A few days after severe criticism from human rights groups, Islamabad police announced on Sunday night the release of nearly 300 Baloch protesters arrested during a demonstration against “enforced disappearances.”
The Baloch long march — which started in Balochistan’s Turbat on December 6 after the “extra-judicial killing” of a Baloch youth by the hands of Pak security agencies — had reached the federal capital on Wednesday.
In response to peaceful protest, Islamabad police used “excessive force” against the Baloch protestors, who reached the capital to stage a protest. The police crackdown drew widespread condemnation from human rights bodies and political parties.
WHAT’S THE HISTORY OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Enforced disappearances have long been a stain on the Islamic country’s human rights record. Despite the promises of successive governments to criminalise the practice, there has been slow movement on legislation while people continue to be forcibly disappeared with impunity.
The groups and individuals targeted in enforced disappearances in the country include “people from Sindhi, Baloch, Pashtun ethnicities, the Shia community, political activists, human rights defenders, members and supporters of religious and nationalist groups, suspected members of armed groups, and proscribed religious and political organisations in Pakistan.”
CASES
Last year, enforced disappearances continued throughout the year without any respite, along with the intimidation of families seeking justice. Enforced disappearances continued unabated in Balochistan, targeting young Baloch and Pashtun activists, including those based in other provinces. According to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, at least 2,210 cases remained unresolved in 2022.
In some cases, rights groups say persons are openly taken into custody by the police or intelligence agencies, and families trying to find out where they are held are denied information by the authorities. “Some victims are eventually released or their whereabouts are disclosed to their families but they continue to be held in arbitrary detention including in internment camps. Those forcibly disappeared are also at risk of torture and death during captivity,” according to Amnesty.
WHAT RIGHTS GROUPS SAID
After last week’s arrests, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was appalled by the state’s response to peaceful protestors, with women, children and the elderly subjected to unwarranted force in the form of water cannons and use of batons. “Numerous women protestors have reportedly been arrested and separated from their male relatives and allies,” the rights group said.