QUETTA, Jan 14: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Balochistan chapter, has said its visiting team, led by Asma Jahangir, has witnessed serious violation of human rights by security forces in Dera Bugti (where security forces are fighting tribal insurgents).

The commission says that information its team has collected reveals that 53 civilians have been killed and 132 injured during an outbreak of hostilities in the remote area from last week of December till January 8.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Saturday, the vice-chairman of the HRCP, Balochistan chapter, Malik Zahoor Shahwani, said: “No law permits custodial killing and no law-enforcement agency is above the law and entitled to award death sentence to citizens who are in their custody.”

He said that the government should ‘act according to constitutional requirements and uphold rule of law’ to ensure protection of fundamental rights of the people.

If those arrested in Dera Bugti were involved in illegal activities, Mr Shahwani added, they should be presented before courts for trial.

He said that a war like situation existed in Dera Bugti where ‘government offices are empty, the district coordination officer has shifted his office to Sui, schools are not functioning and vehicles not plying and the bazaar has been closed.’

“It is the responsibility of the government to initiate dialogue process to peacefully resolve the issue to restore normalcy in the area,” he said.

The HRCP official also asked the government to establish camps for provision of food to those residents of Dera Bugti who have migrated to safe areas.

He said that a majority of residents of Dera Bugti town had migrated as only two persons out of 250 members of the local Hindu community were still living in the town.

He claimed to have seen regular troops taking positions on both sides of mountains along the 35-km route between Sui and Dera Bugti town.