Balochistan, which is Pakistan’s largest province, is ironically its poorest. It remains a hotbed of violence and discontent. On the eve of Election Day on February 8, 2024, two bomb blasts killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens in Balochistan. A year has passed since then, but there has been no progress in the investigations into these incidents of election violence.

These two separate bomb explosions took place near candidates’ offices in Balochistan. The first blast occurred in Pishin district, killing 16 people and injuring 25, while the second explosion in Qila Saifullah claimed the lives of 12 people and left 20 wounded.

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for both attacks, which were carried out using motorbikes rigged with explosives. The explosions targeted an independent candidate’s office and a JUI-F party election office, causing widespread destruction and chaos.

Balochistan, a resource-rich but impoverished province, has a history of violence and has been plagued by a decades-long struggle for greater autonomy. Islamist militants, including the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), operate in the region, often exploiting the sense of frustration and disillusionment among local voters.

As the province conducted elections last February like the rest of the country, many voters in Balochistan felt neglected by the country’s political parties and often felt candidates were imposed on them without any connection to the province. The vote was seen as unfair by many, with some describing it as a “selection” rather than a genuine election.

“In Balochistan, people are no longer interested in elections or politics,” says Muhammad Ramzan, 36, a professor at a local university in Quetta. “We know the affairs of the province are controlled from the army headquarters, which is why it is pointless to vote,” he added.

The depoliticization of the youth was a key aspect that emerged during our interviews with students and professors at educational institutions in Quetta during a recent visit. The people of the province seem oblivious to the power games that are covered by the mainstream media day in and day out. Violence, unrest, and the never-ending war are what concern them, yet the mainstream media pays little attention to these issues facing the province.

Fariha Ijaz

The writer is an Assistant Editor at Dissent Today, focusing on extremism and political violence.

The post Looking Back at 2024 Election Violence In Balochistan That The Rest of Pakistan Ignored appeared first on Dissent Today.

When Mohsin Dawar narrowly escaped an elaborate assassination attempt in which his vehicle was sprayed with more than 60 bullets about a month before the 2024 general elections, he saw no option but to slow down his campaign. He was seeking re-election to a National Assembly seat from his hometown of North Waziristan — a restive tribal district of Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan and is one of the areas in the country worst affected by Taliban militancy and the war on terror.

On the morning of Jan. 3, Dawar’s corner meetings planned in the village of Tappi, North Waziristan, had to be abruptly cancelled when his vehicle came under attack from around 15 assailants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He survived the attack because the vehicle was armoured, but the attackers — determined to get him — launched another attack as more militants joined in from across Waziristan.

As Dawar was whisked away to safety at a home in the village, his private security and the police guarding his convoy sought help from the Pakistan Army to fight the attackers. But they received no response or assistance. Despite this, they continued to engage the militants and were able to drive them away after 45 minutes of violent clashes involving live ammunition and heavy weapons. 

“It was a miracle I survived that attack,” Dawar told Dissent Today in a phone interview, saying that his supporters, people from his tribe, and the police were on their own against the militants, with no assistance from the military. After this near-death experience, he had to end his participation in campaign events due to security concerns, relying on his party colleagues and supporters to convey his campaign message.

Dawar, who heads the progressive National Democratic Movement (NDM) that he founded in 2021 along with a group of secular Pashtun politicians, has been vocal against the resurgence of Taliban terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa during his time in the National Assembly from 2018 to 2023. During an in-camera meeting of the parliament’s National Security Committee held in 2022 to discuss the rise in terrorism in the province, Dawar was reportedly the only member to challenge then-Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Faiz Hameed about the military’s decision to negotiate with the Taliban.

Even before he began his 2024 election campaign, he heard threats and warnings that the Taliban wanted to target him. Following the attack in Waziristan, personnel from the security agencies warned him that this time the militants had sent a suicide bomber who was roaming around his chamber in the town of Miranshah, disguised as one of his many guests and waiting to hug him.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has a bloody history of election violence, with candidates and representatives of secular parties being attacked by militants in the lead up to the polls. Like a number of other anti-Taliban candidates in the province, Dawar had to go to the polls amid this wave of fear, but he and his followers remained determined not to end the campaign.

The former lawmaker could not stay in one city for more than three days and would travel from Waziristan to Peshawar to Islamabad and back, just to thwart another potential assassination attempt. “Due to this, there was virtually no election campaign,” Dawar said, adding that his supporters remained on the ground, but it was hard for the party to counter the opponents’ narrative because of his absence from campaign activities.

These threats, however, were not the only hurdle in their way. Just weeks before the elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) altered the electoral scheme in Waziristan, moving 56 polling stations from areas that Dawar believed were his strongholds to less accessible locations. The changes were made at the request of the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), one of Dawar’s main opponents, whose candidate would later be declared the winner in this constituency. 

Most of these polling stations were moved to properties owned by or in use by members or leaders of the JUI-F, which Dawar and his supporters feared could be used as leverage against them.

The JUI-F’s request to change these polling stations was initially rejected, but the election officials overseeing the process later accepted the demand abruptly. Dawar says his sources in the civil administration informed him that the relevant officials had to approve the application after being pressured to do so by military officials.

The NDM wrote applications to the district returning officer and the ECP, expressing concerns over this change, but received no response.

Despite this series of setbacks, the newly formed NDM had fielded 17 candidates for national and provincial assembly seats and was eager to navigate its first general election. Dawar said the party had conducted multiple training sessions for its polling agents to thwart rigging attempts. “We considered every scenario [of electoral rigging] and trained our polling agents accordingly.”

But Election Day on Feb. 8 arrived with yet another act of terror: a suicide attack targeting NDM’s three female polling agents in the same village where Dawar had earlier survived an assassination attempt. Although the women were not physically injured, the trauma left them unconscious, forcing them to abandon their duties. 

Dawar later heard reports that the Taliban had taken over some polling stations in the village. “We wrote to the ECP about this attack on our polling agents and the militants taking control of the polling stations, but we did not hear back,” he said. 

As unofficial election results began to emerge, reports surfaced that a Returning Officer (RO) — the main official responsible for consolidating results — was tampering with votes in the constituency and increasing the JUI-F’s count. Dawar went to the RO’s office located in the Miranshah cantonment area and confronted him with information he had received about the tampering. “The RO denied altering the results. But he later disappeared, and we could not find him all day,” Dawar says. The RO’s mysterious disappearance led to unusual delays in the counting process.

Dawar and other candidates stayed the night at the building, waiting to receive an update. On the night of Feb. 9, they were informed that the pending results from the Mir Ali district wouldn’t be received until the next day. Since the counting was delayed until then, candidates were asked to leave the office and return the following morning. At the time they left the RO’s office that night, Dawar was leading by more than 5,000 votes.

But they woke up next morning to a hurriedly issued notification from the ECP for the provincial assembly seat of PK-103, where a candidate who had been trailing by a significant number of votes since the voting day, was declared the winner.

“That’s when we realized they were completely distorting the results,” Dawar says.

Two days before the election, Dawar had issued a video message predicting that election officers may change the final results on Form 45, a crucial document used in Pakistan’s post-electoral process, which discloses the outcomes of the voting procedure at a particular polling place.

“That’s exactly what they later did to us and many other candidates across Pakistan,” he says.

When Dawar and his supporters arrived at the RO’s office in Cantonment area once again that morning, they were stopped at the gate, which was sealed by security forces. 

