Note: the image may be of previous mass funerals after violence in Baluchistan
There is growing concern among civil rights groups in Pakistan and internationally that the Pakistani military is preventing domestic and foreign media from reaching the site of several mass graves discovered January 25, 2014 in the country's Baluchistan province. The mass graves are believed to be of Baluchistan's "missing persons" – a reference to thousands of Baluchi political and rights activists abducted by Pakistan intelligence agencies in recent years, some of whose bodies are found occasionally by waysides. On January 28, senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir expressed concern that the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is silent on the issue of mass graves, stating in a tweet: "government silent over mass graves of missing persons abducted by rented militants of intelligence agencies."[1]
Initially, a mass grave was discovered after a local shepherd noticed some body parts and bones, which led to the discovery of more graves. According to a Pakistani media report of January 27, around 25 bodies were found in the Tootak area of the province's Khuzdar district. Local government official Abdul Waheed Shah confirmed that the bodies were dumped in different areas.[2] Afzal Sarpara, the Assistant Commissioner of the district, said that the mass graves "appear to be a month old."[3] From initial reports, it appears that the number of bodies could be over 100. Very few reports are appearing in the Pakistani media, as the military, which has brutally crushed several phases of secessionist uprising in the province, took over the site of mass graves.
On the issue of "missing persons," Pakistan military and intelligence agencies have been widely criticized by all sections of Pakistani society and human rights groups. Over the past few years, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has lambasted the Pakistani military, paramilitary, and intelligence agencies, accusing them of abducting and killing the Baluchis known as "missing persons." In fact, the Supreme Court, on January 27, ordered the federal Pakistani government as well as the government of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, where some missing persons were held recently in secret jails, to produce 35 missing persons within 48 hours.[4]
However, the Supreme Court has often felt helpless in its inability to have the missing persons recovered. On January 27, Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja expressed this helplessness, when he spoke about the missing persons: "The court has gone to extreme end of restraint. The government cannot protect the rights of citizens. Performance of the federal and KP governments is under question.... The government is deviating from law and Constitution, giving importance to doctrine of necessity [an argument used to justify Pakistani crackdown on Baluchi activists as well as to justify previous military dictatorships]."
Below are excerpts from a statement of Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), [5] which monitors the situation in Pakistan, and from an article from a Baluchi website,[6] both explaining the situation surrounding the mass graves.
AHRC: "Three Mass Graves Were Found After One Of Them Was Discovered By A Shepherd Who Saw Pieces Of Human Bodies"; "The Pakistan Army, In Order To Hide Its Crimes, Is Not Allowing Any Civilian Or Media Outlets To Visit The Area"
"[The AHRC] expresses shock and deep concern over the discovery of mass graves in Baluchistan; it is suspected that these graves are of Baluchi missing persons who were arrested and subsequently extra-judicially killed. A large number of family members gathered around the places of Tootak village, district Khuzdar, to inquire about their loved ones who have been missing for many years. However, the police and other security forces refused them permission to try and identify the bodies and baton charged the people to disperse them.
"On January 25, three mass graves were found after one of them was discovered by a shepherd who saw pieces of human bodies and bones. He informed the Levies, a private armed force organized by tribal leaders, and according to Assistant Commissioner, district Khuzdar, Mr. Afzal Supra, Baluchistan, the grave was excavated and 15 bodies were found.
"As the news of the mass grave spread throughout the district, people gathered there and started digging in the nearby area where they found two more mass graves. In total 103 bodies were recovered from the graves. The bodies were too decomposed to be identified. From the three mass graves 17, 8 and 78 bodies were found but the local people say that a total of 169 bodies have been found. People have witnessed more than 100 human bodies in Tootak while they were digging the area. However, Pakistani military forces stopped the local people from unearthing the mass graves and took control of the area. Now, no one is allowed access to the location except military personnel.
