IHC forms separate commission to address grievances of Baloch students

Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday announced the formation of a separate commission, to address the grievances put forward by the Baloch students of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), reported a local media.

The Chief Justice of Islamabad HC, Athar Minallah agreed to form a commission after rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir filed a petition against the harassment of the Baloch students protesting over the disappearance of Hafiz Baloch, one of their colleagues accompanied by constant harassment issues. The commission will be headed by Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani, reported the Dawn newspaper. According to the court order, apart from Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani other members who will comprise the commission include, former senator Afrasiab Khattak, Asad Umar, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's central secretary-general, Nasir Khosa, Balochistan's former chief secretary, along with other human rights ministries and interior secretaries.

Meanwhile, the petition submitted by the QAU students stated that the Pakistani authorities across the country are holding them accountable for the disappearances and subjecting them to racial profiling, based on their ethnicity alone. As a form of harassment, the Baloch students reported that they were forbidden from visiting their hometowns. If they did not comply, they were threatened to be abducted, reported the Dawn newspaper.

In relation to the racial discrimination, a student at the National University of Modern Languages in Islamabad, Bebgar Imdad, was picked up from Punjab University while Dildar Baloch, another student was also picked up from Karachi, based on zero evidence.

The Islamabad HC said that the claims of the students were justified, adding that ethnic profiling serves as the worst form of human rights violation and that the Constitution would not support it at any cost. The court also agreed that the issue has been pending for a long while, owing to the negligence of the public functionaries, announcing a probe into the matter with immediate efficacy, reported as per the Dawn newspaper.

"The commission shall enquire and investigate into the grievances of students belonging to the province of Balochistan regarding racial profiling, enforced disappearances and lack of security while visiting their hometowns. The commission shall thereafter formulate recommendations and submit its report before the court," the court order stated. Further hearing in the matter was adjourned till May 13. – ANI