EID and the torment of the families of disappeared Baloch

EID is a religious festival which brings cheerfulness, on this day every Muslim decorates and tidies their houses and families gather to share happiness on the auspicious occasion of EID. People around a country and those living thousands miles away travel back home to reunite with their families and share their joy with their families and other loved ones, this way the unity of all members of a family can double the happiness of the EID.

BUT

There are some places, some nations and some families who are not fortunate enough to join up with their loved ones even on this blessed day. Balochistan is also one such occupied countries which for many years have not benefited from the real blissfulness of EID. There has been a sense of disappointment, anguish and darkness in Balochistan in past several years. The state brutalities, atrocities and gross human rights violations are the causes of this horrific sense of disappoint because the so called Islamic state of Pakistan has killed, captured and expelled from their home thousands of Baloch youth, elderly and women. According to an estimate 8000 Baloch political activists who include students, doctors, lawyers and people from different walks of life are either in prisons or in the secret dungeon of Pakistani military Intelligence and other secret agencies that operate in Balochistan with immunity of state’s parliament, judiciary and media. Thousands of Baloch are compelled to celebrate EID away from their homeland and families, again, because the state has made life miserable for them in their own land. The state have destroyed their villages, arrested their families members and forced them leave their own home-land. Due to the state’s barbaric acts and terror they sought refuge in foreign countries.

The families of Baloch disappeared person are living with the hope that they might be able to reunite with their loved ones some day, and they will be relieved from this state of uncertainty. Their anxiety and despair grows especially on such occasions/festivals when families are meant to come together to share their happiness. On the day of EID when people around world are celebrating to mark the end of holy month of Ramadhan (fasting), the families of enforced-disappeared are experiencing a disappointing, agonising and heart throbbing time.

On this EID also there is a sense of grief in almost in every household in Balochistan because there is hardly any household who’s loved has not been disappeared, killed, forcefully displaces and imprisoned. The irony of the situation is that most of the people have been disappeared merely for asking for their basic human right, natural right and democratic right Baloch National Liberation – “FREEDOM”. One of the core reasons that worries the families of disappeared Baloch is the recent and rapid spade of custodial murders of Baloch prisoners by Pakistani security forces. They worry that their loved might suffer the same fate as those brave Baloch sons who have recently been killed by Pakistan military intelligence in their custody. They suspect that their loved have either been killed or mentally disabled forever.

Several Baloch families are now almost certain that their dearest and nearest ones have been killed in custody and they are only demanding that their bodies should be handed over to relatives, so that they can bury them with a dignity and honour. They say if their loved ones have indeed been killed then their bodies should be handed over to the families so that they do not have to live with the false hope that someday their loved ones will return.

However, it seem that the passionate pleas for help, relentless cries for justice and requests for relief of Baloch families do not effect at all the savage official captors of Baloch disappeared persons.

Even though the government, so called elected government, has made false promises and given false hopes to the families of enforced-disappeared people in Balochistan that their dearest ones will be released before EID and they will be able to celebrate with their families but Baloch families instead have received over twenty (20) brutally tortured and bullet riddled bodies of abducted Baloch activists.

Now everyone knows and the world should observer that all those promises were white lies, deception and dishonesty against Baloch Nation as a whole and Baloch families of abducted persons in particular. In fact Baloch have started to receive the tortured dead bodies of their loved ones instead of their release. Those unwise Baloch who still think they have any option left for political struggle should think again and think hard – Do they have any answer to satisfy the families of Baloch disappeared brutally murdered political and student activists? No, they have no answer! They have to decide either they are with Baloch Nation or against Baloch Nation.