NEW DELHI: In what observers have said is a new modus operandi, the Pakistan army “abducted” four women and a minor from their homes in Awaran district, Balochistan, and then declared them as “terrorists”.

Balochistan-based sources said that relatives of these women had “shifted” to the mountains in the past and were now part of nationalist groups that were fighting for a separate Balochistan under Dr Allah Nazar Baloch.

According to these sources, the Pakistan army was employing this method to brand women as terrorists so that their relatives, who were fighting with Allah Nazar, would surrender themselves in order to secure the well-being of the women.

In two separate incidents, two women, Sakina and Sayeeda and the minor on 25 November and then Hamida and Nazal, on 29 November, were abducted from two separate places in Awaran by the Pakistan army at 11 pm, kept in illegal custody the entire night and then sent to police custody the next morning.

It was only after the local police released pictures of these women standing inside a police station, with a cache of weapons laid out in front of them—which the police claimed were recovered from their homes—did the locals realise that these four women have been branded as terrorists. As of now, there is no news about what happened to the minor boy.

In the FIR, they have been charged with providing “support” to Baloch terrorist groups.

While unarmed civilians going missing from the custody of Pakistan army in Balochistan is a regular event, with at least 60,000 people as of today classified as “missing”, it’s for the first time that women have been picked up in the dead of night only to appear as “terrorists” the next morning.

The Pakistan army is under a lot of pressure to do “something” to suppress and end the Baloch nationalist movement quickly because China’s multi-billion dollar, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, a large portion of which passes through Balochistan, has failed to take off due to resistance from the Baloch.

Speaking to The Sunday Guardian from Quetta, Bibi Gul, Chairperson of the Baloch Human Rights Organisation, said that the four women and the minor, who were picked up, stayed mostly at home and at the most would go out to feed their goats in the absence of male family members.

Gul said: “Everyone saw how these four women were abducted in front of the entire village. The whole process went on for some time as the army personnel were not sure whom to ‘abduct’. First, they picked up two separate women; then they released them and took the other group that included these four women. At the time when they were conducting the raid, the army had not found anything from their homes. Everyone saw it. However, the next day, they released pictures of these women standing inside a police station with weapons displayed in front of them, which the army claimed were recovered from their homes—it was such a blatant disregard of the law. Even if we assume that the relatives of these women are a part of the Baloch freedom group, but what is the fault of these four women? This incident has caused a lot of anger in society and it will one day lead to massive protests against the state. First, they took the intellectuals and the educated of our society, then they took away the politicians and now they are coming after our women. The sad truth is that the whole world is watching the massive violation of human rights in Balochistan, but no one is saying a word.”

Another prominent Balochi human rights activist, Mama Qadeer, whose son was abducted and later found dead in 2012, said that the crimes of the Pakistan army in Balochistan were increasing with every passing day.

“We are again requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to at least raise this issue at several international fora; that is the least the Indian government can do. We have a lot of expectations from India. No one is coming to help us,” he said.