Tortured, and still troubled: A tale of two ‘missing’ persons
Hasan and Baloch are still struggling to overcome their experience of being detained.
KARACHI:
Arbab Baloch* strained hard to listen to the faint sounds of the azaan coming from a nearby mosque, five times a day – it was the only way he could figure out the time, as it slowly elapsed during his days of detention.
Another detainee Hasan* would etch the wall with his fingernail to mark the passing of a week as he would get rice every Friday.
While he had the days figured out, he was left to make random guesses about the time – while hanging upside down.
Once released, the time spent in captivity for these men has forever been etched in their minds.
Over the years, chances of surviving detention have become slim; yet many ‘lucky’ survivors have become mute; some have simply become insane; and very few of them, like Hasan and Baloch, are still struggling to come to terms with their past.
Hung upside down
Following a suicide attack on a Sunni Tehreek congregation in Nishtar Park in 2006, Hasan was amongst the 18 Shia men who were allegedly picked up by sleuths for interrogation.
He was in university when informed that his brother had been detained near Rizvia Society, a Karachi locality. This, however, turned out to be a false alarm, and Hasan, was instead abducted.
“I was blindfolded and dragged away in a car. I was then put on a plane. It felt small because I had no space to move.”
Once in the new place, his blindfold was removed and he was made to watch a video footage of a man on a bike going towards the American Consulate to attack it. “Two men in the room kept on insisting it was me.”
The undisclosed location was his abode for the next 110 days. “My blindfolds and handcuffs were only removed when I had to relieve myself in a small pot in the room,” he recalls.
Hasan was interrogated over his alleged links with sectarian parties, and even told to ‘confess’ his part in the bombing.
“For hours they would hang me upside down,” he says, adding, “mostly without clothes.”
He would also be occasionally beaten up with a chitter (leather whip).
He was fed tea and rusk twice a day, while water was a luxury.
When he was finally released, he spoke of his experience at a workshop, only to be picked up again, and told to keep his mouth shut.
Returned home in blood-soaked clothes
Baloch, a private employee, was picked up in 2008, on his way back from a demonstration against Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, highlighting the effect it had on people living around Chagai.
He was abducted by two bulky men in plain clothes. He was detained for five days and taken to three different locations. “They questioned me about the activities of some Watan Brigade. They would ask who funds BLA; and would even abuse Akhtar Mengal in front of me,” he recalled.
Baloch was also beaten up severely with a whip. “Every time it touched me, I felt my skin tear off.”
He was finally dumped near the FTC building in Karachi. “For a long time, I could not see. I was seeing daylight after five days. I got a taxi and returned home in blood-soaked clothes.”
Baloch says that though it was a tormenting experience, he was lucky not to be inflicted with third degree torture.
“Men are also sexually abused but they don’t speak about it because they feel ashamed,” he said, while citing the example of a 14-year-old boy, who had rats released in his shalwar as a form of torture.
The effect
Baloch, 56, who holds a Masters degree in political science, was known for raising a voice for missing persons. However, that passion appears to have been crushed.
“I was passionate about speaking
out for those who have gone missing. But now, I just care for my family. I have no purpose in life but to be safe for their sake,” says Baloch, whose bearded face remains grim all the time.
Hasan barely goes out anymore, and keeps on changing his phone number. “I get very angry. Why did they do this to me?” he asked.
He was in the middle of completing his research at his university when he was picked up; and managed to finally submit it recently in an attempt to move on with his life.
The men complain of regular backaches and pain in their feet. Baloch also complains of memory loss and occasional flashbacks. Hasan, on the other hand, has been suffering from insomnia.
Psychiatrist Ali Wasif who has dealt with patients with a history of torture said that torture, like the kind the two men were subjected to, disintegrates the personality of the individual.
“They become numb; can’t understand or comprehend. They get flashbacks, and eventually seep into depression, which starts to take its toll on their families too.”
According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Chairperson Zohra Yusuf there is an alarming rise in enforced disappearances in Sindh. “Security agencies are targeting those very few Sindhis who are speaking up for nationalism.”
