“Déjà Vu Alert: Is History Repeating Itself After
the ‘Fall of Dhaka’?”
By Sadia Mustafa
Balochistan grapples with a prolonged history of enforced disappearances. Another extrajudicial killing
sparks public outrage, prompting vocal protests in Islamabad. Baloch locals and global human rights
organizations unite in support of the Baloch women’s demonstration. In recent months, a discernible
change in state policies towards Balochistan, particularly targeting Baloch youth, notably students, has
emerged. On November 23, forces transported four deceased Baloch youth to Turbat civil hospital,
asserting they were ‘Baloch militants’ killed in a Pasni road encounter. Subsequently, one of the four was
identified as Balach Mola Bakhsh, forcibly disappeared from his Absor, Turbat home on October 29. The
Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) then received custody of him in connection with a case involving
5,000 grams of explosives. The Judicial Magistrate in Turbat brought him, and he spent ten days in physical
remand. He was called a “Baloch militant” when his body was discovered later. Although the other three
are thought to be missing individuals as well, their identities are not yet known. In Balochistan, there is
no recent account of murdering Baloch missing persons during fictitious confrontations.
An explosion by a roadside bomb in the Balgatar neighborhood of Kech district is said to have killed three
people on November 19. The three people who had been detained and kidnapped from their Balgatar
residence on August 22 were found to be missing that very day. After then, a photo of one of the three
bodies went viral, revealing that the victim had been tortured by having ropes wrapped around his hands.
In addition, their relatives denied that they had died in the explosion and charged the security services of
committing unlawful killings. According to them, four other family members were kidnapped that same
evening and are still being held by the military.
Leading a sit-in protest against “enforced disappearances” and “genocide,” an ethnic Baloch activist
leader said on Friday that she would take charge of the demonstration on Saturday in Islamabad. She
demanded the release of demonstrators who had been detained by the city’s police earlier in the week.
A 1,600 mile march is being led by Dr. Mahrang Baloch, 30, of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) from
the capital city of Balochistan, which is located in Pakistan’s Turbat province in the southwest. Protesters
involved in the BYC march claim that they are demonstrating against governmental entities that violate
human rights.Marches in support of the presumed extrajudicial death of a 24-year-old ethnic Baloch man
have been taking place in Balochistan since November. Although official institutions deny any
involvement, the assassination has reignited discussions about extrajudicial killings and detentions in
Balochistan, where these instances are regular.
When the protestors reached the outskirts of the capital city on Wednesday night, fighting broke out
between Islamabad Police and the demonstrators, turning the demonstration violent. The chief police
officer in Islamabad said that some demonstrators threw stones at police officers, despite the protestors’
claims that police broke up their peaceful gathering. When fighting broke out, police claimed to have
taken over 200 demonstrators into custody; however, the administration declared a day later that all
women and children had been freed. Leaders in politics, human rights advocates, and relatives of those
slain have long opposed the practice of security services shooting people in Balochistan during simulated
gunfights, in which the victims are summarily slaughtered while the officials say they were shot. The
authorities contest their role in these kinds of situations.
Forcible disappearances and extrajudicial executions are serious issues that require immediate attention.
These horrible practices must stop right away. Equal justice must be served, victims’ fates must be
revealed, fair trials must be held, and international human rights norms must be followed. Furthermore,
crucial measures to address the severe suffering caused by forced disappearances include granting victim
families the ability to organize and protest without fear of retaliation and offering full compensation to all
impacted parties. Applied with discipline, this multipronged strategy can protect basic human rights while
promoting responsibility, fairness, and reconciliation for victims and their families. Yet if things keep going
the same way, it makes natural that history would repeat itself. After all, we were just grieving the “fall of
Dhaka,” and the state will be held accountable if it occurs again.
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