KARACHI: The family and friends of human rights activist Saeed Baloch have not been able to find any links or evidence that would in any way connect him to financing terrorism or aiding gangsters — two of the three accusations made by the Rangers, said Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s Asad Iqbal Butt while addressing a Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting of civil society at the Karachi Press Club on Friday.

“Saeed’s [Baloch] life is like an open book,” he said. “We need to know how he is doing. He was kept by the Rangers ‘unlawfully’ and not produced in court immediately. His family wasn’t even informed about what had happened.”

“We need to free our friend,” he said.

Mr Baloch, the general secretary of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum as well as the employees union of the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS), went missing on Jan 16. While his family and friends alleged that the Rangers had taken him into custody, the paramilitary force denied knowing his whereabouts till Tuesday [Jan 26] when the Rangers finally produced him along with three others before the administrative judge of antiterrorism courts. The Rangers informed the ATC administrative judge about detaining him for 90 days for questioning.

The Rangers claimed that the suspects had been taken into custody in Lyari just a day before they were produced in court about their involvement in extortion and other offences that came within the ambit of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

“On Jan 16, Saeed’s [Baloch] phone was switched off after 8pm,” said Mr Butt. “He was not presented in court immediately nor did the Rangers inform the family.” They were worried about his life, he added.

The JAC condemned the “illegal detention” and said this was a violation of constitutional and judicial ban upon depriving any citizen from liberty without due process of the law.

“We wrote to them [the Rangers] and said maybe there had been a misunderstanding but have not heard back,” said the HRCP representative. They officially declared his arrest almost 10 days after he had been picked up, he said. The paramilitary force produced Mr Baloch in court only after a petition had been filed regarding his enforced disappearance.

Besides, he said, there was pressure from local and international non-governmental organisations.

According to Mr Butt, the Rangers kept Mr Baloch for questioning about his alleged involvement in funding the banned Peoples Amn Committee leader Uzair Baloch, Lyari gangster Baba Ladla and the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). “They also think he employed nearly 150 alleged gangsters in the FCS and purchased weapons for gangsters and the BLA,” he said.

Mr Butt said: “He was against gangsters, the gang warfare and corruption. How could he support them?”

“We demand that his family and lawyer be allowed to meet him. We also demand that the Rangers and the media not to run a media trial or sensational news, anything that might affect his case.”

According to JAC convenor Mir Zulfiqar Ali, Mr Baloch was a brave man. “Saeed [Baloch] always stood against corruption and injustice,” he said.

“We have written to the Rangers asking for a meeting to discuss the situation but have not heard back as yet. If they have time to meet traders, why can’t they take some time out to meet civil society members?”

Mr Butt said that human rights groups from Hong Kong along with Amnesty International had been in touch with them while several protests had been held for Mr Baloch in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2016