KARACHI: The chairperson of the Baloch Hu­­man Rights Organisation (BHRO), Bibi Gul Baloch, has claimed that 113 mutilated bodies were found dumped across Balochistan last year.

Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, she revealed details of the annual report compiled by the BHRO.

It included data about the people who went missing, those whose bodies were found in Karachi and south-west Balochistan, and those killed during military raids and operations.

Ms Baloch said that during 2016 scores of military operations were carried out in the province’s insurgency-hit south-western parts and that 32 people had gone missing after being “arrested by the law enforcement agencies”.

The 113 mutilated bodies found included those of two missing persons, Moham­mad Hanif Baloch and Younus Baloch, who went missing from Pasni in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

She said that bodies of political or non-political activists were found throu­ghout the year. Twelve people, who were considered to have gone missing, returned to their families in March.

Those who were “relea­s­ed” inclu­ded five men who had gone missing in the same month from Tump and one Mujeeb-ur-Rehman of Karachi, who was missing since 2013.

Citing the data collated through media reports, statements of law enforcement agencies and verbal accounts of the people of Nushki, Kalat and Mashkay, Ms Baloch claimed that 89 deaths were reported in April after more than 58 operations and raids had been carried out in the surrounding districts.

“In the first week of April, four mutilated bodies were found in Awaran, two in Mashkay and one in Jaahoo. These men were taken from their homes,” she alleged.

The women continued being the victim of firing, both from the air and the ground, claimed Ms Baloch.

Twenty-nine people were “released by the security forces” in the month of June, said her report. These persons were arrested and taken into custody the same month.

The report also showed that 106 people were relea­sed in the year, who Ms Baloch said, had been kidnapped in various districts of south-west Balochistan.

“As a result of the constant arrests and harassment at the hands of the security forces, 2,578 people migrated from Kohlu, Hoshab, Heeronk, Shapuk, Balgatar, Awaran, Jhala­w­an and Koh-i-Sulaiman. Most of them moved either to Turbat or Hub Chowki,” she added.

Published in Dawn January 4th, 2017