I
The intransigent political and security volatility of the southwestern province of Pakistan, Balochistan is inviting every kind of crime and violence to the province, where the current provincial government has failed to make its presence felt for all the practical purposes during last four years of its reign. Analyze any dimension of governance and one finds that the province has become a vast abyss of pervasive lawlessness, bad governance, economic mismanagement and crime. At a time when Quetta is rocked by incessant targeted killings, bomb blasts, and sectarian violence, other parts of the province are being ripped apart by the tsunami of kidnappings for ransom. Its special targets are though foreigners, well off and least protected Hindus and the Parsi entrepreneurs, others too, are not safe from the menace of kidnapping that indeed is rapidly emerging as the new lifeline for the criminals and militants in an age of sheer paucity of financial resources. Due to its strategic location, enormous area, thin populations and poor law enforcement infrastructure; Balochistan has become home to almost 70 criminal gangs, safe haven for nationalist and religious militant organizations and international terrorist groups.[*] All of these violent actors supplement each other in one way or the other, by creating security vacuums through their respective tools of inflicting violence and perpetuating lawlessness.
According to a recent report compiled by a nationalist political party in Balochistan, as many as 1, 047 persons have been abducted in the course of last four years.[1] These abductions were carried out purely out of financial motives and most of the times, abductors succeeded in getting money from the abductees– side. The practice is rapidly emerging as the much needed economic lifeline and convergence of interests between the criminals and militants operating in the province. Provincial Agriculture Minister Asadullah Baloch of BNP-Awami observed that ‘Abduction for ransom has become a lucrative business in Balochistan and people are joining this businessen masse as Police and Law Enforcement Agencies have failed to book a single culprit.’[2] Delineating upon the nature of nexus between criminals and militants in Balochistan, Ishaq Ali Changazi, a senior Quetta Crime Branch official said that ‘We have reports that gangs involved in ransom abduction have links with North Waziristan— and Afghanistan-based militants.’[3] Furthermore, underlining the link between militancy and abductions for ransom, renowned security analyst Dr. Hasan Askari-Rizvi illustrated that ‘Ransom abduction is a lucrative business, and some outlaws are using the Taliban as a cover for their activities; therefore, they are linked with the Taliban. Every rebellious movement needs strong pecuniary aid, and the Taliban are in need of such aid. Ransom abduction is a— major cash source for them.’[4] Likewise, former Pakistani federal secretary of interior, Tasneem M. Noorani,observed that ‘Such crime used to be rare; but kidnapping has become one of the guerrillas– main revenue sources.’[5] Thus, following the traditional patterns to sustain insurgencies, the adoption of the kidnapping tool by the militants to earn money does make sense.
The business of abductions for ransom is picking up in the province. And the chronic inefficacy of the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in the hapless province is forcing more and more people to directly deal with the abductors for the safe release of their loved ones. As Police Department in Quetta shared that during 2012, so far 15 incidents of abduction for ransom were recorded in the city with the police, and 13 out of these were resolved after the payment of ransom money to the abductors.[6] The figures also underscore the impalpable role of LEAs in protecting the civilians and sorting out the abduction cases. Also, the scale of solution of kidnapping cases beyond the involvement of LEAs is witness to the fact of common people trust in the capability of this state security apparatus in providing safety and security. On top of all this, inflating cases of direct dealings between kidnappers and relatives of the kidnapped persons bear testimony to the fact that kidnappers are collecting huge sum of money out of this business.
