMAP. The party felt that the Pashtun were
The HRCP mission meets human rights defenders from Balochistan.
being discriminated against in the province and claimed that out of the 5,000 teachers employed in Balochistan under the Aaghaz-e-Huqooq-e- Balochistan package a mere 10 percent were Pashtun although Pashtuns met the eligibility criteria on merit and were unemployed. A common complaint was lack of observance of merit in any recruitment, under the Balochistan package or otherwise. A large number of educational institutions, including Degree College Quetta, remained closed in Balochistan for months and leaders of the PkMAP said that now there were more madrassas in Quetta than conventional schools. They stated that rule of law was absent in the province and the official agencies which were supposed to protect the people were involved in or patronised terrorism, kidnappings for ransom, drug peddling, extortion and other heinous crimes. There was a general lack of faith in courts, specifically that they had failed to perform their duties and that the judiciary acted as the intelligence services desired. The mission was informed by the political leaders that the political parties in Balochistan had formed a coordination committee in Quetta to look into the problems of the people living in Balochistan.
Leaders of the National Party informed the mission that thousands of Baloch had been displaced on account of actions by the state agencies. They said that many of the disappeared persons had been killed and around 130 bodies had been found from various parts of the province. Several bodies also bore torture marks and some were disfigured. They said that in early 2009 two persons who had opened fire in Mastung in an apparent bid to kill a teacher were nabbed by the people on the scene and handed over to the police. An FIR was registered against the two. They claimed that the two men carried service cards of an intelligence agency. After a few hours they were reportedly taken away from the police station by military personnel. They highlighted that the provincial advocate general had informed the court that they were helpless in the matter of the missing persons.
The Balochistan Chief Minister had also
publically stated that the military officials did not listen to him. The NP leaders also said that violations of the law by FC personnel in the province were provoking the people. They stressed the need for the political parties and civil society to mobilise the people to end lawlessness as well as illegalities of the security forces in Balochistan and imp rove the situation in Balochistan. They apprehended that a conspiracy was being hatched to blame various communities in Balochistan of indulgence in violence against each other and claimed that such acts were being committed by personnel of intelligence agencies. Leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) told the mission that the FC had established a post on their office premises without seeking their approval. They said that when a JI leader politely complained that they had not even been informed about establishment of the post, an FC officer there told him that the people who did not behave properly with them were disappeared. They said that lawlessness in the province knew no bounds and the people were being murdered after being accused of involvement in subversive activities. They said that the people were now aware of Balochistanís natural resources and wanted their rights and demanding oneís rights was not an unpatriotic act. They advised the authorities to initiate a dialogue with those striving for independence rather than making them disappear and throwing their dead bodies by the roadside. Leaders of the Jamhoori Watan Party said that the main issues in Balochistan at the moment were disappearance of the people and internal displacement. They said that the women of Baloch families who had been forced to migrate to Afghanistan had no money and were reported to be begging in the streets. The lack of development would be addressed and the peopleís basic needs met if the Baloch people had a say in how their resources were used, they said, adding that the situation in the province could be improved if the disappeared persons were released. They demanded rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons of Bugti and Marri tribes at their native places. They complained that the housing census
districts of the province.
The mission also met representatives of the Hazara and Ahmedi communities. The Hazara delegationís leader stated that members of the community had been targeted persistently for the last 10 years in targeted killings and other acts of terrorism by sectarian outfits, particularly banned militant groups Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The targeted Hazaras included businessmen and government employees. Religious processions of Hazara community had also been attacked and a large number of people had been killed. Even the suspects who had been arrested were reported to have escaped from police
stations and prisons. He said that in July 2008 he was requested by the provincial chief minister to go and pacify the protestors outraged at the killing of dozens of members of Hazara community in an attack on a religious procession. When he reached the spot and announced that he had been sent by the chief minister, he was shot at and injured by official security personnel. He said on several instances shops owned by Hazaras had been looted and torched. The communityís businesses were raided and businessmen were harassed and asked to pay bribes. He said that more than 80 people had been killed in the September 3, 2010 attack on an Al-Quds Day procession in Quetta. He said that the procession had been allowed by the local administration. The Hazara leader also referred to an attack on the community that caused the death of six Hazaras in Quetta on May 6, 2011 when the HRCP mission was in the city. He said that despite an FC post and a police picket nearby the attackers had escaped from the scene unchallenged. The Hazara representatives also complained that businessm en from the community faced discrimination from state-owned transp ort companies which they claimed refused to take consignments from Hazara businessmen to different places. Hazara transporters had been targeted to force them to abandon their business. Earlier, the Hazaras of Quetta had their shops, and operated transport services in various areas of the city but now they had been confined to Abdus Sattar Road and Liaquat Road in the city centre. Hazara businessmen also decried discriminated even in the amount of bribes demanded of them during cross-border trade with Iran and Afghanistan. They said that traders from the Hazara community were asked to pay 10 times more in bribes than other Pakistani traders. Maulana Syed Hashim Moosavi of Jamaat Wahdatul Muslimeen, a Shia organisation, said that peaceful Shia religious processions had been attacked a number of times in addition to targeted killing of members of the Shia community. He said that the processions had always remained peaceful but when miscreants attacked and looted shops in
