Pakistan’s cricket team has had a few rough days in New Zealand. The Kiwi fast bowlers and openers marched from one easy victory to another, leaving Pakistan hopeless. But there is someone else who had an even worse week. And that is none other than Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.
An unprecedented terror attack unfolded on March 11. The Balochistan Liberation Army hijacked the Jaffar Express, a Pakistani passenger train traveling from Quetta to Peshawar with almost 380 passengers. The attackers set off explosives on the tracks and tunnels before opening fire, stopping the train in a remote mountainous area.
In response, the Pakistan Armed Forces launched Operation Green Bolan from March 11 to 12, conducting multiple raids to regain control. The military reported that 354 hostages were rescued, while 64 people, including 18 soldiers and 33 insurgents, were killed, with 38 others injured. However, the BLA claimed the fighting was ongoing and alleged much higher casualties, contradicting official statements. This attack was an international embarrassment and attempts were made to first deny the hijacking and then deflate the number of casualties. This is important because the absolute chaos that rocked Pakistan’s civil society has a direct link with this attack.
On March 17, Washington-based Pakistani journalist Ahmed Noorani published a story on his news website Fact Focus. The story revealed details of General Munir’s family members being promoted to key positions in Pakistan and enjoying perks like official passports which they are not entitled to. This investigative piece is unmatched in Pakistan’s journalistic history because stories on high-ranking military officials are considered too risky.
Noorani has already taken asylum in the US. Yet, soon after this story, his two brothers – Saif-ur-Rehman Haider and Muhammad Ali – were abducted from their home in Islamabad. Noorani’s elderly mother and sister were manhandled, and their phones were snatched. Noorani says he was on call with his mother when the attack unfolded and about 25 men, some even in uniform, stormed into his house by breaking his door. The brothers have no link to Noorani’s work nor are they involved in journalism. Their FIR was not registered in a police station. This is often the case in enforced disappearances.
Usually, a habeas corpus petition has to be filed in these cases because the police is instructed to not get involved. The petition in this case was heard on March 24 and it was declared “unsatisfactory” by the judge and is due to be heard on Thursday.
This is a case of “enforced disappearance” or “state abductions”, which are illegal according to Pakistani and international law. They sometimes last for a long time or even forever. The courts and police are of little help. The province that is the worst affected is Balochistan.
However, other state institutions are also weaponised against journalists and activists. The Federal Investigative Agency is one of them. This agency is roughly the equivalent of CBI in India and responsible for policing digital platforms in Pakistan. Farhan Mallick, a Karachi-based journalist and founder of the digital news platform Raftar, was arrested by the FIA’s Cybercrime Unit on March 20. He was booked under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act as well as the Pakistan Penal Code for allegedly spreading fake news and promoting anti-state agendas. His news platform too was blocked in Pakistan.
The day after Mallick’s arrest, he was taken into FIA custody for four days. After that, he wasn’t handed over for judicial custody despite a court order, possibly because he could have been granted bail soon after.
On March 22, activist Dr Mahrang Baloch was arrested just before dawn, during a protest against human rights abuses in Quetta. Several other protesters were also arrested. The court ordered her release three days later but she was re-arrested immediately.
Mahrang has become the face of resistance against state atrocities in Pakistan. She was named in the Time’s 100 most powerful people this year and is currently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
“It is currently being assessed what charges should be filed against them,” a senior police officer told AFP. Now if this officer had half a brain, he would have known that arrests can’t be made without charges. This officer alleged that these women are propagating against the state.
The world has spoken up for Mahrang. Time magazine has covered the issue and virtually every human rights body around the world, including the UN, have condemned her detention. But this crackdown on Baloch activists is a reaction to the train hijacking. For the Pakistani state, the most logical response to people aggrieved by state abductions, is more state abductions.
Sammi Baloch, another activist who is deeply revered by the civil society in Pakistan, was protesting against Mahrang’s detention in Karachi when she too was arrested on March 24. She was also released by court but immediately re-arrested. Images of these women bravely fighting the police brutality have now been shared by thousands on social media and have become iconic.
This crackdown on Baloch activists is a reaction to the train hijacking. For the Pakistani state, the most logical response to people aggrieved by state abductions, is more state abductions.
On March 25, an Islamabad-based journalist Waheed Murad was abducted from his home. His mother-in-law was also manhandled. The reason behind this abduction is unclear. Journalists banded together to register an FIR in Karachi but failed.
Is your head swirling yet? Imagine those who are living through this horror, protesting and fighting court cases.
Let me summarise again this recent, bizarre turn of events in Pakistan:
Two brothers of a US-based journalists were abducted, another journalist was abducted from Islamabad, a third was arrested by the FIA in Karachi and two Baloch women activists are incarcerated for protesting enforced disappearances (which have ironically spiralled out of control since). The detainments of these two women were made during peaceful protests and the FIRs against them lack proper details. Several other Baloch activists were abducted and arrested. This allegedly included Naveed Baloch, a medical student, from Quetta.
So many people are being abducted by the Pakistani state that we have lost count. Soon, half of Pakistan might go “missing” and the other half will get busy filing writ petitions to get them out. We are not bringing up the brutal murder of the 12-year-old Naimat Baloch during a recent demonstration in Quetta. We have not yet mentioned the Pashtun activists who are languishing in jails or are “missing”.
We are also overlooking the numerous terror attacks carried out by groups like Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and ISIS-K during this period – much like Pakistan’s deep state, which remains fixated on targeting journalists and activists instead of actual terrorists.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi allegedly received his post due to his association with the COAS, as mentioned in the Fact Focus story by Noorani. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry deals with law and order. Naqvi has the rare honour of being the Interior Minister and the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board simultaneously. First he tanked Pakistan’s cricket, then he wrecked its law and order. Well, at least, he is consistent.
Hopefully, General Asim Munir’s daughters are enjoying their undeserved official passports. However, Pakistan has two other daughters – Sammi Baloch and Mahrang Baloch. They can’t take a quick trip to Paris or Rome. They are incarcerated for protesting “enforced disappearances” of their people. History will be kind to them, even though the Pakistan state isn’t.
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