Daily Archives: September 23, 2015
Balochistan Rights Workers Challenge Government Claim Over ‘Death Squads’
“If they have made any arrests, they should be brought to the public’s notice,” he told RFE/RL’s Gandhara website. “They [the death squads] still exist; maybe they have been weakened, but they still exist.”
By Abdul Hai Kakar & Abubakar Siddique
The most senior elected official in a restive Pakistani province suffering from a simmering separatist insurgency has claimed that government-sponsored militias, locally called ‘death squads’ for their kidnapping and killing of nationalist activists, are no longer active.
But rights campaigners in Balochistan say gangs mostly made up of criminals or strongmen still engage in kidnappings and extrajudicial killings with impunity. Most victims of such violence are Baluch separatists, some of whom are part of decade-old insurgency in the region.
Filed under Write-up
Lifting of sand, gravel from Malir River affects district’s waterbed, agriculture
“If the government didn’t take any steps to save trees, the people of Karachi will have to prepare themselves for another heatstroke, which will be more disastrous.” Gul Hasan Kalmati
By Hanif Dilmurad
The Malir district of Karachi, which once provided about 40% of the city’s fruits and vegetables is nowadays facing serious environmental challenges because of illegal sand and gravel lifting from the Malir River.
Despite imposing Section 144 and banning the practice, hundreds of tonnes of sand and gravel are lifted from the river every day.
Baluch Sarmachar 