II
Surprisingly abductors out of financial motives are, most of the times, targeting religious minorities and foreigners in the province, especially Hindus due to their well off status and relatively insecure circumstances. There are around 200,000 Hindus living in the province and mostly run business and trade. Sharing the figures of the people of Hindu origin kidnapped in 2012, Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities– Affairs Basant Lal Gulshan noted that during the current year 25 persons of his community are kidnapped in the province and in 2011, the number of kidnapped was 55. He lamented the apathy of provincial government that whenever he took up the issue before lawmakers in the assembly, they responded that the practice of abduction is not exclusively directed against Hindus, rather people from all communities are target.[7] But there are media and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reports suggesting that minorities, be it ethnic or religious, are the prime target of kidnappers in the province, due to their affluence. Consequently, kidnappers are making huge money out of abductions involving Punjabis, Hindus, Parsis, Zoroastrians, etc.[8]
Moreover, the surge in kidnappings of the Hindus in recent months was also confirmed by the Balochistan Chief Secretary Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri. He noted that almost one third (24) out of the total 72 kidnapped during past few months were belonging to the Hindu community. Later on 21 people were recovered through the efforts of the community itself, while the fate of three abducted persons still hangs in balance.[9] Likewise, Zoroastrians, who no longer live in Balochistan, were also the target of kidnappers. As former provincial minister for minorities and owner of Quetta Distillery Ltd., Faridoon Abadan, was snatched by the unknown abductors 10 years ago and his whereabouts are yet to be known. Then in February 2011, his wife Nilofer, was picked up and emerged as the first case of woman kidnapping in the province, but was released after paying PKR 30 million in ransom to the kidnappers.[10] Meanwhile, Dr Rajish Kumar, son of Dr Nand Lal who is a member of the HRCP Quetta chapter as well as of the Pak-India People Forum for Peace and Democracy was kidnapped in February this year from Quetta and abductors are demanding PKR 20 million for his release. So far police has failed to trace the abductors and recover him.[11] These cases suggest that kidnappers are behind minorities in the province for acquiring more and more ransom money. Also, it is easy choice for the kidnappers to go after minorities, since the latter are least protected and relatively affluent community ready to pay ransom rather preferring to seek police help in getting back their community members.
Foreigners and come next on the target list of kidnappers and the recent history dates back to the abduction of an American citizen John Solecki, regional head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Quetta allegedly by the Baloch militants in January 2009. Though he was released safely after months of back channel dealings with the kidnappers, yet the exact nature of dealings and circumstances of his release remain unclear. Then on July 1, 2011, militants belonging to TTP took along a Swiss couple, Olivier David Och and Daniela Widmar, in the Killi Nigah area in Loralai District of Balochistan. The couple was later on shifted to South Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). TTP demanded to release the detained Pakistani scientist, Aafia Siddiqui, in the US in exchange for the Swiss couple. Later on in March 2012, the Swiss couple managed to escape from the captivity of TTP. But a March 30, 2012, media report disclosed that a huge ransom of PKR 1 billion was paid to the abductors for the release of the Swiss couple. Later on, in January 2012, unidentified gunmen abducted a British official of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Doctor Khalil Ahmed Dale, from the Chaman Housing Society in Quetta. The abductors demanded USD 30 million for the release of the British doctor, but on failure to get the demanded money, they slaughtered him in April.[12]
III
The kidnappers are also targeting foreigners and foreign NGOs officials working in Balochistan in order to achieve two objectives simultaneously: the first is to earn huge money and the second is to scare away the foreign NGOs working in the impoverished province for the development and uplift of local people. Statistically, they are succeeding in attaining both of their objectives so far. As in case of abduction of five men working for the US based Mercy Corps in 2010 from Balochistan, abductors managed to get USD 250,000 from the organization, and at the same time forced it to shut down 44 offices all across Sindh and Balochistan.[13] Likewise, two local employees of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) were gunned down in Mastung town in March 2012 and forced the agency to restrict its activities in the province.[14] Meanwhile, ICRC also closed down three of its centers in restive Balochistan after the increase in kidnappings for ransom in the province in recent months. Moreover, according to local sources, kidnappers also took away a local official of the UNHCR a few months back, while he was travelling in his car in interior Balochistan. Later on, UNHCR and his family paid whopping PKR 100 million to the abductors for safe recovery of the official. Out of this huge sum, 50 percent was paid by the UNHCR and rest of the money was arranged by the family itself.[¡]
Thus the targeting of the minorities and foreigners working with the NGOs and resultant flight of the foreign NGOs from the province beg for special attention of the political and security establishment of the province. Recent trends and evidences suggest that there is emerging close operational cooperation between criminals and militants in the province, which though operating with different motives yet aid each other in achieving their respective goals. There are investigative reports cobbled together by the provincial home department, underlining the emerging nexus between criminal gangs and nationalist militants in the province. ‘Many criminal groups involved in ransom abductions are linked with the Taliban Haqqani network,’ a senior intelligence sourcenoted.[15] Figures in recent years suggest that kidnappers due to their outreach, choice of the targets and professionalism in handling the targets are achieving maximum results out of their bids.
