Balochistan: 60 forcibly disappeared, 7 killed, 13 mutilated bodies recovered in March 2019

Sixty persons were forcibly disappeared by security forces from Awaran, Chagai, Kech, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Panjgur and Washuk districts of Balochistan, seven persons were shot dead while thirteen unidentified bodies were recovered during the month of March 2019, whereas twenty-seven districts of Balochistan still remain inaccessible due to the forced media blackout introduced by the government. 

Abduction and enforced disappearance of women and children continued in the same pace, which started in 2017 as a pattern in Balochistan and dozens of family members of political workers are whisked away by military from their houses and kept in incommunicado for weeks and sometimes for months before they are shifted in illegal detention centers run by death squads, supervised and sponsored by military. These cases came into light when a five-month pregnant lady, Naz Gul died in one of the illegal detention centers due to denial of medical assistance in pregnancy-related complications, in April 2018. 

On 23 March 2019, forces picked up two more women, Bibi Hoori and Jan Bibi from their houses in Gajjali village of Mashkey, district Awaran. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

A well-known Balochi writer and author of five books including three novels, Nazar Mohammad was abducted by security forces on 5 March, 2019. He is a serving sergeant in the Royal Oman Army, in Sultanate of Oman. He was on his vacations and reached Turbat on 26 January, 2019, to spend his vacations with his family and friends and was supposed to resume duty on 20 March. Since then his whereabouts are kept unknown. 

Nazar Mohammad

A reporter, Niamatullah Baloch was whisked away by security forces in Taftan region of Balochistan on 6 March.

Niamatullah Baloch

A police trainee, Shakoor Babu was abducted when he was on his way to the police academy in Turbat, Balochistan, the district headquarter of district Kech, on 3rd March. Shakoor is a local of Nodiz, district Kech. 

In another case, two brothers, Nasim Nazeer and Shay Murid Nazeer were abducted during a raid on a house in Karachi on 1st March 2019. Abductees are residents of Nizarabad, district Kech.

A father and his son were forcibly disappeared during a military operation in Dannuk, Turbat on 4th March. Earlier, he migrated from Dasht to Turbat to save his family from continuous and indiscriminate military operations in the area. 

Fazul Mohammad, Zahur Siddique and Ghulam Nabi Mola Bakhsh were abducted on 5 March by security forces from Shangar, district Washuk. 

Shay Dinar was abducted during a raid in Gwarkop district Kech on 12 March. 

Unknown gunmen abducted Munir Ahmed Bazid from Lasbela University on 14 March. Eye-witnesses say he was severely beaten up during the abduction. The reason behind abduction and whereabouts of Munir are still unknown. 

Munir Ahmed Bazid

Noor Ahmed Niaz was forcibly disappeared by security forces from Shehani Bazar, Turbat on 16 March. According to his family, he was picked up by security forces from a local shop and since then his whereabouts are unknown. 

On 17 March, forces conducted a house-to-house search operation in Sholi and Parant villages of Dasht, district Kech and abducted 6 persons. The abductees were later identified as Faqir Ahmed Khuda Dad, Tariq Shafi Mohammad, Rafiq Lal Bakhsh, Rahim Bakhsh Lal Bakhsh, Umetan Rahim Bakhsh and Salim Abdul Rahim.

On the same day, Sharif Fazal was abducted from Pirandar village of district Awaran while four persons, Akbar Khuda Bakhsh, Islam Khuda Bakhsh, Abdul Wahab and Abdul Khalid were whisked away from Sirkezeh village of Zamuran, district Kech. 

A retired soldier of the Royal Oman Army, Neksal Miran, was abducted along with Gulab Karim Bakhsh and Zahur Soban during a military raid in Tash, Balgatar, district Panjgur on 19 March. 

Neksaal Miran

Thirteen mutilated bodies were found in different areas of Balochistan during the month of March in which 8 dead bodies were later identified whereas, 7 bodies were decomposed to the extent of beyond recognition. Moreover, seven persons were killed in target killing including a polio worker.  

On 1st March, Murid Bezanjo was killed by unknown militants in Ornach, Khuzdar. Later on, Balochistan Liberation Front, in a statement, took the responsibility of the attack and claimed that he has collaborated with army in several military operations and facilitates attacks on our camps.

On 4 March, a dead body was found dumped in Mian Ghundi area of Quetta. The deceased was later identified as Nasib Ullah Khelji s/o Malang Khan. According to the family members, he was abducted two weeks ago from Gahi Khan Chowk, Quetta. Both, the reason and the perpetrators remain unknown.

Tortured dead body of an 8-year-old child was found dumped in Pashin. According to the police, the deceased body bore clear marks of torture and his body was dumped in a sewerage line on 6 March. 

Another decomposed body was found in Satellite Town, Quetta on 6 March. The deceased was later identified as Sanaullah Dur Mohammad. The reason and the perpetrators remain unknown. 

On 8 March, an unidentified body was found dumped in Kanak, Mastung. The dead body was later shifted to the hospital and still remain unidentified. Another unidentified decomposed body was found from Dera Murad Jamali on 14 March.

On 16 March, two decomposed dead bodies were found dumped in Quetta and Zhob. On the same day, a polio worker was shot killed by unknown gunmen in Pashin. According to the locals, the killers came in a Toyota Veto car and opened fired on the polio worker and escaped from the scene.   

On 22 March, another unidentified dead body was found dumped in Ghousabad area of Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan. 

On 23 March, three mutilated dead bodies were found dumped in Dera Ismail Khan, a Baloch majority region in Punjab province of Pakistan. Bodies were identified with their identity cards, kept in their pockets. It has once been a norm that the dead bodies beyond recognition would have his NIC or his name written on a small piece of paper, in his pocket.