*Names have been changed to protect identities
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2012.
Arbab Baloch* strained hard to listen to the faint sounds of the azaan coming from a nearby mosque, five times a day – it was the only way he could figure out the time, as it slowly elapsed during his days of detention.
Another detainee Hasan* would etch the wall with his fingernail to mark the passing of a week as he would get rice every Friday.
While he had the days figured out, he was left to make random guesses about the time – while hanging upside down.
Once released, the time spent in captivity for these men has forever been etched in their minds.
Over the years, chances of surviving detention have become slim; yet many ‘lucky’ survivors have become mute; some have simply become insane; and very few of them, like Hasan and Baloch, are still struggling to come to terms with their past.
Hung upside down
Following a suicide attack on a Sunni Tehreek congregation in Nishtar Park in 2006, Hasan was amongst the 18 Shia men who were allegedly picked up by sleuths for interrogation.
He was in university when informed that his brother had been detained near Rizvia Society, a Karachi locality. This, however, turned out to be a false alarm, and Hasan, was instead abducted.
“I was blindfolded and dragged away in a car. I was then put on a plane. It felt small because I had no space to move.”
Once in the new place, his blindfold was removed and he was made to watch a video footage of a man on a bike going towards the American Consulate to attack it. “Two men in the room kept on insisting it was me.”
The undisclosed location was his abode for the next 110 days. “My blindfolds and handcuffs were only removed when I had to relieve myself in a small pot in the room,” he recalls.
Hasan was interrogated over his alleged links with sectarian parties, and even told to ‘confess’ his part in the bombing.
“For hours they would hang me upside down,” he says, adding, “mostly without clothes.”
He would also be occasionally beaten up with a chitter (leather whip).
He was fed tea and rusk twice a day, while water was a luxury.
When he was finally released, he spoke of his experience at a workshop, only to be picked up again, and told to keep his mouth shut.
Returned home in blood-soaked clothes
Baloch, a private employee, was picked up in 2008, on his way back from a demonstration against Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, highlighting the effect it had on people living around Chagai.
He was abducted by two bulky men in plain clothes. He was detained for five days and taken to three different locations. “They questioned me about the activities of some Watan Brigade. They would ask who funds BLA; and would even abuse Akhtar Mengal in front of me,” he recalled.
Baloch was also beaten up severely with a whip. “Every time it touched me, I felt my skin tear off.”
He was finally dumped near the FTC building in Karachi. “For a long time, I could not see. I was seeing daylight after five days. I got a taxi and returned home in blood-soaked clothes.”
Baloch says that though it was a tormenting experience, he was lucky not to be inflicted with third degree torture.
“Men are also sexually abused but they don’t speak about it because they feel ashamed,” he said, while citing the example of a 14-year-old boy, who had rats released in his shalwar as a form of torture.
The effect
Baloch, 56, who holds a Masters degree in political science, was known for raising a voice for missing persons. However, that passion appears to have been crushed.
“I was passionate about speaking
out for those who have gone missing. But now, I just care for my family. I have no purpose in life but to be safe for their sake,” says Baloch, whose bearded face remains grim all the time.
Hasan barely goes out anymore, and keeps on changing his phone number. “I get very angry. Why did they do this to me?” he asked.
He was in the middle of completing his research at his university when he was picked up; and managed to finally submit it recently in an attempt to move on with his life.
The men complain of regular backaches and pain in their feet. Baloch also complains of memory loss and occasional flashbacks. Hasan, on the other hand, has been suffering from insomnia.
Psychiatrist Ali Wasif who has dealt with patients with a history of torture said that torture, like the kind the two men were subjected to, disintegrates the personality of the individual.
“They become numb; can’t understand or comprehend. They get flashbacks, and eventually seep into depression, which starts to take its toll on their families too.”
According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Chairperson Zohra Yusuf there is an alarming rise in enforced disappearances in Sindh. “Security agencies are targeting those very few Sindhis who are speaking up for nationalism.”
*Names have been changed to protect identities
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2012.