Who was behind this horror? No prizes for guessing
Thirteen mutilated bodies, or what was left after crows and vultures had feasted on them, were discovered in the Khuzdar district of Balochistan on January 17.
Such is the state of fear in the province that the shepherd who brought the news to the deputy commissioner’s office divulged it on condition of anonymity. The way the bodies were dumped together under a thin layer of earth indicated a disdain on the part of the killers for the victims.
As in the case of hundreds of disappearances and dumping of mutilated body the question being asked now is who was behind this horror? To many in Balochistan, the answer is simple. Forced disappearances, dumping of mutilated bodies on roads and the discovery of mass graves are links of the same chain. Circumstantial evidence points towards the agencies operating in Balochistan as being responsible.
The Supreme Court has taken suo motu notice of the horror on an appeal by Nasrullah Baloch, chairman of the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons. The provincial chief minister has ordered a judicial inquiry. He has also ordered an autopsy by a panel of doctors which has been carried out and samples sent to Islamabad for DNA tests.
Ample evidence about the involvement of the security agencies in disappearances has been documented. It has also been established that quite a few mutilated bodies dumped in various parts of Balochistan were those of missing persons who were whisked away by the agencies. Nasrullah Baloch fears that some of those in the mass graves might in fact be the missing persons.
There were complaints for nearly fifteen years that the agencies were picking up suspects in violation of law and keeping them in illegal custody for months and years. The agencies denied any involvement. Enquiries conducted by independent civil society organisations, however, incriminated the agencies.
The first series of interviews to find out the truth was conducted by the HRCP during December 2005-January 2006. The investigation committee of the rights body met relatives of the missing persons and those in whose presence they were taken away. What surfaced was that in many cases the victims were whisked away by security personnel in official vehicles.
More solid proofs surfaced during the hearings initiated by the Supreme Court in 2013.
The agencies first contended they had never taken anyone into custody in violation of law. Further that those being referred to as missing persons had of their own free will had either gone to Afghanistan, died fighting the American troops or made to disappear by enemies of Pakistan, i.e. Indian and Afghan security agencies. But soon the Supreme Court was presented with incontrovertible evidence regarding the involvement of army personnel in disappearances. The apex court then ordered action against those found to be involved in the crime.
With people in Balochistan fast losing faith in the state institutions and government departments, what bond other than force can keep them a part of the federation?
When literally caught with their pants down, the agencies changed tack. Instead of defending the cases of the officers involved on merit, in June last the MI submitted a reply in which it said that neither the court nor police had jurisdiction to proceed against any serving army officer under the Army Act, 1952. Attorney General Muneer A. Malik however told the apex court that neither the Pakistan Army Act 1952 nor Pakistan Penal Code/Criminal Procedure Code prohibited registration of a case and initiation of a criminal proceeding against a serving army officer if he misused his authority with mala fide intent. Citing several court verdicts, the AG argued that the protection to a serving army officer would not be there if he abused his legal authority.
On July 26 the Supreme Court passed orders for the arrest of two brigadiers working with the ISI. One of them was heading the Balochistan wing of ISI when one Ali Asghar Bangalzai was taken away by the agency 13 years ago. The Federal government directed respective provincial governments to take action. Still being treated as holy cows, the officers however could not be arrested.
That Supreme Court failed to take note of the violation of its orders which led to unfortunate consequences. The Baloch who had lost faith in parliament for its inability to recover the missing persons now started looking to international organisations like the UN to come to their rescue.
As the apex court started taking up the cases of the missing persons, mutilated bodies began to be dumped on the highways and streets in Quetta. This was considered to be the most convenient way of disposing off evidence. It became increasingly common to arrest the suspects, torture them and dump their bodies. As time passed more and more mutilated bodies of people with a particular orientation were dumped in Balochistan. A corps commander once said the army was not involved and that some of the ‘patriotic elements’ among civilians might be behind the killings. There were reports in the media regarding a gang of killers having been raised on the behest of the agencies to do the dirty work.
After 2010 there were more mutilated bodies than any time before. Many were recognised by relatives or acquaintances. Man of them already listed as missing persons. In early November 2010 four bullet-riddled bodies were found in Turbat, Pasni and Khuzdar districts. Two of them were identified to be those of students while the other two, activists of the BSO-Azad Abdul Samad Kurd and Zubair Zahid, had gone missing earlier.
In May 2012 two bodies were found on the Coastal Highway, near District Headquarters Uthal, Lasbela. According to hospital sources, “They were brutally tortured and killed by electric shocks.” The bodies were identified as those of Murad Ali Marri, 35, of Kohlu and Dil Murad of Sibbi who had been kidnapped some months ago. Their relatives had recorded statements before the Supreme Court that the men were missing.
When in 2012 the Supreme Court started a regular hearing on the law and order situation in Balochistan, the incidents of the dumping of dead bodies further increased. The CJ was forced to make the observation that mutilated bodies start to surface whenever the bench hears the case in Quetta.
There were complaints for nearly fifteen years that the agencies were picking up suspects in violation of law and keeping them in illegal custody for months and years. The agencies denied any involvement. Enquiries conducted by independent civil society organisations however incriminated the agencies.
Baloch journalist Abdul Razzaq’s mutilated body was found in August last year. He too was amongst the missing persons.
There were protests and shutdowns in the province against the horrible acts. In October last year Balochistan Home Department revealed that 595 mutilated bodies had been found in the province during the last three years.
The mass graves are the finale of a three part series: forced disappearances, dumping of mutilated bodies and mass graves.
There is a sense of fear in Balochistan. Witnesses are willing to make revelations only if their identity is kept secret. There are important questions that need answers. Is the number of bodies discovered in Khuzdar really 13 or more? How many more mass graves still remain unidentified in the province? How many more missing persons are going to end up as unrecognizable corpses stuffed in guinea bags? With more and more evidence of atrocities emerging in the province, what is the future of the elected government? And last, with people in Balochistan fast losing faith in the state institutions and government departments, what bond other than force can keep them a part of the federation? As Ataullah Mengal once put it, one may enslave a person by force but the slave would run away at the very first opportunity he finds.