According to Pakistan’s election laws, candidates and their polling agents are entitled to be present at the location where votes are being counted and gathered. But no candidates were being allowed to enter the premises, in violation of the law.

After being denied entry, Dawar and his supporters began a protest outside the building, demanding access to the RO’s office. “Our concern was that our mandate was being stolen inside,” Dawar said.

As the protesters marched toward the RO’s office, chanting slogans, security forces stationed at the gate suddenly opened fire on them. Dawar was the first to be hit, receiving two bullets in his right leg. Three of his supporters died on the spot from the gunfire, while another succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. 15 other protestors were injured. 

Dawar was rushed to a nearby hospital in Waziristan. As he received treatment for his bullet wounds at the hospital, a candidate from the JUI-F was announced the winner from the constituency. 

Pakistan’s mainstream media conducted marathon transmissions covering the elections, but this incident of election violence targeting a former parliamentarian barely registered in the mainstream media. On the contrary, sections of the media reported it as an attack on the Pakistani military, airing misleading claims from government officials that Dawar’s supporters had attacked security forces and injured policemen.

Miranshah district administration officials had claimed at the time that Dawar’s supporters tried to force their way into the building and injured policemen in the process. However, according to two Waziristan-based reporters Dissent Today spoke to, the local police denied that their personnel were killed or injured in the incident, disputing the official version that held the protesters responsible.

Then-interim Prime Minister Anwaar Kakar repeated these accusations during a media briefing, and most media outlets reported the questionable official version, which cleared the security forces of responsibility for opening fire at the protest.

“I did not expect them to shoot,” Dawar said, adding that he wouldn’t have staged a protest and endangered his supporters’ lives if he had known the security forces would open fire on them.

Three of the men killed in the gunfire were under 30 years of age, while one was in his late 40s.

After initial treatment in Waziristan, Dawar was moved to a hospital in Peshawar for better medical care, where he remained under treatment for four days. During this time, no mainstream politician — including those who were once his allies in the Pakistan Democratic Movement — reached out to him to inquire about his health. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who called him to ask for details about the incident, was the only exception.

A year after this incident, no FIR has been registered for the killing of the four protesters, as authorities rejected Dawar’s application for a case and registered a counter FIR against him and his supporters in response. Their complaint before the election tribunal regarding alleged rigging in the constituency has not been heard either and continues to face delays.

Dawar says he had expected to face hurdles during the election but had not anticipated that the establishment would go to such lengths to keep him away from Parliament. 

His sources among security agencies often tell him that the main reason he is unacceptable to the powers that be is his stance against the Taliban. “Many political forces in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chose to accept the Taliban as a reality after they gained ground in the province,” Dawar says, but adds that his party will never accept the militant group’s presence in the region.

“We are not willing to compromise on any part of our narrative,” he says.

• Additional reporting by Rai Bhittani in North Waziristan.

Ailia Zehra

The writer is a journalist and the Founding Editor of Dissent Today. She covers politics, human rights, and religious extremism. She tweets at @AiliaZehra.

The post A Year After Elections, Ex-Waziristan Parliamentarian Unable to Find Justice for Fallen Comrades appeared first on Dissent Today.

“Take me instead of my brother, please. He can’t handle the torture. I will confess to whatever you want,” Zahid*, 32, desperately pleaded with the officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and members of a shady criminal extremist group at the FIA Cyber Crime Reporting Center in Rawalpindi. 

He has been incarcerated for over two years on blasphemy charges in Adiala Jail, Islamabad, despite the fact that he is legally entitled to be released on bail on statutory grounds. Prosecution witnesses often fail to show up at the trial, which has been prolonged for too long. 

Zahid is not alone. 

As of July 25, 2024, over 700 young Pakistanis are incarcerated across various jails in the country on allegations of blasphemy, according to the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR). The provincial breakdown of these “blasphemy” arrests is as follows: 581 cases from Punjab, 120 from Sindh, 64 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and two from Balochistan. 

The NCHR conducted an extensive investigation into these cases and highlighted a “troubling trend”: a sharp increase in the registration of blasphemy cases, the majority of which were initiated by the FIA’s cybercrime unit, often in collaboration with a private entity.

A report by the Punjab Police’s Special Branch explains the nature and operations of this “private entity,” which is operating in the manner of a business group for the purpose of hunting “blasphemers” and then extorting them. The report reveals the following:

1. There is a gang of suspicious individuals based in Islamabad and Rawalpindi who are trapping impressionable young people in blasphemy cases and subsequently referring these cases to the FIA.
2. This gang reportedly consists of a number of men and women, and is allegedly led by Sheraz Ahmed Farooqi, who poses as a member of the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

3. A lawyer named Rao Abdur Raheem Advocate is also identified as a member of this gang.

4. Rao, Sheraz, and their associates have formed an organization called the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan.

5. This gang acts as the complainant in approximately 90% of the blasphemy cases reported to and registered by the FIA.

6. They have created various WhatsApp and Facebook groups on social media to lure in and trap youth. Once involved, these individuals are falsely implicated in blasphemy cases in collaboration with certain elements within the FIA, with the intent of extorting them.The number of people entrapped by this group is astounding, and the question is, what possible motive over 700 unconnected youth from different parts of the country could have to commit blasphemy using electronic devices? Some of these young individuals are chemical engineers, while others are laborers, and many come from extremely religious or conservative backgrounds.  

The NCHR report includes testimony from a lawyer who stated that he has been “ostracized by the legal community solely for accepting such cases.” 

The figures quoted are astounding, and the question is, what possible motive over 700 unconnected youth from different parts of the country could have to commit blasphemy using electronic devices? Some of these young individuals are chemical engineers, while others are laborers, and many come from extremely religious or conservative backgrounds. 

We have also heard from our clients that nearly all of our clients were lured to Islamabad and other locations by a woman under the false pretense of “friendship” or job opportunities. After arriving, they were trapped by this Blasphemy Business Group whose members seized their phones and planted incriminating content on them. There is a pronounced lack of forensic examination of devices, which is essential for securing objective evidence in such cases.

While over 700 victims are alive and facing trial, some have not been able to withstand the torture. One such victim was Nauman*, who died after enduring severe abuse, evident from the bruises and marks covering his body when it was washed.

A common factor in all these cases is that the mobile devices of the “accused “ individuals are retained by the Blasphemy Business Group and FIA officials before being sent for any technical or forensic analysis.

Interestingly, one of the primary architects of this criminal enterprise, Advocate Raheem, has been identified by the Special Branch of Punjab. He carries content related to his activities on his phone and seeks to share it with various individuals in an effort to gain support and funding for his “noble mission” of identifying blasphemers. 

I have learned that some senior politicians and affluent influencers have donated large sums of money to him, unaware that the true objective of the group is extortion for personal benefit.

To give readers an idea of the extent of injustice and insanity, it is important to refer to one of the cases we are working on: the case of Farhan*, a young man who is blind and has been charged with creating and disseminating blasphemous content (despite clear and indisputable medical evidence of his blindness). 

The case against Farhan is perhaps one of the clearest examples of a false blasphemy accusation being concocted for the purpose of extortion. The group demanded a payment of Rs. 14 lakh from Farhan’s family in exchange for the FIA’s declaration of his innocence. Like many others who have silently paid their way out of this troubling situation, Farhan’s family would have done so as well if only they could afford it. However, because they cannot, Farhan’s application for acquittal has been pending before a Rawalpindi court for quite some time now, despite the fact that no incriminating material has been recovered from him and the evidence of his blindness.

