The body of Ghulam Farooq, a resident of Tehsil Zahri of Khuzdar, has been recovered from Quetta. The body was found in a vineyard on Qambarani Road and has been shifted to the Civil Hospital.
Farooq was forcibly disappeared from Mastung on October 27, 2022, while he was temporarily residing in Mastung for labor. Farooq was a laborer who often traveled between Mastung and the adjoining area of Mangchar to find work. On October 27, 2022, he was staying in Mastung when he was detained by the notorious Pakistan Army and plainclothes officers from the Mastung main highway. He was taken to an unknown location.
Farooq’s family had been searching for him ever since his disappearance. They had filed a missing person report with the police, but no action was taken. The recovery of Farooq’s body is a tragedy for his family and friends. They are demanding justice for his death and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
The Balochistan Human Rights Commission has condemned the killing of Farooq and called for an independent investigation. The commission said that the killing is a “gross violation of human rights” and that the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
The case of Ghulam Farooq is just one of many cases of enforced disappearances in Pakistan-occupied-Balochistan. There are thousands of people who have been forcibly disappeared, and Pakistan Army is solely responsible for these disappearances. Pakistan-occupied-Balochistan have a long history of human rights abuses, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.
The recovery of Farooq’s body is a reminder of the ongoing human rights crisis in Pakistan-occupied-Balochistan. Following the illegal occupation of Balochistan in March 1948, Balochistan has been fighting the war of its existence. Be it the peaceful way of protests or the armed resistance, against the inhumane authoritarian quasi state of Pakistan, Balochs are fighting an all-front war.