Slain Baloch Leaders' Lawyer Goes Into Hiding

Kachkol Ali, the lawyer of three slain Baloch leaders, has gone into hiding because his life is in danger, sources said.

Ali witnessed the kidnapping of the three Baloch leaders from his office. Their bodies were later recovered from a deserted spot. Almost all Baloch nationalist leaders are of the view that though the captors wore plain clothes, various signs indicated that they were from military intelligence agencies. These nationalist leaders claim that the reason behind their apprehension is the fact that a number of Baloch people have disappeared after witnessing intelligence agents in action.

According to local journalists, the agencies men are now hunting for Kachkol Ali and his houses, both in Quetta and Panjgore, are under surveillance, while his office in Turbat city has been cordoned off by plain-clothed personnel.

Ali was the leader of opposition in Balochistan Assembly in the previous government and he was a lawyer for many Baloch leaders. He had already stated that he believed that the Military Intelligence sleuths were to blame for the abduction of the three activists, and that he saw two Frontier Corps (FC) vehicles without number plates following the cars that took away the three men.

The nationalist leaders claim that paramilitary forces, such as the FC, have been deployed in all Baloch-dominated cities and the personnel are busy curbing the activities of citizens, who are trying to protest the murder of the three activists.

It is quite clear that the illegal and often lethal acts of state agencies in Balochistan - and the impunity they enjoy - will only serve to further deteriorate the situation in the province.