The gang has actively created an environment of fear and intimidation, with the sole objective of securing convictions that it publicizes to obtain greater funds. 

This means the courts are unable to operate in a safe environment where judges can dispense justice without fear or favor. An Islamabad court dealing with these cases placed several cases on the E-court facility, preventing accused persons from even hearing the proceedings against them, in complete violation of their rights under Article 10A of Pakistan’s Constitution.

The prosecution story against the blasphemy-accused individuals is truly unbelievable, yet the charade continues across courts, particularly in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Moreover, we witnessed the court in Islamabad appeasing the group by writing 295C judgments in open court and seeking input from Advocate Raheem. The maxim “justice must not only be done but manifestly seen to be done” is not just dead but buried 10 feet underground.

How the Blasphemy Business Group fulfilled its rags-to-riches dream

Meanwhile, the reality is brazen: members of this group have significantly improved their standard of living since they began lodging these false cases in the FIA. According to the NCHR report, “Most of the accused individuals were from low socio-economic backgrounds with limited education,” and that “financial limitations hindered many accused individuals from accessing proper legal counsel.”

Several FIA officials have also profited from this exploitation, and the Blasphemy Business Group, in turn, has assisted many FIA officials (Grades 1-15) in securing regularization of their services, though the same officials were earlier contract employees.

Rao and the FIA officials are not alone—everyone in the group has realized their own rags-to-riches dreams in the name of religion, ensnaring innocent youth while enriching themselves. One member of the group, Raja Imran Khalil, is a lawyer involved in several cases in Rawalpindi and a complainant in a blasphemy case. 

From 2018 to 2020, he sold State Life Insurance policies. However, in January 2022, he was able to inaugurate a large, brand new office.

Despite the Special Branch Punjab’s findings that the sources of funding for this group are unknown, no one seems to question it.

Another member of the group is Ghazanfar Ali, who also appears in the Islamabad District Courts as an advocate. When Ghazanfar wishes to lodge an FIR with the FIA’s CCRC in Rawalpindi, he provides a Rawalpindi address for himself (as was done in FIR number. 85/2023). When he wishes to entrap people in Islamabad, he uses an Islamabad address as the complainant (as was done in FIR No. 138/2023). There is no scrutiny of anything submitted by the group to the FIA, which readily lodges FIRs and negotiates with families regarding the extortion amount.

The group continues to operate with impunity as the government turns a blind eye to the plight of hundreds of families across the country whose loved ones are languishing in jail for no reason other than their inability to pay the sums demanded of them. Officials in the FIA continue to partake in the racket because their fates and careers are now tied to the success of the group in court. Otherwise, this entire criminal enterprise would crumble, and the law would require that cases be lodged against members of the group and FIA officials involved in the scheme.

The most striking aspect is that several complainants in these FIRs admit, both in their applications to the FIA and in their testimonies before the courts, that they were members of the social media groups where blasphemous content was routinely shared. Yet, no one in the FIA—nor a single judge—dares to ask why these complainants remained in these blasphemous groups for so long, viewing incriminating content before they suddenly decided to report it.

Moreover, the FIA is quick to file complaint after complaint on their behalf. For example, FIR numbers 41/23, 212/23, 42/23, and 20/23 have all been lodged by the same complainant, Shehzad Khan, who is also a member of the Blasphemy Business Group, indicating that he is a resident of both Islamabad and Rawalpindi at the same time.

In the months that we have observed these cases, we have yet to see any legal arguments presented by members of the business group in a court of law, nor have we encountered any authentic evidence against the accused. Instead, we witness threats and intimidation masked as religious education from members of the gang, sending a clear message to the judges presiding over these cases: any decision to provide relief could have fatal consequences for the judge. This is not an empty threat, especially when we recall that Justice Arif Bhatti of the Lahore High Court was shot dead in his own chamber after acquitting 13-year-old Salamat Masih.

The real question remains: How can the government justify its silence on this glaring injustice and blatant abuse of the blasphemy law for the personal enrichment of a criminal group? How many more individuals will continue to be entrapped, extorted, tortured, and incarcerated for the sole purpose of enabling this gang to make a quick profit in the name of religion?

This madness and injustice has to stop, and members of this group need to be held accountable for their crimes. 

There has recently been a small glimmer of hope due to bail orders granted by the Sindh High Court in several cases. In an order dated December 11, 2024, concerning eight post-arrest bail applications, the Sindh High Court made the following observations:

1.  Several accused persons are not explicitly named in the FIRs.
2. There was no independent forensic examination conducted on the recovered material and devices.
3. The original source or creator of the content remains unidentified by the FIA, with reports suggesting that the source is “situated abroad in different countries.”

4. The reports submitted under Section 173 of the CRPC do not clearly indicate whether the data extracted from the mobile phones allegedly recovered from the applicants was edited by them or merely forwarded after being received from an unknown user, nor do they determine whether the purported blasphemous graphics are fake or genuine.

The Sindh High Court has raised important questions, but this has not come without consequences. As is typical of the business group, when outcomes do not favor them—specifically when courts uphold procedural and substantive safeguards mandated by law—they initiate a hateful and inflammatory campaign against lawyers and judges. This campaign includes issuing various press releases in which they label both judges and lawyers as blasphemers.

This is in line with their standard operating procedure throughout, where press releases have been issued after several hearings, categorizing the accused as a “blasphemer” without use of the word “alleged” and counsels for the accused as “lawyers of blasphemers.” After the recent Sindh High Court order, a campaign was launched demanding resignation of the judges. 

This criminal enterprise is not unknown to those in the corridors of power. Information on this business group’s operations has been conveyed to the highest levels of government, but they have expressed their inability to take action. The Blasphemy Business Group continues its reign of terror while some of the most hard working, enterprising and marginalized youth of this country suffer behind bars for something they never did. 

The tragedy is perhaps best encapsulated in a poem my paternal grandmother wrote during military dictator Zia ul Haq’s era, titled Aadhi gawahi (half testimony):

 تم حکمتِ دین کے پردے میں 

جائز کو ناجائز کرتے رہے 

کافر کو تو مسلم کر نا سکے 

مسلم کو کافر کرتے رہے

The Blasphemy Business Group is a direct byproduct of the state’s approach, which consistently permits the abuse of criminal law and religion to settle personal grievances. When individuals can file false blasphemy cases to resolve land disputes, it is no surprise that the Blasphemy Business Group believes it can exploit this system by submitting hundreds of fraudulent FIRs to the FIA for financial gain.

Today, hundreds of Pakistan’s hardworking youth are praying earnestly for someone to recognize this injustice and take action to stop it. Be their voice. Listen to their stories. Witness their families’ tears, and do not turn away simply because having this conversation is dangerous. 

These families deserve justice and an end to their suffering.

Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir

The writer is an Islamabad-based lawyer and human rights activist.

The post The Untold Plight of Over 700 Jailed Pakistanis Trapped in Blasphemy Cases appeared first on Dissent Today.

When you arrive at her home, words aren’t necessary—her hollow gaze and the way she cradles the photograph of a young man reveal a world of grief and longing. She never lets it out of her sight, never places it on the floor. The picture she holds so dearly is of her missing son, Sami Ullah Mengal, for whom she fasted for months, even through Nushki’s intense summer heat. Nushki is one of the hottest regions in Balochistan, but she remained steadfast in her prayers. Over the years, she sacrificed more than 25 goats and a cow, selling the gold jewelry she had saved for Sami’s wedding—a Baloch tradition where the groom’s family gifts gold according to their means.