ìDiscrimination against the Hindu community in Balochistan has increased in the last few years. The community faces kidnapping and terrorism in the name of faith. The ransom demands made by the kidnappers are far too high for the families to meet. One example is the case of Kirpal Das and his son Sunny Kumar who were kidnapped when they were travelling from Dera Murad Jamali to Jacobabad. The kidnappers let Kirpal Das go and asked him to arrange ransom money within a week if he wanted to see his son alive. Das was forced to sell his belongings and borrow money from others to raise the ransom amount. Of the total Hindu population in Balochistan around 10 percent are well off and they have been migrating to other countries. The rest cannot afford to escape. On retirement I would not have enough money to migrate and might well die because of my inability to meet ransom demands. The minority community in Balochistan is living in constant fear. There is also discrimination in provision of jobs as Hindus with masterís degrees are denied employment despite their qualification and eligibility on merit. The community that has been living in Balochistan for centuries is being pushed out of its homeland by those who came here later.î ó A Hindu government employee in Quetta
Quetta in 2008 the authorities had blamed participants of the Shia procession. He said that over 100 Shias had been killed in attacks on religious processions.
S. M. Raza, a Quetta-based freelance journalist, informed the mission that more than a dozen shops owned by members of the Shia Hazara community had been looted at the time of an attack on a Shia religious procession in 2008. Those arrested after an attack on a Moharram procession and identif ied as associated with sectarian organizations had been released by a court. He demanded that activities of the elements who were promoting intolerance should be stopped and the sources of funding for such organisations looked into.
Ahmad Ali Kohzad of Hazara Democratic Party shared details of targeted killings of members of the Shia Hazara community in Balochistan. He said that over 300 Hazaras had been killed between 1999 and May 2011. A judicial commission inquiring into the killing of Hazaras in various incidents had submitted its report but that had not been made public. He said his party had prevented clashes between the Hazara, Baloch and Pashtun despite efforts of certain elements to instigate clashes. He alleged that Saudi and Iranian money had been used to fuel sectarianism in Pakistan and a proxy war was being waged in the country.
He said that police officials had noted that 78 groups of kidnappers for ransom were operating in the province. He claimed that the kidnappers were supported and protected by politicians, who asked the police to let them go if some of them were arrested. The killings and kidnappings had rendered many wealthy Hazara businessmen in Balochistan penniless. He named several Hazara businessmen who had been robbed or had to pay huge sums of money as ransom. He cited the murder of Professor Mumtaz Haider of Bolan Medical College by his abductors. The professorís family was asked to pay 10 million rupees as ransom for his release. They had paid 3.8 million rupees with help from the extended family and yet the professor was murdered. He said that several Hazaras had settled abroad because of the
security situation. A few years earlier hundreds of Hazara boys and girls were studying at the university and colleges in Quetta but now the number had plummeted. He advised Pakistan to stop interfering in other countriesí affairs, particularly its neighbours. He said there was a conspiracy to use one community against the other and one sect against the other. The Hazaras faced serious discrimination in access to jobs and even in the amount of bribe Hazara traders were asked to pay at the Pak-Afghan border. Representatives of the Hazara Students Federation said that state institutions had com pletely failed in fulf illing their prim ary responsibility of protecting the peopleís lives. He observed that the situation of the Hazara community in Balochistan was no less critical than that of non-Muslims. The country was being led towards anarchy of the most violent order. Representatives of the Ahmedi community also met the mission and complained that since 1986 an Ahmedi prayer house situated at Fatima Jinnah Road, Quetta, had remained sealed despite repeated pleas by the community. They said that in 1986 a procession led by local clerics had raided the prayer house in an attempt to take it over. Instead of prosecuting the culprits, the authorities had sealed the Ahmedi prayer house. They said that in the last several years anti-Ahmedi activity had forced dozens of Ahmedis across the province to leave their places of residence and move to
Representatives of the Hazara community highlighted their grievances in a meeting with the HRCP mission.
other provinces even to other countries. The poorer Ahmedi families had shifted to Quetta. They said that Ahmedis in Balochistan had been killed on account of their faith every year since 2007. They had also been kidnapped for ransom and some had been killed despite payment of ransom. Mansoor, an Ahmedi mine owner, who had been kidnapped for ransom, was killed despite payment of Rs 3.2 million as ransom. In March 2010, another Ahmedi, Iftikharul Haq, was abducted and released only after he paid a large sum of money as ransom. After his release, he had chosen to settle abroad. Most of the targeted persons belonging to the Ahmedi community in Balochistan were ìsettlersî, members of the community informed the mission. The few Ahmedis who were ethnic Baloch had not been targ eted. The Ahmedi community f elt unprotected even while offering prayers at a place in Quetta that was established after the 1986 sealing of their prayer house. They said that during the government of Nawab Akbar Bugti in Balochistan their community led a secure and peaceful life, because Bugti had warned the clerics against harming any religious or ethnic community in the province.
