August 5, 2023
By Ahmed Saeed
LAHORE
A tribal clash on Thursday August 3, in Balochistan’s Jhal Magsi district claimed the life of Imdad Joyo, a prominent farmers’ rights activist. his daughter Arbab Joyo claims that he was killed during a firing incident, while he was working in his fields.
Imdad had been a leading campaigner against the forced evictions of small farmers by powerful tribal leaders of the Magsi tribe. He was also vocal abot the issue of private jails run by tribal landlords. Arbab told Voicepk.net that her father had been protesting since 2015 against alleged land grabbing by influential tribal chiefs.
“We have faced several attacks before. My sister Khair-un-Nisa was severely wounded in a gun attack 15 days ago. On August 2, Magsi tribesmen attacked my father while he was working in his fields. The clash continued throughout the night, and on the morning of August 3, at 10 am, they killed my father,”
she said.
A local journalist in Jhal Magsi, Irshad Ali, reported that the police seized the body to prevent the family from protesting.
“His family and other tribesmen protested against the snatching of the body, and managed to retrieve it by force. They were taking it to Usta Muhammad for burial, but the police again took possession of the body on the outskirts of the city. The family resorted to protesting once again and staged a sit-in outside Usta Muhammad Police station throughout the night,” he added.
Arbab mentioned that the police finally handed over her father’s corpse to the family on the morning of August 5 on the condition of an immediate burial.
Imdad Joyo was finally laid to rest in the afternoon. His daughter has alleged that the Levies have also refused to lodge an FIR based on her complaint.
Voicepk.net contacted Jhal Magsi police for comments, who were unable to respond.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the killing of the rights activist in a statement.
“HRCP is shocked to learn of the murder of human rights defender Imdad Joyo, who protested against cases of alleged torture in a Balochistan minister’s private jail. We demand a swift investigation into this incident. Mr. Joyo’s family must also be provided security at once,”
the statement said.