Her son, Sami, who was then 18-years-old, was forcibly disappeared 15 years ago from Quetta, Balochistan. Since that day, this woman has known no peace. She shared that she often dreams of him, but in all her dreams, he is still a child. “It’s been 15 years, and now he’s grown up. I wish I could see him as he is now, in my dreams,” she says, her voice trembling.

For the past 15 years, Bibi Hajira has kept her door open—day and night, through the coldest winters and the fiercest storms. Not once has she shut it, even during the harshest weather. “I keep my door open because, maybe someday, in the middle of the night, Sami will come back from the dungeons and he will think of me that his mother didn’t wait for him,” she says. 

Her other children ask her not to leave the door open in winter, when the cold seeps into the house. But she remains firm. “I keep the door open because what if he returns late at night? I don’t want him to feel cold while waiting outside.”

Sami was a young boy, yet he volunteered as a tutor in Nushki. After his classes, he would come home for lunch and then return to teach the kids, spending his days this way.

“He was very sincere and sensitive, unlike my other children. He loved education,” his mother shared, her voice filled with pride. She recalled a moment when she told him, “Why are you wasting your time with these kids? Rest at home.”

His response still echoes in her heart: “They are our future, mother. Let them be educated.”

Sami Mengal was a Zoology student in his third semester at the University of Balochistan when he was abducted by the Frontier Corps (FC) in August 2009. It happened for the first time in Quetta’s Satellite Town, while he was on his way to teach a tuition class. He was accused of possessing a hand grenade and was kept in custody for 14 days. His case was brought before a session’s court in Quetta, and he was detained in the Central Jail for two months. A bail application was filed for him as his exams were scheduled for November. After appearing twice before the session court, he was released in November.

However, on November 16, 2009, after his court appearance, things took a darker turn. Sami’s elder brother, Abdul Rehman Mengal, was with him that day. They were at T. Dees tailor shop on Dr. Bano Road to collect Eid clothes. As the tailor was preparing to dispatch the garments, a black Vigo vehicle pulled up in front of the shop. “They were armed but in plain clothes. They covered our heads with clothes and took us to the Quetta cantonment. Our pictures were taken. Sami was then taken through another gate,” his brother recalled.

That was the last time Abdul Rehman would see his brother. An hour and a half later, they handcuffed Abdul Rehman, placed him in a car, and dropped him off on an empty road. They removed his handcuffs and threw him out of the car.

“It was desolate, and I could feel there were no humans around. I didn’t even know where I was. It was freezing cold,” he says. “The shawl I had been holding before the abduction was thrown over me, and they left.” He continued walking, struggling against the freezing cold of Quetta’s night. It wasn’t until later that he realized he was on Airport Road.

When they returned his mobile phone, he called his uncle. Around 4 p.m., they reached the Civil Lines Police Station in Quetta, but the police refused to file a report. The next day, Abdul Rehman held a press conference in Quetta and filed a Constitutional Petition in the High Court. Following the High Court’s orders, they were finally able to file an FIR.

Sami’s brother, Abdul Rehman, shared that in 2010, the Supreme Court formed the commission of inquiry for missing persons, with a mandate to investigate enforced disappearances and provide recommendations for eliminating this practice. 

Justice Fazal-ur-Rehman registered Sami’s case with the commission, and the proceedings began. At the same time, the case was ongoing in the High Court. However, Justice Faizi of the High Court later dismissed the case because Abdul Rehman, who was a professor at Nushki Degree College, missed a court hearing.

“I couldn’t travel from Nushki to Quetta for one hearing, and they dismissed the case. But justice was never given,” he recalled.

After the High Court dismissed the case, Abdul Rehman submitted a petition to the Supreme Court. During this time, the commission’s chief justice changed, and Justice Mohammad Ghaus took over. “He then rejected my case, citing the High Court’s dismissal,” he shared.

A year and a half later, a Supreme Court bench came to Quetta for registry, and Abdul Rehman brought Sami’s case before them again. “They sent my case back to the Commission on Missing Persons and overturned the High Court’s dismissal.”

Abdul Rehman further recounted that he was an eyewitness to Sami’s enforced disappearance, along with two others: the tailor who saw Sami taken and a third man, from Sindh, who was detained in the same torture cell as Sami. Upon his release, this man came to their mother and shared what he had seen. He even recorded a video testimony, which Abdul Rehman later submitted to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

During this time, Justice Fazal-ur-Rehman once again became head of the commission. Court proceedings continued, and the evidence was accepted, leading to the issuance of a production order for Sami. Still, there was no progress.

“I wrote another application to the commission,” Abdul Rehman said. “Five months later, I was summoned, only to be told to return after two months.” On his second visit, he was informed that the commission was awaiting explanations from the agencies. Another four to five months passed, yet the commission never summoned him again.

In 2012, a UN team on missing persons visited Pakistan and at Quetta at Serena Hotel to document cases of missing persons, and Abdul Rehman registered Sami’s case there as well. “To this day, we have no trace of him,” he said, his voice tinged with frustration.

“After following all the legal channels, Sami was never released. I still wonder how the court dismissed my case over missing a single hearing, while the judiciary itself failed to deliver justice in 15 years—even with all the evidence I provided,” he laments.

Rehman no longer believes in the judiciary or the law and has stopped going to court. “Sami was the youngest of us. My siblings and I have all grown up, and now we have children of our own. Deep down, I know Sami is no longer alive. The way the man from Sindh described his torture—no one could survive that. And even if he had, how could a young man endure such suffering for 15 years?”

Sami’s mother still held onto hope that when Sami was released, she would cook a feast for the entire town of Nushki, so everyone could celebrate his return.

At the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s gathering in Nushki on August 12, families of the forcibly disappeared sat together, united in their grief. Among them was Hajira Bibi, enduring the extreme heat. Every ten minutes or so, she would lose consciousness, then wake, splash water on her head, and sit back up—only to faint again.

“I am weak now; it’s hard for me to even move,” she admitted. “But I wanted to be here, to show my presence for my beloved Sami, even if it means feeling this weakness and fainting over and over.”

Sami’s father died in 2017 waiting for his son. “Before he passed, he told me his final wish, which has since become my mission, even as I feel like I am nearing my own final days,” she shared. “He said, ‘If Sami is ever released, bring him to my grave and make him stand in a way that I can see him.’ I feel the weight of those words, feeling I failed as a wife because I couldn’t fulfill his wish and bring Sami to his father’s grave.’”

Although her movements are limited, she still attends protests, even in a wheelchair. “My children worry about me and try to stop me, but they’ve learned to let me go,” she said. “They think I’m being stubborn, but how can anyone understand the madness that grips a mother when her young, handsome son disappears?”

Hazaran Rahim Dad

The author is a Balochistan-based feature writer covering war and enforced disappearances in the province.

The post A Baloch Mother’s Agonizing Quest To Reunite With Her Missing Son appeared first on Dissent Today.

