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.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s use of force to make Khan accede forever forfeited civilians’ say in Balochistan’s matters and gave unchallenged dominance to the military. This injustice also resulted in the Baloch people’s eternal mistrust in Pakistan; prompting resistance which to date has not only continued but intensified in proportion to atrocities and injustices against the Baloch people.

FORCED UNIFORMITY

Oblivious to the different social ethea they were confronted with within physical boundaries of what became Pakistan, the extremely insecure Pakistani elite and establishment decided to impose uniformity in the name of religion and enforce conformity by force. For them, the universe itself was created on 14th August and histories of the nations that existed for eons before did not matter. Bengalis suffered immeasurably but luckily broke free in 1971 while in Balochistan the cost of this unnecessary tragedy in human, social and economic terms has been catastrophic and continues to rise.

The policy of repression in Balochistan has always been indiscriminate, but now it is the students who bear the brunt. Hafeez, Faheem, Sagheer Baloch among many others were abducted in broad daylight. Many have been tortured during illegal incarceration.

Disappearances have been rife in Balochistan since long with a few lucky ones returning alive, but their mental and physical health is shattered for good. Sadly, neither high courts nor the so-called nationalist politicians of Balochistan dare to challenge this culture of impunity surrounding enforced disappearances.

The policy of repression in Balochistan has always been indiscriminate, but now it is the students who bear the brunt.

A reign of terror prevailed in Balochistan during 2008-2013 when the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) ruled at the centre and in Balochistan. Death squads operated with impunity and thousands of Baloch activists became victims of the ‘abduct, kill and dump’ policy. Many dumped bodies had ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ carved out on them. Professor Saba Dashtyari was killed on June 1st 2011 by assassins. The Tutak mass-grave was discovered in January 2014. The list is too long, and the situation hasn’t improved since then.

When Sangat Sana Baloch was found dead on 13th February 2012, there were 28 bullet wounds on his body. Jalil Reki, son of Mama Qadeer, the Vice Chairman of Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), had received three bullets in his heart. Hearts they couldn’t subdue were vengefully shot multiple times.

Víctor Jara, the leftist Chilean poet-singer, was arrested when Pinochet overthrew Allende in 1973. His hands were crushed and was tauntingly asked to play the guitar. He definitely sang Venceremos (“We will prevail”). Beaten brutally again, he was then machine gunned and dumped in Santiago’ outskirts. His body had 44 bullet wounds. What songs Sangat Sana and Jalil Reki sang we may never know, but they with their unconquerable souls died defiantly unbowed to the very end, as did all those who never returned.

FAKE ‘ENCOUNTERS’

A new brutal method has been adopted wherein every time there is an attack by the Sarmachars anywhere, the so-called Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), in retaliation, kills abducted Baloch activists, declaring their murders to be ‘encounters’ –- the same way the Iranian state hanged prisoners in custody after 1988 Mujahideen-e-Khalq attacks. These brutal acts happen in public glare and at this injustice too, the courts and politicians remain silent spectators. What goes on in Marri, Bugti areas and Awaran away from the public eye is difficult to imagine.

Dissidents who go abroad for relative safety can now be targeted even in exile, as cases of Karima Baloch and Sajid Hussain amply prove.

Peaceful protests by the relatives of the victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are either completely ignored or given a lukewarm response. In 2013-14, Baloch human rights defender Mama Qadeer marched from Quetta to Karachi and then on to Islamabad in 106 days, but only garnered harassment and threats for himself and those who accommodated and assisted him. Mama Qadeer’s protest outside press clubs since July 28th 2009, is now nearly 5000 days old, but remains unheeded.

In December 2021, relatives of Baloch missing persons held a protest camp out in the open in freezing cold at Islamabad’s D-Chowk for 10 days. A federal minister visited them, but could only offer halfhearted assurances. The then opposition which is now the ruling coalition showed sympathy, but they have also ignored the plight of the affectees after coming into power.

In mid-2022, the relatives of Baloch missing persons and victims of extrajudicial killings held a similar protest in Quetta that continued for nearly two months. It was after two months that a couple of ministers came to visit the protestors, again with false assurances, and the issues remained unresolved.
The Commission on Enforced Disappearance is toothless. After a missing person is released, the commission does not even bother to find out why they were abducted in the first place and who the abductors were. These commissions are simply a placebo treatment for a fatal disease.

Disenfranchisement and disempowerment of the Baloch go side by side. Politicians who are obedient to the military establishment are chosen to rule Balochistan. On their watch, gross human rights abuses and exploitation and loot of Baloch resources are carried out. Saindak copper and gold mines productive life is nearly over, and only China has benefited, because Balochistan’s share was just 2%. Balochistan and Chagai’s people didn’t benefit and now they are forced to cope with the environmentally hazardous cyanide laden sludge mountains, which contaminate air as well as ground water.

The contract for Reko Diq, which is much richer than Saindak, has been given to notoriously predatory Barrick Gold Corporation whose record of involvement in pollution and human rights abuses is disgraceful. The organisation was recently under fire from the UN over toxic spills from Veladero mine in Argentina and faces a lawsuit from Ontario, Canada, for alleged killings and abuses at Tanzania North Mara mine. Such a notorious company’s involvement means more suffering for people of Balochistan, but bounties for corporations, politicians and bureaucrats.

The repression, oppression and exploitation in Balochistan is multi-faceted and multi-layered. Conflicts occur and need resolution, but the Pakistan establishment considers conflict necessary in Balochistan for it believes that it will be able to impose its will on the people through force. Use of force by the state has continued for the last 75 years, but so has resistance against this injustice.

The Pakistan establishment has bombed, killed, disappeared, maimed, imprisoned and sanctioned Baloch people in a bid to break their spirit, but these attempts have always failed. And If 75 years of repression hasn’t deterred people from fighting for their rights, the struggle shall continue until the victims are served justice.

The views expressed here are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect Dissent Today’s editorial policy.

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

The writer has been associated with the Baloch movement since 1971. He tweets @mmatalpur and can be reached at mmatalpur@gmail.com.

The post Why The Baloch People Can Never Trust Pakistan’s Establishment appeared first on Dissent Today.