KARACHI: Raid on Sardar Akhtar Mengal’s Flat, 13 Detained, 2 Disappeared
Balochistan National Party (BNP) chief and former Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, has said that intelligence agencies raided an apartment rented for his staff near his residence in Karachi last night.
According to Akhtar Mengal, all individuals present in the apartment at the time of the raid had their mobile phones confiscated and were subjected to torture. He said some individuals were later released, but no one was spared from being beaten.
Mengal said his manager and a security guard remain disappeared and have not yet been returned.
He said this was not merely a security matter, but that targeting a residence on the basis of ethnic profiling, along with arbitrary detention, confiscation of personal mobile phones and physical torture, raises serious human rights concerns.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal demanded that information regarding the two disappeared individuals be provided immediately and that they be safely returned. He said that if any individual faces an allegation, it should be dealt with through a transparent and lawful process, and that those in detention must be granted full legal rights and protections, including access to legal representation.
He also called on the Sindh government and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) not to remain indifferent to the climate of impunity and lack of accountability facing people from Balochistan in Sindh.
According to Mengal, of the 13 individuals detained, Haji Rajab and Ahmed have not yet been released, while the others were subsequently freed.
No official statement has been issued so far by the Sindh government, police, or relevant authorities regarding the incident.
