Islamabad, Oct 31 (IANS) Leading human rights groups in and outside Pakistan have denounced the alleged enforced disappearance of Sindh National Students Federation’s (SNSF) central chief organiser Ghani Aman Chandio, who was reportedly abducted earlier this week from a hospital in Karachi.
Eyewitnesses said that incident happened at Memona Hospital in Karachi on October 28, when Chandio was there for the treatment of his infant daughter. According to witnesses, a group of armed men in plain clothes, allegedly accompanied by Pakistani paramilitary rangers came to the hospital, confiscated mobile phones, destroyed CCTV footage and blindfolded Ghani Aman Chandio before taking him away in presence of his family, The Balochistan Post reported.
In a statement, Amnesty International South Asia described the abduction of Ghani Amani Chandio a “blatant attack on his rights to liberty, dignity and due process” and urged Pakistani authorities to reveal his whereabouts and ensure his safe return.
“PAKISTAN: The abduction of student activist Ghani Aman Chandio on 28 October from Memona Hospital in Karachi, allegedly by state forces, is deeply troubling. The abduction of a father visiting his hospitalized infant daughter is not only cruel and inhumane, but also a blatant attack on his rights to liberty, dignity and due process,” Amnesty International South Asia posted on X.
According to the eyewitnesses, plain-clothes men accompanied by uniformed law enforcement officials, abducted Ghani, intimidated bystanders in the hospital and confiscated the mobile phones of all family members present.
“Ghani had previously been named in a criminal case on charges of ‘anti-state’ slogans during a protest and had delivered a lecture at the local university on student politics the day before his abduction. We are very concerned about Ghani’s safety. The Pakistani authorities must immediately disclose Ghani’s fate and whereabouts and ensure his safe return. Further, authorities must conduct a prompt, thorough, independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigation into his abduction, and bring to justice all those suspected to be responsible,” read the Amnesty statement.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also demanded an immediate recovery of Ghani Aman Chandio, who was forcibly taken into custody, allegedly by the state operatives. It said that the forced disappearance of Chandio and several other individuals reveals the state’s continued policy of curbing fundamental and stifling political dissent.
“HRCP demands the immediate recovery of political activist Ghani Aman Chandio, who was forcibly taken into custody, allegedly by state operatives at a hospital in Karachi, where he was tending to his young daughter. The manner in which this action was taken is deeply concerning. Mr Chandio and other such citizens who have been arbitrarily detained, abducted or forcibly disappeared reflect the state’s continued policy of curbing fundamental freedoms and stifling political dissent. HRCP reiterates that such draconic measures only exacerbate political chaos and social fragmentation,” the HRCP posted on X.
In a statement, the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO) stated that “state institutions, fearful and unsettled by the growing resistance movements across the country, continue to target peaceful political workers through unconstitutional and brutal tactics.” The group described Chandio’s disappearance a “blow to the democratic political process” and demanded his release, The Balochistan Post reported.
Meanwhile, the Voice for Missing Persons of Sindh (VMPS) Europe Chapter also denounced abduction of Ghani Aman Chandio, describing it as “a blatant violation of human rights and an attempt to silence peaceful dissent in Sindh.”
VMPS coordinator Sarang Sindhi said Chandio was a a non-violent political activist who had been advocating for democracy and human rights for a long time. He said that Chandio was abducted by men backed by paramilitary personnel from hospital, where his twin children were admitted.
He highlighted that the perpetrators intimidated patients and attendants before taking him away, adding that Chandio’s family members were assaulted and their phones were seized.
Baloch activist Sammi Deen Baloch also condemned the abduction of Chandio from the Karachi hospital.
“Two days ago, they dragged Ghani Aman Chandio out of a hospital in Karachi, his daughter was sick in the next room. The men who call themselves the protectors of this country abducted a father from his child’s bedside. Now that same girl is sitting on the roads of Sindh beside her mother, grandmother, and aunt, demanding a father she may never see again. This is the state’s idea of governance: kidnapping fathers, breaking families, and then lecturing the world about peace and stability. Every time a man is taken, a family is turned into a protest. Every time they silence one voice, a thousand more rise from the dust. The daughters of Balochistan know this story too well, and we refuse to stop telling it,” said Sammi Deen Baloch.
–IANS
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