Abducted workers left to die on rugged hill

Relatives appeal for help in recovering their remains

QUETTA: Relatives of five urban planning and development department officials who died in the mountains after being kidnapped by an armed group on May 15, have appealed to the authorities in Turbat to help retrieve three of the bodies left behind by local rescuers.

Engineers Muhammad Ibrahim, Fida Muhammad, Raheem Buksh and contractors Mehboob Rind and Chakar Zamrani were visiting a construction site in the Dasht area of Kech district when they were kidnapped in May 2016.



The abducted men died in the rugged hills, where their captors abandoned them, leaving them without food or water in scorching temperatures.

“We want to give our father a proper burial. But we haven’t been able to climb the mountain without proper assistance by the provincial government,” said Jiand Baloch, the son of the late Muhammad Ibrahim.

He said: “We have approached all departments, including the chief minister and chief secretary, but no one is willing to provide us with trained rescuers to help bring their remains back.”

Local rescuers succeeded in scaling the rugged hill but they were only able to retrieve two bodies.

Jiand Baloch said: “We were forced to bury the bodies in makeshift graves. However, rains could destroy these temporary graves.”

“Our loved ones were government servants and had gone there to perform their duties. The district administration in Turbat asked us to help them bring back the bodies … I think the administration is mocking us,” Sohrab Rafeeq, a relative of Ibrahim Baloch, said.

Urging the provincial government to provide immediate support, Sohrab said: “They can’t feel the pain our families is enduring. We have left our jobs and studies after the tragedy.”

Areas around Turbat, Kech and Dasht in Makran division are considered security risk areas. “Strict action against the Makran commissioner and other officials should be taken after this level of negligence,” Jiand Baloch demanded.



Refuting allegations, Commissioner Makran Division Bashir Bangulzai said: “The district administration is ready to deploy all resources at its disposal to bring back the bodies for burial but there are some elements politicising the issue.”

He said: “After the incident we visited the area but three of the bodies were so badly decomposed that we were not able to bring them back. We were able to retrieve only two bodies.”

The Makran commissioner said: “We buried the (decomposed) bodies in the mountains after securing permission from their families … we assured them that the bodies would be brought down whenever it was possible,” Bangulzai said.

According to him, it is possible to climb the mountains and bring back the bodies, but the families should “approach us first”.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2016.