"According to the media, a security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said so far they have found around 56 unidentified graves and that there are many more. It is claimed that these bodies are those of Baluchi missing persons. The confirmation by government officials that over one dozen bullet-riddled bodies have been dumped in unmarked graves — many of them considered to be mass graves — in Baluchistan has exposed the gross human rights abuses perpetrated by the security forces over the years in a bid to suppress a popular uprising against the government.
"It is feared that more mass graves will be found in the coming days. However, the Pakistan Army, in order to hide its crimes, is not allowing any civilian or media outlets to visit the area. Anyone trying to gain access to the area comes under live fire by the Army. It is believed that the genocide of Baluchis is one of the biggest mass killings of the 21st century.
"Nasrullah Baloch, the vice chairman of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), fears that their relatives who disappeared following arrest by the security services in the restive province might be buried in those graves. Baloch says that his cousin and the son of Mama Qadeer, who is leading the historical long march for the recovery of missing persons, Jalil Reki and another, Sana Sangat were brought to Khuzdar after arrest and killed after some days. He believes that their bodies must be here with others."
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"The Supreme Court Of Pakistan Must Take Suo Moto Action On The Discovery Of The Mass Graves; The AHRC Urges The United Nations To Send A High-Powered Fact Finding Mission To Probe The Presence Of Mass Graves In Baluchistan"
"These mass graves were found very close to the residence of Mr. Shafique Mengal, who is a well- known man of the security agencies and who is heading a militant organization with the name of Nifaz-e-Amn [Implementation of Peace]. The organization claims itself to be affiliated to the Pakistan security forces, working for the implementation of Islam and against anti-State elements. He has been provided with 30 armed vehicles. Whenever the security forces fail to conduct actions in tribal and mountainous areas they ask for Mengal's help.
"The Frontier Corp (FC) own this organization as the true one working body for the protection of Baluchistan. The FC and other forces, as claimed by Baluchi nationalist groups, have helped him to make private jails and torture centers in Tootak where the missing persons are brought and tortured before being extra-judicially killed. There is no power supply in the area but interestingly, electricity lines were provided to his private jails and his 'fort' which is guarded by the law enforcement agencies.
"Human rights violations could soon escalate, as the Pakistani government recently passed a new controversial law, the Pakistani Protection Ordinance (PPO), which has legalized enforced disappearances. The government has made an amendment in the PPO, though it has yet to be approved by the parliament. In an effort to provide protection for the crimes of the security forces, the government has given legal cover for enforced disappearances and allows the security agencies to keep any suspect for up to three months without presenting them before a court and in cases of suspected terrorism the person can be kept for six months in their custody.
"The crimes of the security agencies in Baluchistan and the mass-scale disappearances and extra-judicial killings have now been exposed by the discoveries of these mass graves. The non-investigation of the enforced disappearance of thousands of persons in Baluchistan can be likened to the concentration camps of the Nazis who operated without any control or oversight; in a similar fashion as the armed forces and security agencies in Pakistan who answer to no one.
"The AHRC urges the government of Pakistan to immediately form a transparent high judicial inquiry to probe the cases of the mass graves and provide information relating to the possible identities of the deceased persons. It is a prime responsibility of the government to inform the nation of each and every development in the progress of the investigation. Otherwise, it will be difficult to control the volatile situation in Baluchistan which may well spread like wildfire throughout the entire country.
"The Supreme Court of Pakistan must take suo moto action on the discovery of the mass graves. The AHRC urges the United Nations to send a high-powered fact finding mission to probe the presence of mass graves in Baluchistan province, particularly in Khuzdar district. It must be pointed out that the people of Pakistan do not expect any proper and transparent investigation from their government and the security agencies as they themselves are involved in the killings and enforced disappearances and the concealment of such crimes; therefore, the importance of a UN report cannot be over emphasized."
Baluchi Website: "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Has Not Spoken About The Mass Graves.... Chief Minister [Of Baluchistan] Dr. Malik Baloch Has Not Uttered A Word Either; The Mainstream National Media Has Systematically Snubbed The Story"
Pakistan's Baluchistan province shares international border with Iran and Afghanistan
"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has not spoken about the mass graves found in Baluchistan. Chief Minister [of Baluchistan] Dr. Malik Baloch has not uttered a word either. The mainstream national media has systematically snubbed the story. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have not issued statements.
