KARACHI: HRCP team visits Mengals, notes HR abuses by govt
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 16: President of the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (Ponam) Sardar Ataullah Mengal has said the situation of human rights violation in his village, Wadh, Balochistan, was worst amid the atrocities being committed by security forces.
The Ponam chief, who is also founder of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), to a fact-finding mission of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), headed by Iqbal Haider, that whatever he and his family were going through was nothing as against what the people of his native village were experiencing.
The HRCP team, which called on him at his residence on Saturday, was told that about 70 people, including women and children were beaten up and kidnapped. Supply of water and power to the village has been stopped and telephones disconnected. Hindu families living in the village have been forced to move to some other places.
Earlier, the HRCP team visited the house of former Balochistan governor Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who welcomed the delegation, saying that it was the first team to have succeeded in entering the house since its siege by law-enforcement agencies on April 5.
Sardar Mengal informed the visitors that on April 3, the school where his children were studying had received a telephone call from a government agency about the kidnapping of the children.
“Upon inquiry, my driver confirmed that while on way to the school, the car carrying the children was followed by some unknown motorcyclists. The children were not sent to school the next day because they were frightened.
“On April 5, I myself took the children to the school and on way back, I noticed that some unidentified people were chasing my car.”
The Sardar said that one of the suspects was caught and brought to his residence. He was later identified as Qurban Hussain who identified his companion, who had fled, as Fayyaz Ahmed. According to the Sardar, Hussain told him that they were from the Military Intelligence. He was eventually handed over to police, Mr Mengal said, adding that no sooner, a number of police and Rangers vehicles moved into the area and laid a siege of his house, cordoning off every access to the house.
He also informed the HRCP team that there were 29 people illegally confined at the besieged house. They included MNA Abdul Rauf Mengal, MPAs Akhtar Husain Lango and Akhtar Mengal, Tehsil Nazim Sardar Asadullah Mengal and Naib Nazim Noorul Haq Mengal.
The BNP leader said his two guards and driver (Mehboob Ali, Nasrullah and Ghulam Haider) had been arrested, and taken away after the DIG Operations, Mushtaq Shah, held negotiations with him. The police had lodged an FIR against him for allegedly kidnapping and torturing agency personnel.
Sardar Mengal also told the HRCP delegation that he was informed through a telephone call that licences for all his weapons had been cancelled.
He said that the power supply to his house was discontinued and telephones disconnected in the following developments while the inmates were not allowed to get water through tankers.
The HRCP team also visited Mr Javed Mengal’s house besieged by police.
Meanwhile, the HRCP has urged the government to stop harassment and victimisation of innocent people through its agencies and immediately release all those detained.
It also demanded restoration of peace and normalcy in Wadh village. All its residents, including the non-Muslim families, be to allow return to their homes and resume normal life without any fear, it added.
