Balochistan Being Treated as East Pakistan in 1971

The situation of Balochistan is no different to that of the former East Pakistan (Bangladesh) when the military carried out operations and killed more than 300,000 people in the guise of protecting ideological boundaries. The government does not consider extrajudicial killings anything out of the ordinary and one of the reasons for this is that [...]

The Disappeared in Balochistan: HRW Report Summary

“Even if the president or chief justice tells us to release you, we won’t. We can torture you, or kill you, or keep you for years at our will. It is only the Army chief and the intelligence chief that we obey.”   – Pakistani official to Bashir Azeem, the 76-year-old secretary-general of the Baloch [...]

Why is Saifullah Paracha Still Detained at Guantanamo?

The story of Pakistani-American businessman Saifullah Paracha’s disappearance, arrest, transfer to the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison, possible release and continued detention remains a mystery. Paracha, 64, who theUSclaims was involved in terrorist activities, disappeared in 2003 while travelling fromPakistan. He was arrested fromBangkokon July 8 that year through FBI efforts and was transferred toGuantanamoon September [...]

Does the Judiciary ve the Power to Take Action against the Intelligence Agencies?

“We cannot eat, we cannot sleep — we can only hope and that hope is fast dwindling so we pray that our loved ones will be returned to us.” On April 13, 2011 the three member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan led by Justice Javaid Iqbal heard the cases of the missing persons. [...]

Constant Bodies Surfacing in Balochistan

by Declan Welsh/ Guardian The bodies surface quietly, like corks bobbing up in the dark. They come in twos and threes, a few times a week, dumped on desolate mountains or empty city roads, bearing the scars of great cruelty. Arms and legs are snapped; faces are bruised and swollen. Flesh is sliced with knives [...]

Drama Bazee Ends with the PPP Government

The mainstreaming of Balochistan remains a far cry even 15 months after the government initiative called Aghaz Huqooq-i-Balochistan was launched, with most of policy decisions awaiting implementation because of procedural and administrative red tape. Of the 61 major steps envisaged in the package, only 15 have reached the stage of the full implementation despite more [...]

Thousands Remain Missing in Pakistan

Thousands of persons remain missing amid government inaction The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) welcomes the ongoing work of the Advisory Committee concerning the issue of missing persons. The ALRC has on numerous occasions informed the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the large number of missing persons in Pakistan. The country is beset by grave [...]

When Will the Baloch Stop Disappearing in Pakistan?

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a man who went missing nine months ago near Karachi has resurfaced this month in the custody of the Frontier Corp (FC).   The man’s family were prevented from filing a report by police when he was abducted and so acted through the Balochistan High Court, [...]

The Forced Disappearance of Political Opponents

The forced disappearance of political opponents which are attributed to the state intelligence services continues in spite of the newly elected government’s claims that they will swiftly deal with this problem. Since the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) came to power one year ago, no serious or credible steps have been taken to address these disappearances. [...]

Sister of a Disappeared Person in Balochistan

Zaibun Nisa Gharshin forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission “My brother was picked up by the state intelligence agencies when he was returning home from office,” recalled Hani Baloch, the sister of a missing Baloch person, as she broke into tears while saying this. Baloch Women’s Panel (BWP) has been observing a hunger strike [...]