Workers í problems
Sattar Baloch, chairman of Agriculture Mehnatkash Union Balochistan, said that gross violations of labour laws and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions were the norm in Balochistan. He said the workers were forced to toil in dangerous conditions and cited a recent
incident where at least 40 miners were killed in a coalmine operated by the state-owned Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC). He called for holding a tripartite conference of representatives of workers, employers and the government to address workersí problems. He said most of the disappeared persons were from the working class. He said private sector industries in Balochistan were run by those who should be called kharkars (bonded labour users) and accused the bureaucracy of patronising them. He regretted that the progressive political parties who used to train young trade unionists no longer performed that task. He condemned the disappearance and killing of teachers and shopkeepers. He said it would be incorrect to assume that the United States would support Balochistanís independence. Abdul Qadir, a veteran leader of All Pakistan Clerks Association, observed that while the judiciary had resolved the problems of lower judicial staff, it had kept petitions by workersí associations pending. He stated that many young herdsmen were among victims of enforced disappearance. He said that agriculture production in Balochistan had plummeted on account of lack of electricity. Balochistan Doctors and Paramedics Association representatives cited names of several doctors who had fallen victim to targeted killings and demanded provision of security to members of the medical profession. They said that many senior doctors were leaving Balochistan for other parts of the country as well as abroad because of
government and expressed serious concern that Eido might be tortured and that his life was in grave danger. The FC denied any involvement in Siddique Eidoís abduction. HRCP called for recording of statements of the witnesses, including the four policemen, who had seen Eido being taken away by men in FC uniforms. That was not done. A case was lodged with the police and Eidoís name was also listed in the case before the Supreme Court about disappeared persons. Despite repeated appeals to government authorities for Siddique Eidoís
release, his detention remained unacknowledged and his whereabouts unknown until April 28, 2011 when his bullet-riddled body was found from Ormara. He was 31 when he was killed. Siddique Eidoís reporting of human rights violations in Balochistan, particularly enforced disappearances, was believed to have led to his abduction and murder. HRCPís demand for a transparent and credible inquiry into his disappearance and murder has been ignored. No effort has been made to identify or punish the culprits.
threats such as targeted killings and kidnappings for ransom. They said that that was bound to aggravate a serious shortage of doctors and paramedics in the province. The shortage was also severe in diagnostic laboratories, particularly in the forensic section. They also stressed the need for more institutions for training paramedical staff. They criticised the print and electronic media for failing to give appropriate coverage to doctorsí problems.
Civil society perspective
Malik Subedar, a civil society activist from the mountainous Kalat region of Balochistan, said that the people in Balochistan led a very difficult life because of lack of essential facilities, including electricity, irrigation water and healthcare. He said the people of Kalat did not know where and how the amount allocated for their area was spent.
Quetta-based members of HRCP also met the mission and highlighted the following human rights concerns in Balochistan.
- Poor law and order / kidnappings for ransom
- Enforced disappearance and recovery of disfigured bodies of victims of disappearance
- Insecurity faced by members of religious
minority communities
- Targeted killings
- Pressure groups of armed militants, insurgents and Taliban and other extremists A number of memb ers suggested that fresh election should b e held for the Balochistan provincial assembly at the earliest, as the government had abdicated its responsibility and the affairs of the province were being run by the FC. However, other members opposed the idea. The members stressed the need to com bat the activities of extremists with sectarian agendas, who had b een indulging in killings and attacking religious gatherings. They pointed out that many influential groups were involved in land grabbing. The need for a proper census across Balochistan was also stressed. Some members said that the census was not being carried out in certain areas. The issue of foreigners getting Computerized National Identity Cards and Pakistani passports was also raised. The members referred to targeted killing and kidnapping for ransom of educated individuals and added that most of them were not involved in any political or sectarian activity. They noted that the mainstream political parties were becoming irrelevant as they were not seen to be striving to address the issues f acing the people of Balochistan. Some members pointed out that the people of Balochistan had a very liberal tradition of tolerance which was being lost and highlighted the need to involve all communities in combating divisive activities. Some members accused the intelligence agencies of harassing and extorting money from members of religious minority communities. They demanded reform of the syllabus taught at state-run and private schools and an immediate review of textbooks to weed out preaching of hatred and intolerance. Regulation of madrassas and their curriculum was also urged.
HRCP Chairperson Zohra Yusuf (C) and other members of the mission address a press conference in Quetta at the conclusion of the mission.