Mikhail Savostin
In exile since: 2021
Targeted for: Organizing and attending protests against Putin

In 2019, when Mikhail Savostin, an anti-Putin activist, was released after spending more than a year in a Russian prison in the southwestern city of Stavropol on dubious charges of marijuana possession, he realized that he was no longer strong enough to fight the regime. Having faced multiple arrests, torture and experienced a hunger strike in jail, his health had deteriorated. Finally, in August of 2021, Savostin, now 47, left Russia for Cyprus, hoping to win political asylum and start a new life.

The sense of safety he felt after arriving in Cyprus was short-lived, as he began receiving threats less than a year later for his online criticism of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. One morning, as he left his home, he was shocked to see what he described as a “warning” from Russian authorities. A poster had appeared in the city of Limassol, featuring black-and-white photos of prominent Russian dissidents based in Cyprus who had been critical of the Ukraine war, including Savostin. The poster included mourning ribbons and funeral lamps, implying that the individuals depicted were deceased. According to local media, some of these individuals were questioned by the Cyprus police prior to the emergence of the mysterious poster. While Savostin does not know who was behind this act, he believes it was a death threat issued by the Russian authorities as a result of his anti-Putin posts on social media, where he commands a significant following.

After the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian government intensified its crackdown on dissent. The authorities began actively targeting those who criticized the war. Within two weeks of the start of the war, at least 150 journalists were said to have fled Russia. In March of 2022, President Putin enacted a series of new laws criminalizing criticism of the invasion or the Russian army, making dissent even more dangerous.

Savostin was still awaiting a decision on his asylum application in Cyprus when he saw his photo on the poster, and news reports about critics of the war being persecuted added to his fears. In April of 2023, his asylum application was denied by Cyprus, prompting him to flee to the United States through the Mexico border, where he succeeded in getting asylum a month later.

According to Savostin, the authorities in Cyprus facilitate the Putin regime’s crackdown on dissidents by refusing to protect individuals seeking refuge in the country. He believes this is why he was denied asylum despite having a strong case.

Savostin worked as an activist in Russia for more than 20 years, during which time he also ran for government offices. He was once a candidate for deputy in the regional Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia).

Due to his activism, Savostin was jailed twice. The first time was in 1999, when he organized rallies against the alleged exploitation of low-wage workers, and he served a year in prison. Later, in 2018, he was jailed for attending a protest in Stavropol against Putin’s reelection. 

In 2019, the jail doctors misdiagnosed him with lung cancer, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the authorities released him and suspended his three-year sentence, believing he was going to die. “It was a mild illness, but they thought I was dying,” he said. “They didn’t want to be blamed for my death.”

After his release, he no longer had the energy to continue being chased by the police. He resumed some of his less risky activism work but decided to maintain a low profile—a far cry from his pre-arrest life. “I did not want to go to jail again. I have faced the worst conditions,” he told Dissent Today over a Zoom call from his place of residence in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “From torture to isolation, I was targeted as if I were one of the country’s most dangerous enemies.”

Savostin now lives in Minneapolis, where a Russian opposition group helped him find temporary housing. He had been active in political and activist circles back home, but is currently unemployed as he waits for his work authorization. “Not having a job makes it even harder to cope with the loneliness you experience after being detached from your country and your people,” he says.

Savostin has an 18-year-old son who is still in Russia and will soon have to enlist in the military for mandatory service. “I wanted to bring him to the U.S. before he turned 18 so that he does not have to participate in the Russian military’s war crimes,” he says.

But Savostin has received little support from human rights organizations in the U.S. in his efforts to bring his son to the country. He is relying on activist groups in Russia that are trying to move to America to bring his son along with them.

He was active on social media until recently; however, Savostin has now toned down his online activism and no longer writes or shares anything critical of Putin, fearing that his son might be targeted as a result.

“This self-censorship is part of my new identity,” he says. “There was a time when I was determined to keep speaking out against Putin’s crimes regardless of the consequences. But now, I don’t have it in me to fight this battle. I don’t want my son to suffer because of me.”

Savostin’s now ex-wife wanted him to return to Russia from Cyprus and assure the authorities that he had given up his activism, in order to guarantee the family’s safety. “But returning to Russia would have meant presenting myself for yet another jail term,” he said. Due to their disagreement on this matter, Savostin’s wife sought a divorce, and the couple parted ways.

As he waits for his work authorization, which has been delayed for over two weeks now, Savostin wonders if he will ever be able to truly adjust to life in the U.S. He does not speak English, which makes it harder to navigate the American immigration system and life in general. 

“The way they are delaying the process of issuing the work permit makes me question why they allow us to enter the U.S. in the first place if they do not have the resources to help us adjust,” he says.

Ailia Zehra

The writer is a journalist and the Founding Editor of Dissent Today. She covers politics, human rights, and religious extremism. She tweets at @AiliaZehra.

The post ‘Self-Censorship Shapes My New Identity’: Exiled Russian Activist Reflects on Leaving Activism Behind appeared first on Dissent Today.

Ahmad and three other delegates who took part in this action had named their small group “Delegates Against Genocide” for the purpose of initiating such disruptions at the convention. According to Ahmad, the area behind her, where a group of men was seen leaning over to attack her and the banner, was designated for the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA). The Union’s General President, Brent Booker, whom Ahmad claims was among the five men who attacked her, had addressed the convention earlier that day. “Three of them were hitting me in the head while two others ripped the banner away from my hands,” she told Dissent Today.

Ahmad had managed to get the sign past security by sneaking it under her clothing, but it quickly caught the attention of the delegates when it was unfurled. Other members of the Florida delegation also tried to stop the action, but the group was determined to display the banner. “We had instructed each other not to give up the banner at any cost,” she said. But when Ahmad fell forward after being hit by the men sitting behind her, the disruption had to come to an end.

Ahmad has made a formal complaint to the DNC regarding the incident, naming the attackers and urging the chair to take action. However, the DNC has yet to release any statement concerning the matter. Ahmad told Dissent Today that Roger Lau, the Deputy Executive Director of the DNC, reached out to her about the assault but indicated that the situation would be managed by law enforcement rather than the DNC.

Allegations of Islamophobia

Videos from the convention appear to show Booker and his colleagues forcibly removing the “Stop Arming Israel” banner from the hands of Ahmad and other members of the pro-Palestine group. Although other delegates involved in this protest were equally engaged, Ahmad, who is Muslim, is the only one who was assaulted, leading her to characterize the incident as an Islamophobic attack.

Liano Sharon, a Jewish delegate from Michigan who held the banner alongside Ahmad, agreed that the fact that she wears a hijab and is visibly Muslim may have been the reason why the attackers targeted her in particular. “What the LIUNA members did was a clear violation of the union’s code of conduct and should be grounds for action against them,” he told Dissent Today, emphasizing that the Democratic Party needs to develop strict codes of conduct to address incidents like this.

LiUNA and the Executive Director of the Florida Democratic Party did not immediately respond to Dissent Today‘s request for comment.

Meanwhile, the Uncommitted Movement, which staged a sit-in outside the venue on the third night of the convention to protest the DNC’s rejection of their request for a Palestinian-American to speak on stage, chose not to participate in this action during Biden’s speech, as they did not support disrupting the convention. Ahmad told Dissent Today that “Delegates Against Genocide” and the Uncommitted Movement employed different strategies to draw attention to Gaza and did not coordinate their efforts.

Discussing their plan to disrupt the President’s speech, Ahmad revealed that many delegates who had intended to protest ultimately decided against it, fearing the revocation of their credentials. However, Ahmad and her informal group—whom she likens to a “secret society” because many members were working behind the scenes—chose to proceed with the protest. “We didn’t care about the credentials,” Ahmad stated, adding that their intention was to “set the tone” for the rest of the convention and encourage others to speak out against the violence in Gaza.

