Mashkay (Balochistan): Our five-hour journey is nearing its end when the village of Mehi comes into view, burnt to ashes. Remnants of charred houses line the road. Many of the houses are without doors and windows, others are blackened by fire. The sight is chilling, like a horror movie come alive.
Travelling a little further, houses made of mud appear, each displaying a Pakistani flag. We have reached Mashkay, the largest town of Awaran district in Balochistan, one of the country’s most militarised zones and among its poorest. This sight is unique. Elsewhere in Balochistan, which has seen uprisings for autonomy and independence since 1948, Pakistani flags are typically spotted only in schools and offices. However, in Mashkay, every window and door bears the flag, creating an uncommon scene. Residents said the flags had been exhibited to earn them protection from frequent raids and harassment by security forces.
As we enter at sunset, an eerie silence envelops the area. Unlike other places where the evening brings bustling streets filled with cars and people, Mashkay is devoid of activity. No cars or bikes can be seen and the rush is absent. The houses in the town are beautiful, but many are locked and uninhabited. Asked why, locals say harassment and torture by the army have forced people to abandon their homes. They have gone to Khuzdar, Bela, Hub Chowki, Karachi and elsewhere.
Army chowkis are too many, positioned to oversee inside every house. Residents have grown accustomed to this surveillance. Positioned on a sloped terrain surrounded by mountains, the location enhances the soldiers’ ability to monitor every corner of Mashkay, a town of about 100,000 people. At each checkpoint, two or three soldiers peer down into the houses, creating a pervasive sense of discomfort.
The scrutiny was evident even before we had arrived. The only way to reach Mashkay is by road from Khuzdar, Balochistan’s third largest city located some 400 km from the capital Quetta. The distance is only 120 km but the condition of the road, non-navigable for most cars other than the Datsun, and the frequent checks make the journey long and tiresome. For residents, routine travel would be a challenge.
Abandoned houses. Photo: Hazaran RahimDad.
Access for outsiders is restricted across Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan. But in other parts, army checkpoints typically ask for CNICs (computerised national identity cards) but often do not require women to present theirs. On the road to Mashkay, there are six to eight CNIC checks. Drivers must stop and exit the car for clearance, creating the impression of entering a new border state. The checkpoints are situated far from the road, requiring the drivers to walk five to seven minutes to present all the passengers’ CNICs, regardless of gender.
Balochistan joined Pakistan in 1948 through an instrument of accession that was opposed and rejected as invalid by Baloch nationalists at the time. An armed resistance began. It continues, now led by the Baloch Liberation Army and the Baloch Liberation Front, whose commander Allah Nazar is from Mehi. The Pakistan government’s response to the insurgency has been a violent crackdown. Pakistani security forces are accused of kidnap, torture and murder, an accusation they deny.
At the schools in Mashkay, as teachers conduct their lessons, two army soldiers might also be present, monitoring what is being taught. Occasionally, the soldiers seize the books to inspect the curriculum. This was rampant from 2013 to 2018, residents said, but their presence has reduced somewhat in recent years.
If there is any instance of an attack on the forces by pro-independence groups, soldiers conduct invasive searches of homes, scattering belongings. The youth from Mashkay, many of whom are at college in Quetta, are summoned for questioning. Even if it is exam time, they are detained in the army camp for two to three days for interrogation and subjected to beatings, residents said. This happens elsewhere in Balochistan too. Hayat Baloch was a University of Karachi student, sitting in his orchard in nearby Turbat with his parents when forces were confronted by a pro-independence group. Hayat was later shot in front of his parents in 2020, the killing triggering protests across the province.
Mashkay has one inter college, which the army vacated in 2023 after a decade but which is not functional other than to host exams, and no girls’ college. A survey by Mashkay’s civil society found that there are two higher secondary schools, one for boys and the other for girls; eight boys’ high schools and two girls’ high schools; and six boys’ middle schools and five girls’ middle schools. Many schools have closed. The main reason for the closure is the presence of the soldiers, residents said.
When the army came
When Awaran district was hit by an earthquake in 2013, Mashkay was the most-affected area. Many lost their lives, houses were shattered, people were left homeless, and hunger struck. According to residents, some days after the earthquake, a large army convoy entered under the guise of bringing relief.
At that time, there was a single Cantonment of the Frontier Corps in Nali Mashkay, so the army occupied the newly established Boys’ inter college and turned it into a camp. Additionally, they captured the nearby girls’ high school. Aid collected for the earthquake victims by individuals and non-profits was allegedly confiscated by the army, which said it would distribute it. No UN agency or humanitarian organisation was allowed to travel to Mashkay. Forty trucks loaded with relief material were taken by the army just before the aid was to be distributed, sources said.
Women protest in Quetta against the abduction of a civilian. Photo: By arrangement.
