Baloch National Movement express reservations about the military court trial of Abdul Hafeez Zehri

Shaal: Baloch National Movement spokesperson said that on January 27 Abdul Hafeez Zehri, a citizen of Balochistan, was arrested by the security forces of Dubai from International City Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This act of UAE police was unconstitutional and a blatant violation of human rights.Now his imprisonment had been made public from central jail Karachi which is a question mark in reputation of Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

"Our claims on the role of the so-called Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) have been substantiated by the recovery of Abdul Hafeez from Karachi jail. The CTD has been used by the Pakistan Army for fake cases, fake encounters and enforced disappearances, so that they can cover up their crimes." He said

The statement said that we did not expect the UAE authorities to be a complicit in Pakistan’s state crimes against any member of the Baloch nation. Earlier, Rashid Hussain was also secretly arrested from UAE and transferred to Pakistan and till today his fate and whereabouts are still unknown. If there were any allegations against Rashid Hussain, it would be the responsibility of the UAE to extradite him to Pakistan only after securing the protection of his human rights like other responsible countries to play a role against his enforced disappearance. Unfortunately, the UAE authorities disappointed the Baloch nation and humanity for the second time.

"We are happy that Hafeez has been brought to light but we have clear reservations.The manner in which he has been charged and the manner in which he is being prosecuted, we have clear reservations and we fear that he would be punished by an unfair trial or else he would be forcibly disappeared or deprived of other rights." he said.

BNM spokesperson said that Abdul Hafeez Zehri has been kept in an isolated cell in Central Jail Karachi. His family filed a petition in the Sindh High Court on March 24 regarding his enforced disappearance, which was accepted for hearing on March 29, while an FIR was lodged against Abdul Hafeez Zehri on March 31. When the petition was heard the court was informed that Abdul Hafeez is in custody. He was transferred to jail on April 11, 2022 and is now being tried in a military court instead of a civil court, so that his enforced disappearance petition in Sindh High Court can be made ineffective.

He said that the issue of enforced disappearance of Abdul Hafeez Zehri is an important case at the media level in Balochistan. Terrorism cases have been filed against him under the Sindh Act, which threatens to ruin his life by punishing him at will. Therefore, we call on the human rights organizations to take immediate notice and protect the rights of Abdul Hafeez from whom he has been illegally deprived.