Balochistan FC not involved in enforced disappearances: IG

Says number of missing persons in the province is ‘exaggerated’ and ‘inaccurate’.

QUETTA: The Balochistan Frontier Corps never whisked away any political activist in the province and numbers of missing persons are “exaggerated”, the paramilitary force’s inspector general has said.

“This is mere propaganda. The FC is not involved in enforced disappearances,” Major General Ubaidullah Khan Khattak said on Friday, in a speech he was giving at a ceremony organised to lay down the foundation stone of a hostel in an educational institution in northeastern district of Loralai.

“Those who were arrested by the FC were produced before the courts,” he said.

Khattak said that the figure of missing persons in Balochistan is “exaggerated” as those hiding in Afghanistan and India are also included on the list. “The claims are inaccurate and incorrect.”

Baloch nationalist leaders have accused the FC of involvement in enforced disappearances, the number of which is put at 8,000 by advocacy organisation Voice for Baloch Missing Persons.

The organisation also says it has complete information on 1,400 of those missing.

“The FC is working under the constitution and law and has never indulged in any criminal activities,” Khattak said.

Commenting on the rising instances of kidnappings across the province, Khattak said that the FC will take stern action against criminals without giving in to pressure. “Those involved in kidnappings in the province might be powerful or influential but the FC will not spare them,” he said.

Later, speaking to local tribal elders in Loralai, FC IG said that all-out efforts are underway to retain peace and prosperity in the region. “Peace cannot be ensured without the help and support of local people,” he told the elders. He said that Balochistan’s problems can be resolved by addressing its economic situation.