The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has deplored that forced disappearances of political activists still continue despite induction of new elected government in Pakistan.
"The number of disappearances after arrests during the first four months of this year has reached 49 persons in the country. Forced disappearances continued despite the change in government and even after the announcements of the Prime Minister to halt military operations in Balochistan province and release of the political leaders including the former chief minister Akhtar Mengal," AHRC said in a statement on Tuesday.
The government of Yousaf Gillani should come out with clear announcements of practical steps about the relief to the Balochistan people who have suffered the brunt of military operations since 2001. The government should immediately announce the names of those persons who still remain with law enforcing agencies and investigate the claims of those persons who testified before the courts that they themselves saw people in different camps, it said.
"Without meaningful dialogue and constitution-based guarantees to the people of Balochistan the issues of forced disappearances and displacement will never be solved. The solution through legal and constitutional methods is best," AHRC said.
The human rights body alleged that disappearances still continue and in a recent event on April 28, just four days before the visit of the Prime Minister to Quetta, law enforcing agencies' personnel attacked and raided different houses and hostels of Khuzdar Degree College at the Khuzdar town and arrested more than 200 persons. Among them, ten persons are missing.
On April 29, officials raided the house of comrade Ghaffar, the district president of the Jamhoori Watan Party, a nationalist group, and since then his whereabouts are unknown.
On May 2, when the Prime Minister was visiting Balochistan, five persons were kidnapped by the law enforcement agencies and their charred bodies were later found in the centre of market place of Dera Bugti town. These persons, namely Nazar Muhammad Bugti, Rustam Bugti and Jeo Bugti (the names of other two were not available), were arrested before witnesses on the charges of having links with the Balochistan Liberation Army, AHRC alleged.
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