Noor Jahan, a Baloch woman who was forcibly disappeared from Hoshab area of Kech district of Balochistan on 16 May 2022, was produced before an anti-terrorism court in Turbat on 17 May 2022 where she denied all the allegations leveled against her.
On the other hand, protests have been going on since the enforced disappearance of the woman. Residents of the area, including women and children, continued their sit-in on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route for the third day today.
Protests in Hoshab began when it was reported that a woman had been taken into custody by security forces in plain clothes and transferred to an unknown location. Meanwhile, on the social networking site, political and social circles also expressed outrage, and criticized the government over the incident.
In a statement on the social networking website Twitter Imaan Mazari said “A Baloch woman, Noor Jahan, was reported forcibly disappeared from Sindh Bazaar area of Hoshab at around 5 am in the morning. The people of Hoshab have blocked the CPEC route in protest. It may be recalled that recently Shazadi, Shah Bib and a newborn baby girl were also forcibly disappeared from Gichk.
Baloch journalist Abid Mir on his Facebook post wrote “Have you ever seen such a protest where the road blockers themselves are providing tents and food to the passengers, no stones have been thrown, no passengers are cursing the protesters, but they are sitting in the protest with them …. Our Land is full of miracles”
Counter Terrorism Department Pakistan (CTD) later claimed to have arrested an alleged female suicide bomber, while an FIR was registered against the woman.
Ms. Noor Jahan was produced before the Special Anti-Terrorism Court by CTD Turbat on Tuesday along with another person named Fazal son of Ali Muhammad in the FIR. Presenting them before the court, it was alleged by CTD that along with female officers they arrested Noor Jahan with a suicide jacket along with 8.7 kg of explosives, and other devices for sabotage activities in Hoshab.
The CTD alleged that the woman was apprehended wearing a suicide jacket with the intention of carrying out a suicide attack on a convoy of Chinese personnel passing through the CPEC, they also alleged that the woman belonged to Majeed Brigade of BLA. A man named Fazal was also produced in the court and it was said that he was arrested along with the woman along with arms.
Noor Jahan, the Baloch woman facing charges of alleged suicide bomber, denied all charges against her during a hearing in an anti-terrorism court in Turbat on Tuesday. Her lawyer, Nazimuddin Advocate, told local media that his client had been tortured during the interrogation.
However, the woman and her counsel strongly denied reports of sexual harassment circulating on social media. The anti-terrorism court ordered the CTD to give the woman access to her family and consulate and to keep her in the CTD police station. The hearing has been adjourned for two days.
In a video message, Fazal Baloch, the husband of arrested Baloch woman Noor Jahan, vehemently denied all the allegations leveled by Pakistani forces and said that the allegations against Noor Jahan are baseless.
The Baloch National Movement (BNM) held an emergency press conference on the social networking site on the incident. In which they said that enforced disappearances in Balochistan are not a reaction to any particular incident nor are they been targeted only to those belonging to an armed resistance organization, as Pakistan’s so-called security agencies are trying to show it to the media and the world. Noor Jahan who have been arrested by CTD personnel, has also been falsely accused of belonging to an armed group and being a suicide bomber. Shazia daughter of Allah Dad, a 14-year-old girl who was arrested along with her, was forcibly disappeared and it is not stated what crime she has committed.
In this regard, the spokesperson of Balochistan National Party, Ketch District, while issuing a statement, said that the CTD raid on the house of Baloch woman Noor Jahan from Hoshab and her subsequent disappearance was a blatant violation of human rights which would have serious consequences for the Pakistani state. The spokesperson strongly condemned the incident and said that the state should take positive steps on the serious issue of missing persons and change its attitude otherwise it would not be a bad omen for the country.
The Baloch Solidarity Committee in this regard said that this was not the first time that Baloch women have been forcibly disappeared. Incidents of enforced disappearances of Baloch women have been reported from Turbat, Awaran, Panjgur, Gichk and other areas before.
A spokesman for the Baloch Students’ Organization Azad said in a statement that the Pakistani state was “consistently committing serious crimes against humanity while violating human rights in Balochistan”. He added that in the last few weeks, state forces had forcibly disappeared dozens of Baloch youths from Balochistan and other cities of Pakistan and shifted them into unknown torture cells. This series of enforced disappearances is a continuation of the Baloch genocide that the state has been pursuing for decades. This genocide of Baloch nation is sometimes committed in the form of enforced disappearances and sometimes the general public is subjected to indiscriminate firing, and some places not providing basic facilities like clean water, which kill thousands of people in the form of various diseases.
Source: The Balochistan Post
Baluch Sarmachar 