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PAKISTAN: A student leader abducted and four bodies of disappeared persons are found

February 16, 2011

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-032-2011

 

16 February 2011
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PAKISTAN: A student leader abducted and four bodies of disappeared persons are found

ISSUES: Abduction; disappearance; extra-judicial killings; right to life; impunity; rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a student leader from Balochistan was abducted from the check post of the Frontier Corps in Quetta while he was returning from an interview for internship at Pakistan Telecommunications, a public sector company. In the campaign of killings of disappeared persons four more bodies of disappeared were found with bullet and torture marks. No a day goes by in Balochistan province without agitation and 'shutter-down' strikes in protest of killings and abductions allegedly by the law enforcement agencies.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Mr. Fareed Ahmed Baloch, the son of Haleem Ahmed Balcoh, a final year student of the Balochistan Engineering and Technology University, was abducted from outside the check post of Frontier Corps (FC) at Sariab road, Quetta, capital of the province, on February 9 after 6 pm when he was travelling with his cousin in a three wheeler. He was stopped at the check point by the FC persons along with some persons who were in plain clothes and taken away in a jeep bearing no registration number. His cousin, Mr. Changez Gichki was beaten at the post when he tried to intervene and his cell phone was also snatched along with his wallet. Fareed Baloch was the president of Baloch Students Organisation (BSO-Azad) of district Khuzdar, Balochistan. Since then his whereabouts are unknown.

The family members of the Baloch are concerned about his security, especially in view of the large numbers of extrajudicial killings of disappearances in the province.

The extra judicial killings of the missing persons continue despite the strong public agitation throughout the province. A young missing person's bullet riddle body was found on February 10 from Uthal district's far flung area of kehnwari on the main national high way. Mr. Arzi Khan Marri 30 son of Mehar Khan Marri was abducted and was missing for three months. An FIR regarding his abduction was lodged at the Hub police station despite the fact that his body was found far away from this area.

Two more missing persons were allegedly extrajudicially killed and their bullet riddled bodies were found Turbat district on February 11. Mr. Jameel Yaqoob was abducted on August 28, 2010 by people in uniform and plain clothes from a motor service station at 4 am. The family members alleged that security persons carried out the abduction after they identified one of the men as being from the state intelligence agency. Yaqoob was activist of the Balochistan Nationalist Party (BNP).The other missing person, Comrade Qayyume had been missing since December 11, 2010 after he was abducted from his uncle's house at Gwader, port city by the security forces as claimed by his family members. His bullet riddled body was found from Heronik district Turbat. Both persons had bullet wounds on their chests, abdomens and heads and their bodies showed signs of torture. Comrade was member of the organising committee of BSO-Azad.

Another body, that of a political activist, Saeed Ahmed Mengal of the BNP, was found in Koshak, district Khuzdar, on February 14 in the bed of a dried river. He had been missing since September after his arrest from his house at Hub district.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Disappearances in Pakistan have become a routine matter and it has been accepted by the authorities as a normal practice of the law enforcement agencies, including the army and its intelligence agencies. The major political parties, who are in sizeable numbers in the parliament, are also silent on the issue of enforced disappearances and torture in military detention cells. The distress caused by the disappearances is that, despite the departure of the government of President Musharraf, the menace continues under the present civilian government. On average, every month at least five or six persons are abducted and disappeared by plain clothed persons in Balochistan alone. This is frequently done in the presence of police officers who then refuse to lodge FIRs saying that the intelligence agencies are involved.

A new trend has been reported in forced disappearances and that is the extrajudicial killings of the victims. Through this method it is easy for the abductors to wash away all evidence of the disappearance--no question of FIRs, legal process or placing blame. During the period of former President Musharraf, the phenomenon of disappearances started through the state agents, though this process has continued in the civilian government at federal and provincial levels killings through extrajudicial methods is new phase in the disappearances particularly, in the province of Balochistan.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities to conduct inquiry in to the incidents of extra judicial killings of disappeared persons who were allegedly abducted by the law enforcement and intelligence agencies and prosecute those who are responsible for the extra judicial killings. Please also urge authorities to recover student leader, Mr. Fareed Baloch, who was arrested by the FC men and plain clothed persons and kept in incommunicado.

