QUETTA: Zaheer Ahmed Bangulzai, who was identified by his family among the five men killed in an operation launched by security forces after the abduction and martyrdom of an army officer and his cousin from Ziarat, appeared before the media at a press conference in the capital of Balochistan on Friday.

The family had earlier claimed that Zaheer was on the missing persons’ list and alleged that he was killed by the security forces along with four others in the Ziarat operation.

Belonging to the Bangu­lzai Baloch tribe, Zaheer appeared before the media along with tribal elder and PPP leader Sardar Noor Ahmed Bangulzai, at the latter’s residence. Two bro­thers of Zaheer — Khur­sheed Ahmed Bangulzai and Ghulam Haider Bang­ulzai — were also present.

The family had received a body from hospital after they identified one of the bodies as that of Zaheer. They later buried the body in the family graveyard in Mastung town, some 50km from Quetta.

“I was in a jail in Iran,” Zaheer disclosed to the media, adding that when he returned home a few days back after his release, the family was astonished.

“I was also astonished to learn about my supposed death in an operation as a missing person and that my family members also arranged my funeral,” he said, adding that he was very much alive and did not know how his name appeared on the missing persons’ list.

He said he did not belong to any organisation and was in the real estate business. “I went to Iran with a friend with a visa but the Iranian authorities arrested me and sent me to jail. I spent nine months in an Iranian jail,” he said, adding that the Iranian authorities blindfolded him before dropping him near Pakistan border.

Zaheer said he reached Naushki and the other day returned to Mastung where he connected with cousin and went home with him where family members were surprised seeing him alive. They told him (Zaheer) that hospital officials handed over a body to them identifying it as Zaheer Ahmed.

Khursheed Ahmed Bangulzai told the media that since his brother had been missing for quite some time, he lodged a report with police station.

PPP leader Sardar Noor Ahmed Bangulzai told the presser that through “false and misleading propaganda”, attempts were made to show those killed in the Ziarat operation as ‘missing persons’.

“Elements who were killed during operation against those who martyred Lt Col Laiq Baig Mirza and his cousin Umar Javed Ziarat were involved in acts of terrorism,” he said, adding that attempts had been made to include the name of Zaheer Bangulzai in the fictitious list of already missing persons to make them appear as innocent citizens and divert attention from this heinous act of terrorism.

The tribal elder said that anti-peace elements were killed in the Ziarat operation and a ‘drama’ was created regarding the killing of the ‘missing persons’.

“The man namely Zaheer Ahmed who belongs to the Bangulzai tribe is not only alive but is also present with us,” he said.

The tribal leader welcomed the formation of a judicial commission for probing the killing of the people in Ziarat operation and said the government should also form another judicial commission for inquiry into the receiving extortion from the mine owners and even mine workers by the people of banned organizations in Margat and other areas.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2022