Report of an HRCP fact-finding mission
KARACHI, Jun 23, 2011 (IPS) - The pain and anger in 25-year-old Rukhsana Langho’s voice could be heard over the telephone line from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, 700 kms north of the port city of Karachi. "We hate Pakistan and we want freedom," she says, bitter over the disappearance of her brother more than a year ago.
Balochistan has a history of secularism and we have not adopted this terminology because of its popularity in today’s political forum, rather for centuries we the Baloch have coexisted with Christians, Hindus and other none Muslims.
There is no longer any rule of law in Balochistan. The government has turned its back on the concept of justice and fair trial. No sensible inquiries into disappearances are conducted and no one is ever held accountable. Despite the testimonies of the few fortunate people who have survived their abductions and torture, the courts take no action, even when the perpetrators are positively identified.
There is no longer any rule of law in Balochistan. The government has turned its back on the concept of justice and fair trial. No sensible inquiries into disappearances are conducted and no one is ever held accountable. Despite the testimonies of the few fortunate people who have survived their abductions and torture, the courts take no action, even when the perpetrators are positively identified.
Any investigation into the abduction and reported death of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad must include the country’s feared security and intelligence agencies, Amnesty International said today.
The day after Professor Saba Dashtyari reaffirms call for Balochistan’s independence, he is gunned down in Quetta.
Any investigation into the abduction and reported death of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad must include the country’s feared security and intelligence agencies, Amnesty International said today.
In 2008 the civilian government called off the latest large-scale army operations in the province, which had begun in 2005, but handed over the responsibility for law and order to the Frontier Corps (FC), a paramilitary organization. This effectively made the police subordinate to the FC, which has the support and assistance of the army. This results in insurmountable obstacles to those seeking to know the truth about the fate of their disappeared loved ones and for any hope of effective investigations and prosecutions, even when persons are found dead, showing clear marks of torture and evidence of extra-judicial execution.
In Pakistan, the problems of the people are not identified and analysed. There is therefore a disconnect between the masses and the intellectuals, who do not practice activism and advocacy. How will human rights be protected?