According to sources, the UN working group had expressed its desire to meet Khattak to discuss the issue of missing persons in Balochistan.
An official in the FC media department, Murtaza Baig, told The Express Tribune that the IG FC would be unavailable to the UN team as he would be ‘busy’ with relief operations in the flood-affected areas of the province.
Another official in the Balochistan government said Khattak was not obligated to meet the UN team since the working group was not mandated to conduct an investigation on the issue of enforced disappearance.
Former president of Balochistan High Court Bar Association Advocate Shakil Hadi also refused to arrange a meeting with the UN working group. Hadi, who is the legal counsel of Nawabzada Jamil Bugti, son of Nawab Akbar Bugti, told The Express Tribune that he considered the UN team’s visit to Pakistan as interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan, adding that the list of missing persons was highly misleading.
“I personally know that many persons who have gone underground were also being treated as missing persons,” Hadi said.
Meanwhile, a high-level meeting of senior officials of Balochistan discussed matters pertaining to the UN working group’s activities. Balochistan’s home secretary also attended the meeting and briefed participants on the team’s visit to Quetta.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th, 2012.
COMMENTS (39)
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For years the citizens of the country have been told that the unrest in Baluchistan is due to foreign agents fomenting trouble there. The same yarns were told to the people who still believe that the creation of Bangladesh was a foreign plot. Now when there is a great opportunity to expose the shenanigan of foreign powers to destabilize Baluchistan, why no takers and acting so shy and coy ? Those carrying the placard of Ghairat and sovereignty, pretty much know the truth but want to believe in fiction.
The problem of baloch nation is not only new emerging issue, even their history tells thheir strugle and time that they start war aganist pokistan. they are more determine they are working to illibrate home land
Missing person is a serious issue, If UN does not have any mandate to ask about missing persons than why they were allowed to meet people in Pakistan or issued visa,s and than why IG FC is running away from them. they have a mandate to investigate and it seems all the world is against crimes committed by Pakistan Establishment. Soon or later many Pakistani generals will be in International court of justice like Serb leaders for killing Bosnians.
IG FC did not get NOC from army head? A Baloch is hading the country and still Balochs are unhappy. There are many others living there eg Makranis, Barohis, Hazaras. Problem started when sardars did not get royalties and ghost employees were eliminated and we came to know that its full of oil and minerals. Where everyone is minister and still development did not happened as sarder will lose hold on poor Balochs. Plots in DHA are given on subsidised cost or say low profit to army people NOT free. If civilians cannot manage such things then donot be jealous. Bakery is a welfare measure to use available manpower. Missing persons are really innocent. They never took arm, dollars and harmed anyone in the country. Always wanted peace and have no connections which need to be investigated but they should be allowed to meet family/lawyer. May be Pak is following what USA, the champion of huuman rights and mother of all evils, is doing in G bay
Actions speak louder than words. Sticking your head in the sand like an ostrich delivers the wrong message. If you are clean you should speak the truth. Truth is convincing on its own and can answer all questions. You cannot sereve Pakistan if you do not speak the truth.
@ali baloch: Mr Ali Baloch according to Historians Balochs are settlers too and Pukhtoons are living there even when Baloch never existed there as Baloch claim to come from Arab lands in 9th century. You are not Indigenous to this land and you cannot claim this land solely. If your Claim is true that Baloch are Arabs then you are a Settler in Balochistan as before that Balochistan was a Baron Land and on the northern side Pukhtoons used to live along with others and Baloch according to this history are not a Part of Indus Valley Civilization but Pukhtoons and other Ethnicities of Pakistan are. So kindly revisit the history and then comment and also tell us who is a settler and who is not after reading some history.
@Enlightened: Your optimism is well respected; however, based on our chequered history, I am pretty sure that Pakistani security establishment is not familiar with the word 'embarrassment'. To support my point, look at the role they played in East Pakistan during 1971. In Balochistan, so far, security mindset has carried out more than four military operations. Balochistan, its natives, and resources are, in actual fact, treated and exploited like a colony. People of Sindh will never forget the brutal military crack down during MRD movement during 80's. During 90's, Karachi has witnessed excessive state terrorism by security agencies. The same security mind set removed the most popular and democratically elected PM ZA Bhutto using their trusted and most corrupt ally judiciary.