Life in Mashkay before 2013 was as challenging as it was across the rest of Balochistan. Since 2009, the “kill and dump” policy had led to the enforced disappearances and subsequent killings of prominent Baloch political leaders, students, journalists and activists. Mashkay faced airstrikes even before 2013. But when the army arrived, people’s daily life and movements became restricted, search operations and raids became commonplace, and schools were turned into military camps.
Forced labour
To fortify the schools and colleges as camps and to build new camps, the army allegedly started to coerce the locals into forced labour. People say that those who refused were abducted, tortured and harassed. Citizens were asked to bring sacks of sand for camp protection, to carry blocks and cement, and to dig for the construction. Chowkis (military posts) were established on top of mountains and rooftops, and the construction material lifted by ladders.
Bakshi (name changed), a victim of forced labour, recounted being abused and told to climb the ladder with the load in the sitting position. “Some days, they would ask us to stand in front of the chowki so that they may not be attacked, for their security,” he added.
Bakshi continued: “This phase of forced labour was sporadic; some months they would not demand forced labour, and other months they would. Those who refused were subjected to extreme torture.”
Shamsee was 14 years old when the earthquake destroyed her home. One day, shortly after, she attempted to go to her girls’ high school but encountered armed men. “They laughed and told me there would be no school.” She has never been able to return to school.
Her father suffered from back pain. One day, when the army came to take him for forced labour, he explained that he was unwell. They left without incident, and the family was relieved, thinking they had understood their situation. However, later that day, the soldiers returned and forcefully dragged her father away, Shamsee said.
“They mocked him for claiming to have back pain and said they had a cure for it,” she recalled, tearfully. “They took him to a nearby post and made him stand in the sun from 1 pm to 4 pm as punishment.”
Shamsee said her father’s eyes were burned by the sun during this ordeal.
The Mashkay Aman Card
The Mashkay Aman Card was launched in 2016 for residents. To host a guest, residents had to show this card, receive permission from the camp by registering the guest’s relationship, identity card, profession and details of residence. The host would be held responsible for any crimes committed by the guest. The Aman card had a psychological impact. People were constantly burdened by the requirement to carry the card, and they were punished if multiple guests arrived. By 2017, it was evident that the card had limited utility and effectiveness and it was discontinued.
Coercion, control and fear
Between 2014 and 2018, several people disappeared and later their mutilated bodies were found. Bakshi recounted that houses were burnt in military operations and people evacuated to escape being killed. Mehi, Ougar and Bundhky now have no people, only burnt and abandoned houses. Mehi was hit by air strikes in 2012, and again in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
After 2018, Mashkay residents said they were told that they would be spared if they stayed on the army’s side, refrained from revolt, participated in tableeg (religious preaching), joined programmes as ordered and simply remained silent.
Baloch women’s resistance
Recently, Baloch women and children in Mashkay organised a protest march in the bazaar. However, the army intercepted them and warned that violence would ensue and their husbands would be killed if they continued. Compelled to retreat, the women said they wanted an end to their husbands’ repeated coercion into forced labour, to threats and harassment at their homes, and to frequent summons for “Peshi”, akin to court appearances. The women said the men were being detained, subjected to physical torture and used as human shields during armed confrontations.
Sammi Deen Baloch, a human rights activist who is from Mehi, issued a video message on her social media accounts against this.
Throughout history, people have been forced into labor during wars and conflicts, such as World War II, to enslave them and establish colonies. Regrettably, similar tactics of colonization and suppression are still being used on Baloch people.
This is my hometown Mashkai Awaran,… pic.twitter.com/vGCAwFUOVJ
— Sammi Deen Baloch (@SammiBaluch) June 11, 2024
“Security forces assemble the men in the morning and coerce them into laborious tasks at their camps,” she said. “These tasks include clearing vegetation, cleaning roads and, during patrols, using the men as shields.”
Another woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “They are making a new camp and using my husband for digging. They give tasks to our men to cut down trees and plants or to burn them, to clear the view for armed forces.
“We endure harassment by forces. When our men are away, they come and knock on our doors, asking for our men who are already detained by them for forced labour. Our men are also tasked with providing security and shielding the forces, putting our already hand-to-mouth households in further jeopardy. If they refuse, they face beatings, torture, or death.”
She said: “All ages are affected, working from 8 am to 6 pm.”
The organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, Mahrang Baloch, wrote on a social media platform: “In Mashkay, Balochistan, armed forces persistently torment the families of Sajjad Azum, Wali Jan Nazeer and Hasil Baloch, victims of forced disappearances. Army and FC [paramilitary] officials summon them to military camps, exploit them for forced labour, and issue threats.”
The strict military control of daily life, bonded labour and coercive peace in Mashkay represent abuses of basic human rights. Forced labour has been outlawed even in colonies by the Convention on Forced Labour, 1930. International human rights instruments, including UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR, prohibit forced labour. It is also against the spirit of Islamic principles and the Constitution of Pakistan. It must end and the human dignity of the people must be restored.
