It was for the first time that a prominent Baloch man, with links to the political class and the executive of the country, was abducted by the ISI.

The abduction of a prominent Baloch businessman from Karachi, allegedly by Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Directorate of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), more than 18 months ago, had opened a new chapter in the vast book of forced abduction of the Baloch people in Pakistan.

As per multiple international agencies, thousands of Baloch have “disappeared” in Pakistan through acts conducted by the ISI and other deep state agencies in the last several years, but it was for the first time that a prominent Baloch man, with links to the political class and the executive of the country, was 
abducted by the ISI.


Salia Marri, her husband and children


Mir Taj Muhammad Sarparah, who had business establishments in Dubai and London, according to his family members, was abducted on the night of 19 July 2020, as he was going to Karachi airport at 1.30 am, along with his driver, Mohammad Javed, to catch a flight to Turkey from where he had a connecting flight to London, United Kingdom, where his family members were at the time. Neither he nor his driver has been seen or heard since then.

Taj’s wife, Salia Marri, is the niece of the late Khair Bakhsh Marri, a prominent Baloch politician, who was described by Pakistani intelligence as one of the earlier propagators of the Baloch separatist movement. Marri had to shift to France from a Middle Eastern country post the abduction of her husband after being threatened by ISI officials there. While speaking to The Sunday Guardian, she said that the ISI, after refusing to accept that her 55-year-old husband, who had multiple health conditions, was in their custody, after three months of his abduction sent a message to her through multiple “sources” confirming his custody while neither refusing to tell her the reason behind the abduction, nor telling her by when he would be freed.

“My husband is a successful businessman and I don’t know why they abducted him. I belong to a political family, that can be a reason. We have CCTV footage that proves whatever I am saying. It was only after the High Court intervened, that the local police filed an FIR in the case, which was based on the complaint filed by my husband’s brother. Later, the police officials told me that since the ISI was involved in my husband’s abduction, they couldn’t proceed with the investigation,” Marri told The Sunday Guardian.

The FIR, a copy of which is available with The Sunday Guardian, was filed on 21 July 2020, at 10.30 pm at Baloch Colony Police Station, Karachi.

“My husband disappeared from Karachi and Karachi comes under the administration of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government. At least they should try to find out his whereabouts. Why is the Sindh government quiet? Why isn’t Mr Bilawal Zardari (chairman of PPP) fulfilling his obligations and intervening?” she asked.

According to Marri, the Pakistan judiciary too is not in a position to help her because of fear of the ISI.
“I have done everything I could to take the help of the judicial system in the country, but the lawyers told me that after the initial hearing in the case, they got a call from ISI asking them to stop working on the case,” she claimed.

Marri, along with her children, had also met United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in their capacity as residents of his parliamentary constituency, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, with a request to use his office to secure the release of her husband. “However, nothing has happened. I can just hope and wait that he is okay and he will be released soon,” she stated.

In November 2020, a resolution was introduced in the US Congress, urging the Pakistan government to end enforced disappearances, especially those taking place in the Baluchistan region targeting people belonging to Baloch, Pashtun and Sindhi ethnicities, bringing the issue of the abduction of the Balcoh at the international level, leading to false hope among the family members of the abductees that the ISI, which is the right arm of the Pakistan Army, would be forced to release those it had kidnapped. The Director of the ISI is selected from among the serving three-star generals of Pakistan Army.

The resolution titled, “Calling for an end to enforced disappearances in Asia and around the world, and calling upon the United States to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance”, was introduced on 19 November in the House of Representatives by Democrat, Bradley James Sherman, who represents California’s 30th congressional district.

The Sunday Guardian’s email to the Ministry of Interior, Pakistan, which is responsible for the maintenance of internal security in the country, did not elicit any response until the time the report went to the press.