@ Ashok Please keep yourself to your own Hindu country INDIA and do not fiddle with matters in my province and my country. We know better who is doing what. You should remain worried about your own states which are rapidly going under control of maoists and naxalites.
if state is kiliing his own people then who will come and save them from state?? defntly international justic org come fwd! if pak and his socalled jahadi factors calling un for kashmir then why not for balochistan and baloch. the question arise that balochs are not human being? of such hyprocies of state and ppl of pakistan brought balochs in the stage where in balochistan name of pakistan is a taboo.
@TruthNFacts: Your observation is spot on, however my presumption was that the men in uniform/civilian govt must be feeling quite embarrassed after having issued so many denials to the international community for more than one decade.
Well done IG FC for meeting the UN team why they are not going to Kashmir or Burma This is another drama by traitor PPP Government against the country only reliable institute PAK ARMY/ISI
@Hussain:
The others can say the same thing that unless UN geos to Pakistan first they will not meet UN.
Pakistan is a member of UN and it should co-operate in human rights issues unless Pakistan has something to hide, which it has.
In the long run it doesn't matter --- the World knows who's responsible for these kidnapping/murders and if you recall your govt sat back and did essentially nothing before/after the UN investigation of Benazir Bhutto's murder.
@ Hussain, @ azhar khan, Your arguments about Guantanamo, Kashmir, Iraq etc are valid but to convey them to UN delegation, we must meet them. Hiding and running away is not the right way to deal with these matters. It was media, local political forces and SC who made missing people's issue an international one. Now the same people who made it an international issue are refusing to co-operate with international investigators.
too busy making people disappear...
Since it was brought up. This kind of thing is why your Kashmir claims don't go very far. Who would trust people who dodge them when it comes to their very own peoples well being yet point one sided fingers at others? You can't care so little about your own people and be so caring for people in Kashmir. It looks like nothing more than poorly planned underhanded scheming.
No body wants to meet with the UN group because they do not have their cheque book with them.
Let the UN delegation know it very clearly that all those persons who the delegates want to meet are very busy and have no time for them. Let them write in their report that the top officials who really matter work tirelessly to help the poor people but with no success only because of the faulty DNA of the poor.
So much for the respect to UN as an institution. Then you have the gall to ask for UN resolutions? Oh I forgot the rules are different for Pakistan and rest of the world3 If key stakeholders are refusing to meet UN suggests that it is sanctioned at the highest level.
Reading all the comments against him i realized that we have completely lost the perspective specifically pertaining to international politics. This is the very right step that he and other officials have taken. UN has no right to interfere in such matters. Plus i agree that missing persons case is being highlighted in a very detrimental way to Pakistan. There are always 2 sides of story and we should try to find the other part as well because you never know the piece of half truth you have, maybe its the wrong piece.
@Enlightened: "Embarrassed"???? There is no such word exists in the dictionary of security establishment of this country.
Why should he meet UN delegation in first place?
Please give the UN Team the Contact Details of Indian Kashmir IG to know the details of 100,000 missing Persons and Mass Graves in Indian Kashmir.
Don is busy.
@Umer: I think it is a better decision, as UN is not mandated to fiddle with internal affairs of any country. Did the same mission go to Guantanamo also to find out who all are there or Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr Umar I think we need to clean the messed up affairs ourselved. Do you think ur remarks are suitable.
Too busy or too embarrassed ???
Drag him and all his senior associates to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
Why is this even a news? Not a single individual from the govt is ready to meet the UN officials, why single out him?
I have always repeatedly said the actions speak more than a thousand words. CJ of Supreme Court, IG of FC and other interested parties have refused to meet members of the delegation. From the events being played out it can be safely said the the country is unlikely to see any reduction in violence over the next decade. Violence as a tool to achieve goals has now become a part of the countries DNA with both the Establishment and citizens equal culprits.
Don't cry when they write a damning report at the end of the mission
What is he busy in? Abducting people?