As she had anticipated, Ahmad was denied her credentials the next day by the Florida Democratic Party without explanation. After much ado, she managed to obtain a guest pass on the third day of the convention. “I had to go back and forth, trying to get my credentials back while my head throbbed from all the hitting,” she says. Ahmad suspects that the party wanted to keep her away from the convention after the incident so she would not be able to identify the attackers. However, since the group had informed the press about their plans to disrupt Biden’s speech, the attackers were caught on camera, and she did not have to worry about identifying them.

In July, following a shooting incident at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania, President Biden warned of the dangers of political violence in the U.S. In a prime-time address from the Oval Office, Biden stated that political violence must not be normalized, declaring, “There is no place in America for this kind of violence — for any violence. Ever. Period.”

Ahmad finds it ironic that she was struck in the head with “We love Joe” signs during the DNC convention, given Biden’s warnings about the threat political violence poses to the nation. “It’s truly astounding that during a time when President Biden is addressing political violence and the events of January 6, they chose to hit me with a ‘We love Joe’ sign simply because I was holding a sign that said ‘Stop Arming Israel.'”

Despite facing violence, Ahmad says she will continue protesting the Biden administration’s role in enabling Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza. “We are here, and we will not stop speaking out,” she asserted.

Ailia Zehra

The writer is a journalist and the Founding Editor of Dissent Today. She covers politics, human rights, and religious extremism. She tweets at @AiliaZehra.

The post Pro-Palestine DNC Delegate Assaulted For Disrupting Biden’s Speech Vows To Keep Speaking Out appeared first on Dissent Today.

On Pakistan’s Independence Day this year, Noman roamed the streets near Karachi’s Memon Goth, until he fell into one of the many uncovered manholes and lost his life.

Noman’s father, Rehmat Ullah, is a resident near Memon Goth and works as a rickshaw driver. After looking for his son for half an hour and prodding the drain with a stick, they found the body.

Noman was loved by everyone and was born six years after his parents’ marriage.

Deaths resulting from uncovered manholes have become common in Karachi. At least 68 people were reportedly killed by these manholes in Karachi this year alone.

Moreover, there is a lack of proper data because many parents do not report their children’s deaths in the first place.

A similar incident occurred in Orangi Town when Razia, a 50-year-old woman, fell into a hole. A man who dived in to save her also lost his life after inhaling toxic gases. In September, a four-year-old girl named Umra Baloch, lost her life due to a sewerage drain in Mawach Goth. The family staged a protest and accused the relevant authorities of criminal negligence.

 

Deaths resulting from uncovered manholes have become common in Karachi. At least 68 people were reportedly killed by these manholes in Karachi this year alone.

 

Zahid Farooq, an official at the Urban Resource Center, said that responsibility for this negligence lies on the authorities of the area and its jurisdiction. The union council requests the town to provide how many covers they need, and the town, along with the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), provides covers to the union council. Then, the UC distributes them.

In some cases, both the UC and the KWSB are directly involved, but primarily it is the UC’s responsibility.

Moreover, he stated that the contributing factors to these cases are “rain, load shedding, and a lack of streetlights in the area.”

He also pointed out the “quality of construction,” citing an example from Jehangir Road with weak infrastructure manholes. The main reason, according to Farooq, is the lack of “surveys.” Often, covers get broken, and there is also a shortage of resources to cover all the uncovered manholes. Furthermore, he emphasized that public participation is necessary.

Farooq said that people should approach the Union Council via verbal complaint if they encounter any opened manhole cover in their area. “Proper infrastructure, effective governance, and public participation are necessary to address these issues,” he added.

Aftab Chandio, the chief engineer of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KSWB), stated that a new policy has been implemented by the mayor, which includes the distribution of manhole covers. Chandio explained that responsibility is allocated based on specific areas, and many incidents that have occurred fall under the jurisdiction of other departments.

“There are more than three lakh manholes in Karachi,” said Chandio. Additionally, he pointed out that manhole covers are being stolen by drug addicts, and they also face quality issues. “We have distributed manhole covers to all 246 union councils in Karachi,” he added.
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He emphasized that recent incidents observed in Karachi are not within KSWB’s jurisdiction. Chandio noted that systems installed by the union councils are not being adequately maintained. Furthermore, he added that both the tragic events that happened in Memon Goth and Mowach Goth fall under the purview of the Public Health Engineering Department and the Rural Development Department.

Shaeran Rufus

The writer is a Karachi-based journalist passionate about human rights, social issues, and minority advocacy. She tweets at @ShaeranRufus

The post In Karachi, Deadly Manholes Are Killing Children As Authorities Shift Blame appeared first on Dissent Today.

In 1970, Pakistan’s former military dictator Zia-ul-Haq helped the Jordan king kill “more Palestinians in 11 days than Israel could kill in 20 years.” Zia-ul-Haq, who was then a Brigadier, led offensives alongside the Jordanian army that killed over 3,000 Palestinians in Jordan.

He was dispatched by Pakistan to assist the Jordanian army in 1967. In his fight against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), King Hussein had ordered his troops to target Palestinians in refugee camps around Amman in 1970.

This 1970 conflict between the Jordan King and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), was called “Black September.”

Following the 1967 war, Jordan’s army and air force were severely damaged by Israel. In an effort to rebuild the military, the US and UK supplied equipment while Pakistan was sought out for training.

How it began

The attacks by Palestinian insurgent groups such as the PFLP on Israel from Jordan caused the Jewish state to retaliate. This caused concern for Jordan’s King Hussein, especially due to the presence of a significant Iraqi Army contingent in Jordan that was supposedly there to protect against Israel. Palestinian militant groups were also supported by both Iraq and Syria, which added to the tensions.

In 1970, King Hussein survived at least two assassination attempts, with one happening in June when his motorcade was attacked. Following this, the Jordanian Army began shelling Palestinian refugee camps in the vicinity of Amman.

From September 17th to September 27th, the Jordanian army and its supporters including Pakistani troops led by Brigadier Zia ul Haq fought Palestinians, including fighters from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). About 4000 to 10,000 individuals were said to have died in the conflict, mainly innocent civilians involved in city combat.

On September 18, Syrian tanks entered Jordan in support of Palestinian fighters, which led to Zia-ul-Haq being sent to the scene for an assessment. According to a CIA official Jack O’Connell, Zia-ul-Haq personally led Jordanian troops during the battles.

Seven years after he helped kill Palestinian insurgents, Zia-ul-Haq would stage a coup in Pakistan as chief of the army staff by overthrowing the government of prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The significance of Black September was noted by British-Pakistani writer Tariq Ali, who quoted Moshe Dayan, one of the founders of the State of Israel, as saying that King Hussein killed more Palestinians in 11 days than Israel could in 20 years. And Pakistan facilitated these killings of Palestinians, with Zia-ul-Haq playing a major role. Black September ended the influence of Palestinian fighters in Jordan and led to their expulsion from the country.

News Desk

dissenttoday.net

The post When Pakistan’s Brigadier Zia-ul-Haq Led Military Offensive Killing More Than 3,000 Palestinians appeared first on Dissent Today.

