Rights group Amnesty International called on Pakistan Tuesday to investigate the alleged torture and killing of more than 40 political leaders and activists in Balochistan. Amnesty said the cases have occurred in the last four months against a backdrop of increasing political unrest and military activities in province which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
Violence has surged this year in Balochistan and human rights activists have raised concerns about an increase in targeted killings in the province. "The Pakistani government must act immediately to provide justice for the growing list of atrocities in Balochistan," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific director.
"Baloch political leaders and activists are clearly being targeted and the government must do much more to end this alarming trend." Amnesty warned that bullet-ridden bodies of those who have been abducted, many showing signs of torture, are increasingly being found across Balochistan whereas previously bodies of the missing were rarely recovered.
Victims' relatives and activists often hold Pakistan's security forces and intelligence agencies responsible. Amnesty said a previously unknown group, Sipah-e Shuhada-e Balochistan, has also claimed responsibility for some of the killings.
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