Swelling cases of kidnappings also underlines the scale of pervasive inefficacy reigning inside the LEAs in the province. There are three kinds of security agencies working in the province with a total strength of 83,800 personnel[16] to guard an area inhibited by almost eight million people. But the factors which are undercutting the performance of the security agencies, are lack of cooperation among them, technological backwardness and sheer want of the skilled manpower among officers– cadres, especially of the police department. As a former senior police officer in Balochistan observed that ‘The grade 17 to 18 police officers are serving on grade 20 posts. There are no senior officers. The senior officials are needed to control crime,’ he added.[17] Regarding lack of technology to track down abductors, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police Quetta Hamid Shakeel lamented the fact that police department has no equipment to trace the cell phone calls, and it has written to the federal intelligence agencies to provide the necessary surveillance gadgets, but to no avail as yet.[18]
Thus at a time, when the abductors are on the loose in the province and targeting vulnerable segments of the society in Balochistan, there is need to provide more safety and security to the least protected people. These people are contributing towards enriching the local culture and aiding the locals in their struggle to beat the pervasive miseries of daily life. The provincial government should take the leading role and put more financial and human resources at the disposal of LEAs to stem out the endemic of abduction in the province. On the contrary, there are ample chances that with the current level of intervention by those who matter in curbing this menace, the scale of kidnappings would keep surging and in the process empowering the kidnappers and pushing the people deeper into the abyss of physical insecurity and financial losses.
Endnotes
[*] According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Home Department, Balochistan, there are more or less 70 criminal gangs operating all across the province, involved in each type of crime from drug smuggling to car snatching to kidnappings for ransom. There are four major nationalist militant groups leading the nationalist insurgency in the province and these include: Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), Balochistan Republican Army (BRA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF). Religious and sectarian militant outfits like Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). Among international terrorist groups, Al-Qaeda and Jandullah are important ones.
[¡] According to the policy of UNHCR, any official travelling in personal car and ends up in kidnappers hand, will bear half of the ransom money itself, while half will be shouldered by the organization.
[1] Ambreen Agha, ‘Terror by Abduction’, available at http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/sair/Archives/sair10/10_40.htm#assessment2
[2] Ibid.
[3] ‘Balochistan criminals fund Af-Pak Taliban, official say’, Weekly Special Report, available at http://www.weeklyspecialreport.com/balochistancriminals.htm
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ayaz Gul and Sattar Kakar, ‘Pakistan: Alarming upsurge in kidnappings for ransom’, Voice of America, May 05, 2012, available at http://www.voanews.com/urdu/news/balochistan-ransom-kidnaping-09may12-150766345.html
[7] ‘Pakistan: Basant Lal concern over rise in kidnapping Hindus’, Balochistan Daily Express, March 19, 2012.
[8] According to Declan Walsh of The New York Times, ‘¶ the police have recovered lists of prominent stock market players from kidnappers ¶ and, often, from vulnerable sectarian minorities such as Hindus, Shiites and Ahmadi Muslims.’ Declan Walsh, ‘Taliban Gaining More Resources From Kidnapping’, The New York Times, February 19, 2012, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/world/asia/pakistani-taliban-turn-to-kidnapping-to-finance-operations.html
[9] Gulraiz Khan, ‘Quitting Quetta: Abductions spark exodus of Balochistan Hindus’, The Express Tribune, March 04, 2012.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Shehzad Baloch, ‘Abductions in Balochistan: Police remain clueless about Hindu kidnapping, 2 months on’, The Express Tribune, April 18, 2012.
[12] Ambreen Agha, ‘Terror by Abduction’, and Muhammad Ejaz Khan, ‘Kidnapped UK doctor found beheaded in Quetta’, The News, April 30, 2012.
[13] Walsh, ‘Taliban Gaining More Resources From Kidnapping’.
[14] ‘UN limits activities after 2 FAO staffers killed in SW Pakistan’, March 30, 2012, available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-03/30/c_131498941.htm
[15] ‘Balochistan criminals fund Af-Pak Taliban, official say’—.
[16] ‘Frontier Corps-Conflict Driver’, May 17, 2012, available at https://crss.pk///?p=2816
[17] Baloch, ‘Abductions in Balochistan—‘.
[18] Gul and Kakar, ‘Pakistan: Alarming upsurge in kidnappings for ransom’.