Please note that the AHRC writes a separate letter to UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance and Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Execution calling for their intervention into this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

PAKISTAN: A student leader abducted and four bodies of disappeared persons are found

Name of victims:
1. Mr. Fareed Baloch, son of Mr. Haleem Ahmed Balcoh, student of final year student of Balochistan Engineering and Technology University
2. Mr. Mr. Arzi Khan Marri 30 son of Mehar Khan Marri, resident of Hab-Lasbella, his body was found from Uthal district
3. Mr. Jameel Yaqoob, member of Baloch Nationalist Party, resident of Turbat district, his body was found from Heronak
4. Mr. Comrade Qayyume, student, resident of Gwader port, his body was found from Heronak, Turbat district
5. Mr. Saeed Ahmed Mengal of BNP, resident of Khuzdar his body was found from Koshak
All are from Balochistan province of Pakistan

Alleged perpetrators: Personals from Frontier Corps and Intelligence agencies

Date of incident:

Month of February

Place of incident:

Khuzdar district, Balochistan province

 

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the continuous abductions by the law enforcement agencies particularly by the Frontier Corps (FC) and their extra judicial killing of the abductees in the Balochistan province. It has been pointed out by human rights organizations and the media that in the recent months a new phenomenon has been introduced in Balochistan in that the law enforcement agencies are abducting the nationalists and activists and after many days the bullet riddled bodies of the missing persons are found on the road side.

 

I am appalled to know that no action has been taken by the authorities yet after having complaints of disappearances and killing of missing persons. This is the response by the FC and other intelligence agencies against the people of Balochistan who are struggling for their rights to have their control on their natural and mineral resources.

 

The details of the abduction of a student leader and extrajudicially killings of five persons are as follows:

 

Mr. Fareed Ahmed Baloch, the son of Haleem Ahmed Balcoh, a final year student of the Balochistan Engineering and Technology University, was abducted from outside the check post of Frontier Corps (FC) at Sariab road, Quetta, capital of the province, on February 9 after 6 pm when he was travelling with his cousin in a three wheeler. He was stopped at the check point by the FC persons along with some persons who were in plain clothes and taken away in a jeep bearing no registration number. His cousin, Mr. Changez Gichki was beaten at the post when he tried to intervene and his cell phone was also snatched along with his wallet. Fareed Baloch was the president of Baloch Students Organisation (BSO-Azad) of district Khuzdar, Balochistan. Since then his whereabouts are unknown.

 

The family members of the Baloch are concerned about his security, especially in view of the large numbers of extrajudicial killings of disappearances in the province.

 

The extra judicial killings of the missing persons continue despite the strong public agitation throughout the province. A young missing person's bullet riddle body was found on February 10 from Uthal district's far flung area of kehnwari on the main national high way. Mr. Arzi Khan Marri 30 son of Mehar Khan Marri was abducted and was missing for three months. An FIR regarding his abduction was lodged at the Hub police station despite the fact that his body was found far away from this area.

 

Two more missing persons were allegedly extrajudicially killed and their bullet riddled bodies were found Turbat district on February 11. Mr. Jameel Yaqoob was abducted on August 28, 2010 by people in uniform and plain clothes from a motor service station at 4 am. The family members alleged that security persons carried out the abduction after they identified one of the men as being from the state intelligence agency. Yaqoob was activist of the Balochistan Nationalist Party (BNP).The other missing person, Comrade Qayyume had been missing since December 11, 2010 after he was abducted from his uncle's house at Gwader, port city by the security forces as claimed by his family members. His bullet riddled body was found from Heronik district Turbat. Both persons had bullet wounds on their chests, abdomens and heads and their bodies showed signs of torture. Comrade was member of the organising committee of BSO-Azad.

 

Another body, that of a political activist, Saeed Ahmed Mengal of the BNP, was found in Koshak, district Khuzdar, on February 14 in the bed of a dried river. He had been missing since September after his arrest from his house at Hub district.

 

It is very disturbing for me and ordinary Pakistanis that if there is any charge of subversive activities or against the country then the legal process should be adopted rather than abduction of the accused person and keeping them in different torture cells. And finally when no evidence against them is found they are extrajudicially killed.

 

I urge you to initiate an inquiry in to the matter of continuous disappearances and extra judicial killings of the missing persons in Balochistan province and immediately stop this menace by the FC and intelligence agencies that are being held responsible by the family members of the missing persons. Please also withdraw the FC from the province and give the police responsibility for the law enforcement in the province.

 

I look forward to your prompt action to provide substantial and comprehensive policy responses on the cases of disappearances and killing of the disappeared persons.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

 

 

1. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari

President of Pakistan
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9204801/9214171
Fax: +92 51 9207458
Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk

2. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111/ +92 51 920 6111/ +92 51 920 6111/ +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk

3. Mr. Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani
Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +9251-9204108
Email: sarfraz_yousuf@yahoo.com

4. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk

5. Nawab Aslam Raisani
Chief Minister of Balochistan
Chief Minister House, Quetta
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 81 920 2240
Tel: +92 81 449582 / 440661
E-mail: mirlashkari@yahoo.com

6. Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi
Governor of Balochistan
Governor House Balochistan,
Quetta- Balochistan province,
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 81 920 2992

7. Chief Secretary
Government of Balochistan
Quetta, Balochistan province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 81 9202132
Email: chiefsecy@balochistan.gov.pk


Thank you.

Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-032-2011
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.