"Nevertheless, that does not help in keeping the world ignorant about the shocking mass graves of Baluchistan in the age of social media. There is widespread anger among the people of Baluchistan and those who believe in human rights across the world over such brutal acts, as well as over the silence of the Pakistani government authorities and the media. They are trying to cover up the whole issue in an attempt to protect those involved in these crimes against humanity.
"... None of the dead bodies could be identified because they had completely decomposed. It is very likely... that these bodies are those of the Baluchi boys who had gone missing since the dictatorial days of General Pervez Musharraf. While thousands of Baluchis are still reported missing, hundreds of bullet-riddled dead bodies of these missing persons were found in different parts of Baluchistan after Musharraf's departure from power. Such killings have been called... 'kill and dump' operations by the international human rights watchdogs and the foreign media.
"The town [of Tootak] from where these graves have been discovered is the stronghold of Shafiq Mengal, an ultra-religious tribal strongman connected to the Pakistani intelligence agencies. He was empowered by the state in order to counter and replace the local influence of Baluchi nationalists Sardar Attaullah Mengal and his son Akhtar Mengal, both former chief ministers of Baluchistan. Shafiq's father, Naseer Mengal, a former senator, served as Pakistan's minister for petroleum in the government of the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Quaid-e-Azam) during 2002-2006. Shafiq has remained infamous in the area as a strongman of the Pakistani agencies who is involved in kidnapping and murder of Baluchi political activists. He reportedly heads the anti-nationalist outfit, the Baloch Musla-Defai Tanzeem that has claimed responsibility in the local media for hundreds of killings of Baluchi nationalists, journalists and human rights activists.
"It is not a coincidence that Baluchistan's minister for home and tribal affairs (the local version of federal interior minister), Sarfaraz Bugti, belongs to the rival tribe of late Nawab Akbar Bugti, the former governor of Baluchistan who was killed by [the Pakistani military under] General Musharraf in 2006. After Bugti's killing, the Baluchis revolted and waged a full-fledged insurgency while the Pakistani military empowered and patronized Nawab Bugti's tribal opponents such as Sarfaraz Bugti. Hence, today a top rival of Nawab Bugti has been rewarded and promoted for his loyalty to the army to such an extent that he has been appointed as the province's minister for home and tribal affairs.
"Hours after the discovery of the mass graves, the home minister, as expected, absurdly raised fingers at the Indian intelligence agencies for killing and dumping the Baluchi youth. Such irresponsible statements on the part of the provincial minister only amounts to exempting the provincial government from its responsibilities and covering the heinous crimes for which the Pakistan Army has been blamed by international human rights organizations.
"The recovery of the mass graves [at Tootak] in Khuzdar has surely come as a setback to those women, children and the elderly participants of the historic long march headed by Mama Qadir Baloch whose son, Jalil Reki, also disappeared and was eventually killed in a similar fashion two years ago. The participants of the long march walked 700 miles from Quetta to Karachi to seek the release of their loved ones. For the past few weeks, they have been marching from Karachi to Islamabad to continue their peaceful struggle seeking humane treatment for their family members. The mass graves are indeed not the reward these peaceful protesters deserve. It is likely, although not confirmed, that some of the dead bodies found in these mass graves may belong to those whose family members are a part of the ongoing long march.
"Despite official efforts and the media's complicit role, the story about the mass graves in Baluchistan will not fade away in the coming days. A government investigation in the matter is unacceptable considering the government's own non-serious attitude toward the whole matter as demonstrated by the home minister. The government, security forces and intelligence agencies are routinely blamed for these mass graves. Therefore, it is not possible to dig out credible findings from a probe that is conducted by the Pakistani government. Only an investigation conducted by credible organizations such as the United Nations, the [non-governmental] Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and similar international bodies known for their reliability will be acceptable. In addition, the international community, must play their role in bringing the people behind these crimes to justice...."
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