Excessive use of force and arrest of Sasui Lohar, Sorath Lohar and other human rights defenders seeking justice in the killing of Hidayat Lohar in Sindh Province

On 17 March 2024, women human rights defenders Sasui Lohar and Sorath Lohar, together with other protestors engaged in a peaceful demonstration outside the Larkana Press Club, faced arrest and excessive use of force by Larkana police. The women human rights defenders had gathered peacefully to protest against the lack of justice or effective investigation into the killing of Hidayat Lohar, the father of Sasui Lohar and Sorath Lohar, on 16 February 2024. Sindh police used excessive force against the protesters, including firing live bullets, baton charges, and tear gas. Several protesters were arrested by police, ten of whom were held for twenty days before being released on bail.

Sasui Lohar and Sorath Lohar are women human rights defenders and the founders of the Voice of Missing Persons of Sindh, an organization aimed at supporting victims of enforced disappearances and their families to seek justice. Their father, Hidayat Lohar, was forcibly disappeared in 2017 and held for two years until 2019. The women human rights defenders have played a key role in advocating for their father’s release and have also supported other families to seek justice and truth about the fate and whereabouts of victims of enforced disappearances. Sasui Lohar, Sorath Lohar, and their family have faced reprisals, including legal persecution, surveillance, threats, and harassment due to their human rights work.

On 16 February 2024, Hidayat Lohar was killed by unidentified gunmen while traveling to work in Nasirabad city, Sindh province. To date, no effective action has been taken to investigate the crime or hold those responsible to account. For two weeks following the incident, Nasirabad police refused to register a First Information Report (FIR) or commence an investigation. The FIR bearing number 32/2024 was only registered on 2 March 2024, following an order by the Additional Sessions Judge, in Kamber District. Peaceful campaigns by Sasui Lohar, Sorath Lohar, their family members, and other human rights defenders to seek justice have been violently suppressed.

On 17 March 2024, Sasui Lohar, Sorath Lohar, and several other human rights defenders led a peaceful protest outside the Larkana Press Club in Larkana city, in Sindh Province. The protest was against the lack of action taken by police and Sindh authorities to effectively investigate the killing of Hidayat Lohar. Police used brutal and excessive force to disperse the protesters, including baton charges, tear gas, and live bullets. At least ten protesters were injured in the attack. Police arrested several protesters, including Sasui Lohar and Sorath Lohar, their brothers Sarang Lohar and Sanghaar Lohar, as well as their uncle. The two women human rights defenders and other women protesters were released the same day. However, their siblings and ten other protesters were detained under two FIRs 35/2024 and 34/2024 for twenty days before being granted bail by the anti-terrorism court in Larkana city on 5 April 2024.

Sasui Lohar and Sorath Lohar have been previously attacked in response to their peaceful campaign for justice for the killing of their father. On 19 February 2024, three days after the assassination, police used excessive force and intimidation against the two women human rights defenders and their supporters as they gathered peacefully in Nasirabad town calling for justice.

Front Line Defenders is extremely concerned about the safety of Sasui Lohar, Sorath Lohar, and for those who faced arrest and violence as reprisals for their peaceful protest. Front Line Defenders has previously issued an appeal calling for accountability for the killing of Hidayat Lohar and an end to reprisals against human rights defenders and their families by authorities in Pakistan. There is a well-documented pattern of reprisals against those documenting and speaking out against state violations, which includes violence and reprisals against family members.

Front Line Defenders calls on Pakistani authorities to:

• Ensure an effective and independent inquiry that results in the prosecution of those responsible for the killing of Hidayat Lohar;
• Initiate an impartial and effective inquiry into the use of excessive force against peaceful protesters, including human rights defenders, with a view to holding those responsible accountable and publishing the findings;
• Ensure the safety, protection, and an end to reprisals against the women human rights defenders Sasui Lohar, Sorath Lohar, and their family, to guarantee their right to carry out their human rights work in a safe environment, free from reprisals and violence.