QUETTA: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed serious concern over the growing unrest in Balochistan, compounded by deteriorating security, with a reported 110 militant attacks carried out in 2023 alone.

At a press conference on Friday, Kashif Kakar, the vice chairman of HRCP’s Balochistan chapter, released the commission’s report detailing the incidents of violence in the province during 2023. He said the law and order situation and growing human rights abuses were increasing in Balochistan.

Habib Tahir, ex-vice chairman of HRCP, Balochistan, and other activists also attended the press conference.

The report stated that a suicide attack on a police convoy in Bolan claimed the lives of nine police personnel in March 2023, while over 50 people, including civilians, were killed in a suicide attack near a mosque in Mastung in September.

It said the practice of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings have remained a particularly serious concern of HRCP in the province with impunity for perpetrators and indifference on the part of the government.

Mr Kakar said in November 2023, young Baloch activists mobilised against the extra-judicial killing of a Baloch youth and marched from Turbat to Islamabad.

However, he said they were subjected to harassment and their right to freedom of peaceful assembly was violated due to “violent” police action.

The report further said in Gwadar, the Haq Do Tehreek continued to demand action against state-led rights violations, including enforced disappearances and hyper-security.

Freedom of expression remained curtailed, with journalists reluctant to speak out about press restrictions due to fears of retaliation from various factors, including security forces, separatist groups and tribal leaders.

The report said the rule of law in the province has remained poor.

In a case that sparked a national outcry, provincial lawmaker Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran was accused of detaining people in private jails as well as sexually assaulting and killing family members of an employee who had not complied with his wishes.

The report further said that the grip of the military establishment was seen mirrored in the appointment of Anwarul Haq Kakar as the caretaker prime minister in August 2023, which many political analysts connected to his previous position within the establishment-backed Balochistan Awami Party.

“Local governance issues were exacerbated by the disputed delimitation of local government constituencies, preventing elections in Quetta district, while budget constraints hampered the effectiveness of local governments, Mr Kakar said while quoting the HRCP report.

The HRCP leaders said that Balochistan continued to witness a high number of mining accidents as at least 36 mine workers were killed and 40 injured in the province in 2023. In a positive development, however, the Balochistan government decided to give the province’s fisher folk community the status of labour.

Violence against women

Violence against women continued to be reported through the year, the report said. In one case, a man in Dera Murad Jamali killed his teenage daughter for refusing a marriage match, while in another instance, a teenage girl was sentenced to death by a local jirga in Chagai after being accused of ‘illegal’ relations with a man, the report said.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2024