Writer: Mehlab Kambar
On the evening of July 19th, around 7 PM, Wahid Kambar stepped out of his home to buy groceries from a nearby shop. As he crossed the road, he had no idea that a white Peugeot car was lying in wait to abduct him. The car contained four men in civilian clothes, who quickly jumped out and dragged Wahid Kambar into the vehicle. Although Abba (My Father) tried to resist, his age made it difficult, and he was easily overpowered.
This was not the first attempt to abduct Abba. There had been two previous failed attempts.
In the first incident, during the middle of the night, several individuals tried to cut through the front steel door of my father’s house in Iran. They were armed with tools and weapons. Abba heard strange noises and went to investigate. Realizing someone was trying to break in, he picked up a knife and confronted them. One of the men fled due to my father’s quick reaction. They didn’t fire any shots, it was clear their goal was abduction, not assassination. After this incident, My father moved to another area for his safety, especially given his existing medical conditions.
In the second attempt, My Father noticed suspicious individuals spying around his house in the evening. He recognized them as agents of the Pakistani state. Once again, he relocated to a safer location. Following this move, he underwent a heart angioplasty and became very weak. He required regular medication, but the surveillance did not stop.
On the third attempt, they succeeded. He was abducted and deported to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Since then, his whereabouts remain unknown.
My father is now believed to be in the custody of Pakistani torture cells, where he is subjected to daily interrogations about his political activism. He is being pressured to renounce his support for the Baloch cause and is being forced to appear on camera to claim that his actions were wrong. At the age of 75, he is being tortured and mentally harassed. The so-called Islamic State of Pakistan is attempting to justify its actions by displaying its strength through the illegal abduction of an elderly man.
This is completely unacceptable. The state must produce my father before a court, present any evidence against him, and if he is guilty, let him be punished under the law—not through illegal detention and inhumane treatment.