On June 24, Manmohan Singh, a 35-year-old shop owner, was killed by an unidentified assailant in Peshawar while heading home from work in a rickshaw. This was the third incident of targeted killing of Sikhs in Peshawar this year, following the murder of the 40-year-old shopkeeper, Dyal Singh, in April. 

Dyal is survived by four children. According to his brother, Kaim Singh, during the month of Ramadan, Dyal would sell items at affordable prices at his shop. 

In another terror incident in July, Sardar Amir Chohan Singh narrowly survived an attack on Kohat Road in Peshawar. Singh was on his way to work when he encountered two individuals riding a motorcycle. The attackers had concealed their faces with masks and were carrying weapons with the intention of targeting Singh for a potential assassination. Singh was able to avoid the situation and safely returned home. An FIR was registered into this incident at the Rehman Baba Police Station, but the police have made no arrests so far. Tarlok Singh, the owner of a grocery store, survived a similar attack in June. 

In May 2022, two other shopkeepers, Ranjit Singh and Kuljit Singh, were shot dead at their shops in Bata Tal Chowk in Peshawar. 

Savinder Singh, the owner of a cosmetic shop in Saddar, Peshawar, received a threatening letter in July of this year that contained the message: “Next: “Next target soon. Wait for your turn. InshaAllah and Allahu Akbar”

Gurpal Singh, a Sikh activist and community leader, told Dissent Today that after the killing of Dyal Singh in April, approximately 159 families have left Peshawar for Punjab, with 80 children obtaining leave certificates from various schools in the city. He added that it is the Sikh men working as shopkeepers who are mostly being targeted in Peshawar. “The City of flowers”, he said, has now become “the city of blood”.’ Singh called on Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to take suo motu notice of such incidents. 

The caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan had announced an amount of PKR 3,00,000 ($980) to the families of Tarlok who was injured in an attack, and compensation of PKR 10,00000 (about $3,267) for the family of the slain Manmohan Singh. However, activist Gurpaal Singh revealed that the cheques were never given to the families, referring to them as ‘dummy cheques.’ The families have written a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar regarding the order, but they are still struggling to receive the financial compensation. 

Sikhs leaving Pakistan – a country where they once found safety 

According to Gurpaal Singh, there are approximately 15,000 Sikhs left in Pakistan. Despite their small numbers, the Sikh community holds significant historical and cultural importance in the country.

Due to regional instability, many Sikhs in Afghanistan migrated to Pakistan, India, and other foreign countries in the 1990s. The population decrease in the region was primarily due to various conflicts, such as the Afghan war and civil wars of 1992, resulting in a significant Sikh diaspora, particularly from Kabul and Jalalabad. The population, which was between 200,000 and 500,000 in 1970, had dropped to around 700 in 2020, according to a Sikh businessman.

Prior to the partition of the Indian subcontinent, an estimated 2 million Sikhs lived in Pakistan, mainly in the Punjab region. However, their population has drastically declined to only a few thousand since 1947.

The migration of Afghan Sikhs to Pakistan was due to various reasons, including a lack of security, incidents such as the burning of gurdwaras, suicide bombings, the imposition of jizya tax, and the Taliban’s ban on cremation customs.

Prior to the partition of the Indian subcontinent, an estimated 2 million Sikhs lived in Pakistan, mainly in the Punjab region. However, their population has drastically declined to only a few thousand since 1947. According to Singh, roughly 7,000 Sikhs currently reside in Punjab, with a concentration in Nankana Sahib and Lahore. Additionally, approximately 6,000 Sikhs live in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

‘Militant group behind attacks against minorities’

Meanwhile, a police source told Dissent Today on the condition of anonymity that an investigation into the recent cases of targeted killing of the community was ongoing, which is why details regarding handlers and cells cannot be disclosed. The source indicated that there is ‘one militant group’ responsible for all cases of targeted killings of religious minorities in Peshawar this year.

According to a police source, a total of nine people were targeted, including three Muslim religious leaders, two Sikhs (one of whom survived the attack but was injured), one Shia, and two Christians. The police source further stated that the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), a.k.a. Daesh, has claimed responsibility for the targeted attacks. According to another police source, a 30-bore weapon was used in the recent killings, and there is a resemblance among weapons used in different attacks.

When asked about the upsurge in targeted killings in Peshawar, the police source attributed it to the influx of people migrating from Afghanistan to Pakistan due to the policies of the Afghan Taliban who have been ruling the country since 2021. In response to these attacks, the police claimed to have provided security to minority communities, installing security checkpoints at undisclosed hotspots after the killing of Manmohan Singh.

Radesh Singh Tony, a human rights activist, and Chairman of the Minority Rights Forum, stated that the Sikh community was being targeted not just in Peshawar but other parts of the country as well. Tony stated that these targeted killings began in 2013, starting with extortion and kidnapping incidents.

He said the first person to be killed in such targeted attacks was Bhagwan Singh in 2013 in Charsadda. In 2016, Dr. Soran Singh, the provincial minister for minority affairs, was also killed, he added. 

Criticizing the government, Tony, who once contested an election from Peshawar’s PK-75 constituency, questioned why they failed to trace the threatening calls and nab the culprits before the killings. According to the activist, the Sikh community is an easy target because they are recognizable due to their turbans and beards. 

Hate speech through loudspeakers 

Tony also stated that clerics in mosques practice hate speeches against minorities through loudspeakers, which is a reason for this rise in targeted killing of the Sikh community in the city.

Tony proposed that community policing should be introduced in bazaars by the government or police to easily identify terrorists, as the province lacks a dependable CCTV footage system. Despite victims reporting extortion calls, the police have not responded. 

“The biggest evidence of failure is that no one has ever been brought to justice for these crimes against the community,” he said.

However, a police source claimed that Police Liaison Committees already function as community policing. Another police source, addressing the absence of adequate CCTV cameras in bazaars, stated that they are working on the matter from multiple angles. The police also revealed that they have deployed a special force group for this purpose.

Shaeran Rufus

The writer is a Karachi-based journalist passionate about human rights, social issues, and minority advocacy. She tweets at @ShaeranRufus

The post Peshawar’s Sikh Families Are Leaving Their Homes to Escape New Wave of Targeted Killings appeared first on Dissent Today.

Mangal was among the several Indian fishermen arrested by Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency in February 2020 and detained in Malir prison, Karachi. He was 35 years old and from Nana Vada, Gujarat.

Pakistan was to repatriate 99 Indian fishermen on 3 July, but this never happened for unexplained reasons. Mangal died on August 6 of ‘natural causes’, according to the medical certificate.

Another fisherman, Soma Baraiya, 58, who was to be released along with 198 other Indian fishermen in May, passed away days before his repatriation. Hailing from Kotda village in the Indian state of Gujarat, he has been imprisoned since 2020. After being taken ill, he was sent to hospital, where he died due to lung and heart issues.

Neither man should have been in prison in the first place. 

Hard positions

Mangal is the fifth foreign prisoner to die in captivity in Pakistan, writes Dawn News in an editorial, due to “the hard positions taken by the two states and the erasure of humanitarian concern”.

The incarcerated fisherfolk’s impoverished families struggle to survive while the main breadwinners are jailed, treated as criminals, and “kept underfed and without healthcare in grimy, choked prison cells,” writes Dawn. “All this pain is in the name of an unsettled history and indiscernible maritime boundaries.”

The only means of survival for the fisherfolk is fishing. When they cross the invisible international maritime border, they risk being arrested by the other country’s security agencies.

