Two more civilians forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces in Balochistan: Rights group
Quetta, July 18 (IANS) Another two civilians were forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces in Balochistan, a leading human rights organisation alleged on Saturday.
This latest incident comes against the backdrop of a growing wave of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances across the province.
Citing reports, the Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) said that Fazal Baloch, central leader of the student body Baloch Student Front (BSF), was taken from his residence in Hub Chowki region of Balochistan in the early hours of Friday by Pakistani security personnel, while his whereabouts remain unknown.
Condemning the incident, the rights body called on the Pakistani authorities to “immediately disclose his whereabouts and legal status, grant him access to his family and legal counsel, or promptly bring him before a competent civilian court if there is a lawful basis for his detention.”
Highlighting the atrocities against civilians across the province, the BVJ on Saturday revealed that another student, Shahab Baloch, who is studying in Azerbaijan, was allegedly subjected to enforced disappearance by Pakistani security forces after returning to Balochistan for his summer break.
“The targeting of Baloch students through enforced disappearances is not an isolated incident but part of a concerning pattern of violations against the Baloch educated community. Such acts constitute serious violations of fundamental human rights,” it noted.
Shalee Baloch, the central organiser of the Baloch Women Forum (BWF), alleged that several youths have been subjected to enforced disappearance within a single week across Balochistan, describing it as a sharp escalation in the crackdown on Baloch students and educated youth.
She noted that the rising number of such incidents reflects an “intensifying campaign” against Baloch youths by Pakistani authorities.
Taking to her social media platform X, Shalee said, “The systematic targeting of Baloch students and graduates is described by advocates as a colonial tactic aimed at dismantling Baloch political consciousness, suppressing dissent and depriving the nation of its educated generation. Families who sacrifice everything to educate their children are instead confronted with enforced disappearances, prolonged incommunicado detention and uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones.”
The Baloch activist urged the global community, including the United Nations and international human rights organisations, to take urgent action by pressing for the immediate disclosure of the whereabouts of all disappeared Baloch youths, ensuring their safe release and holding Pakistan accountable under its international human rights obligations.
–IANS
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