Grisly discovery: Eight bodies found dumped in Pishin, Ziarat

Five of the victims appear to be Afghan nationals while the rest are ethnic Baloch

QUETTA:

At least eight bullet-riddled bodies were found dumped in the northern Balochistan districts of Pishin and Ziarat on Sunday. The grisly discovery came two days after seven bodies were recovered from Ziarat.

Passersby spotted three bodies in a desolate place near the Kalzai area of Pishin and informed the Levies force. Subsequently, the bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital to determine their identities.

“They were first tortured and then strangled to death. One of the men was shot in the head. They appear to be Afghan nationals,” an official of the Balochistan Levies told The Express Tribune.

Two more bodies were found dumped at an uninhabited place near the Khanozai area. “The bodies bore multiple torture marks which suggest they were tortured before being shot in the head,” Abdul Salam Achakzai, Assistant Commissioner Ziarat, told The Express Tribune. “They appear to be ethnic Baloch. The killers had also drilled holes in their heads.”



The bodies were shifted to the Khanozai hospital. “Though the bodies haven’t been identified yet, they appear to be Baloch because I’ve recovered at least 12 such bodies during the past one and a half year in the same Khanozai area alone while several bodies have been found dumped in other areas of Pishin,” Achakzai said.

The bodies would be shifted to the Provincial Sandeman Hospital in Quetta for identification. “Since Balochistan doesn’t have a forensic department for DNA testing, the DNA samples of the victims would be sent to Lahore,” an official told The Express Tribune.

The Balochistan Levies lodged an FIR against unknown persons and started investigation.

Separately, three bodies were found dumped near a seasonal river in the Baghao area of Ziarat. “The victims appear to be Afghan nationals. They were shot dead,” an official of the Ziarat Levies told The Express Tribune.  The bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital for identification. “One of the victims was identified as resident of an Afghan refugee camp in Ziarat,” the official said.

Deputy Commissioner Abdul Khaliq Mandokhail said an investigation was ongoing into the grisly discovery.

About the seven bullet-riddled bodies recovered in Ziarat on Friday, Mandokhail said they couldn’t be identified. “They were shot dead. Investigations are ongoing and no group has claimed responsibility for the killings,” he added.

According to the provincial Home Department, more than 150 bodies have been found dumped in different areas of the troubled province over the past one year.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2014.