Soma Baraiya’s mortal remains were repatriated in just over two weeks – an excruciating wait for his grieving families, but because his nationality had already been verified in readiness for the upcoming repatriation, the process was far quicker than the usual 2-3 months.

It is unacceptable that in this age of digital communication, the authorities take months to confirm the nationality of incarcerated fisherfolk. Even in the case of demise, as in the above cases, it typically takes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs two weeks after a death in custody to send an official communication across the border.

India and Pakistan signed a Consular Access Agreement in May 2008, according to which they would provide consular access to each other’s prisoners within three months of the arrest and not after completion of the prisoners’ prison term. This has not happened.

The Agreement needs to be followed “in letter and spirit”, as urged by the Joint Judicial Committee on Prisoners at its meeting in May 2013.

The Committee, comprising four members from each country – retired judges from the higher judiciary – in fact recommended that such prisoners must be provided consular access “every year, at least four times, namely in the first week of February, the first week of May, the first week of August, and the first week of November”.

Formed in 2007, the Committee met twice a year for most years until its last meeting in India in October 2013.

The retired judges would also meet cross-border prisoners – fishermen and civilians. The process helped expedite issues like consular access, health, legal aid and so on.

The Judicial Committee needs to be urgently reconstituted.

The current process shows the insensitivity of our systems and highlights how fishermen and others are of the lowest priority as they remain incarcerated without reason in other country’s prisons.

The fishing communities of both countries “have good relations among each other,” says Veljibhai Masani, a fishing community leader in his 50s from Mangrol, Gujarat.

Before 2001, fishing community delegations would occasionally visit the other country to verify their incarcerated colleagues’ nationalities. This process needs to be revived.

Greater pollution on the Indian side and dwindling fish supplies drive more Indian fishermen towards Pakistani waters than the other way around.

There are currently 266 Indian fishermen in Malir jail, Karachi and 68 Pakistani fishermen in various jails across Gujarat.

Earlier in May and June this year, Pakistan repatriated 398 Indian fishermen, while India repatriated 15 Pakistani fishermen and some civilian prisoners in May and July.

Another 100 Indian fishermen incarcerated in Pakistan were to be repatriated on July 3, but that has yet to happen.

It is unacceptable that in this age of digital communication, the authorities take months to confirm the nationality of incarcerated fisherfolk. Even in the case of demise, as in the above cases, it typically takes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs two weeks after a death in custody to send an official communication across the border.

Repatriate now

Family members of those incarcerated across the hostile border are nervous and unsure about the future of their loved ones. They desperately call anyone who they think can be of help. The trauma affects them mentally and physically.

Pakistan’s interim Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar would do well to take the urgent step of repatriating 100 Indian fishermen promised by the previous government. If the decision is carried out, it will send a strong and positive message.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, those incarcerated across the border have no communication with their families back home. Although there are no official directives, sending anything from India to Pakistan and vice versa has become virtually impossible. Earlier, they could at least send letters to their relatives.

In the absence of communication, the arrested fishermen’s family members have no information about how their loved ones are faring. Prisoners have a right to meet relatives and friends but this is not possible between India and Pakistan.

For humanity’s sake, there’s a need to think out of the box — why can there not be online meetings between arrested fishermen and their relatives? This is quite doable and will give some hope to the prisoners and their families.

When a few fishermen from Maharashtra were repatriated to India recently, one of them was in shock, learning of his mother’s death only after entering India. How can the system be so insensitive to the suffering of the arrested fishermen and their relatives?

With smaller boats and limited capacity, fewer Pakistani fishermen venture towards India, which is why there are fewer in Indian custody.

Confiscated boats

Testimony from the fishing community and boat owners suggests that Pakistan has over 1,200 Indian fishing boats in its custody, captured over the years. Each boat costs around INR 60 lakh, over USD 72,000 in today’s currency.

India holds over 200 Pakistani boats. They are smaller than the Indian ones and have yet to be returned.

The only time any boats were returned was in March 2015, when Pakistan sent back 57 Indian fishing boats. An Indian fishing community delegation flew to Karachi — there was a direct flight between Mumbai and Karachi then — and Pakistan’s MSA towed the boats to the maritime border where the Indian coastguards and fishing boat owners met them.

“Narendra Modi had just become prime minister and was on good terms with Pakistan’s then premier Nawaz Sharif”, says Veljibhai Masan, who was part of the eight-member delegation.

Pakistan had promised to release 22 more boats later, but that never happened.

Disuse and lack of maintenance damages the confiscated boats in any case, so even if returned, they are not seaworthy.

Economy suffers

When fisherfolk are arrested and fishing boats confiscated, the coastal economy suffers. Boats are the only source of income for most people in the fishing community.

The fishing community is poor. Most are semi-literate. Their families struggle to survive when their members are arrested across the border. Women take up extra jobs, often in the fishing industry or home-based work. Children are forced to drop out of school. They become neglected and lose interest in their studies.

A government scheme in Gujarat, India, provides some relief, giving each family INR 300 per day during the fishermen’s incarceration in Pakistani prisons. However, it benefits only those who are first-time detainees. Some fishermen, arrested twice or thrice, become ineligible. It also does not help fishermen from other states working in Gujarat.

The Maharashtra government announced a similar scheme last month. But the resolution, in Marathi, is a non-starter, requiring the incarcerated fishermen to have received permission for fishing from the Maharashtra government. Such permission is given to boats, not individuals.

Both governments, in their communication, have stated that the fisherfolk cross the water border inadvertently. This is true. And if they cross the border inadvertently, why should they be detained in prisons across the border for years? Nowhere in the world are people kept incarcerated for so long for inadvertently crossing a border.

They are generally held and charged for violating the Foreigners Act, which carries a sentence of six months. The detained men typically spend a year or more in prison before getting a court hearing. Their under-trial time is not counted. The process of nationality verification begins only after they have served their sentences. This takes more time. And then, they are released only when it is considered to be a ‘good time’ politically.

‘No Arrest Policy’

Activists have also long been calling for a No-Arrest policy and for fishing boats that cross the maritime border to be pushed back into their own country’s waters. Adopting such a policy will stop the harassment of fishermen and their families and reduce pressure on the treasury.

Last August, over 30 organisations around Southasia and beyond endorsed a joint statement about cross-border prisoners initiated by Sapan, the Southasia Peace Action Network, calling for the humane treatment of cross-border prisoners and to decriminalise inadvertent illegal border crossings.

The statement, titled ‘Release prisoners on completion of jail term, decriminalise inadvertent border crossings, especially for fisherfolk and minors‘, draws attention to the death of two Indian fisherfolk in Pakistani custody in 2022 and the death of a Pakistani fisherman of Bengali origin in India’s custody the previous year.

Ideally, there should not be even a single fisherman of either country in Indian and Pakistan’s prisons.

Viewing the issue through a humanitarian rather than purely legal or political lens is the need of the hour. It is time to stop using poor fisherfolk as pawns in bilateral relations.

– With additional inputs from Abdullah Zahid in Karachi

This is a Sapan News syndicated feature.

Jatin Desai and Beena Sarwar

Jatin Desai and Beena Sarwar are longtime journalists who met through the Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy launched in 1994. Based in Mumbai, Jatin Desai has served as General Secretary of the PIPFPD India chapter. Formerly based in Karachi and Lahore, Beena Sarwar has written extensively on issues of cross-border prisoners. She is editor Sapan News beena@sapannews.com.

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