Quetta, Nov 4 (IANS) At least 10 civilians, including a 15-year-old student, have been forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces in separate incidents across Balochistan, local media reported on Wednesday.
These latest incidents come against the backdrop of a growing wave of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances across the province.
Citing sources, The Balochistan Post reported that Pakistani forces detained Maulabakhsh and his son, Ghaffar, during a raid in the Jhao area of Awaran district on November 1 and shifted them to an undisclosed location.
The following day, security personnel allegedly tortured and detained another man, Dost Muhammad, during a separate raid in the area. Since then, the whereabouts of all three remain unknown.
In another incident, Pakistani forces allegedly detained two brothers, Kahda Ganj and Baigman, from the Shadi Kaur area in Pasni region on November 1. They were reportedly taken to an undisclosed location and have remained missing.
Another four cases of alleged enforced disappearances took place in the provincial capital, Quetta.
Reports suggest that a 15-year-old student, Yahya Baloch, was taken from his home in Killi Qambarani in the early hours of October 27. Personnel from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) were accused of involvement in his disappearance.
In another case, 28-year-old shopkeeper Zafar Baloch was reportedly detained from Kirani Road on October 16. Reports implicated MI and CTD personnel in the incident, stating that it was the second time he had been subjected to enforced disappearance.
Similarly, 20-year-old student Kifayat Baloch, a resident of Quetta’s Eastern Bypass area, was allegedly taken into custody by CTD personnel outside the University of Balochistan on September 18.
The other case involved 25-year-old street vendor Muhammad Azam, son of Khudadad, who was reportedly detained near Allied School on Airport Road on August 20. Azam, a resident of Manojan Road in Hudda, was allegedly taken away by personnel of the ISI and CTD.
Furthermore, in a separate incident in Panjgur district, Zubair Baloch, an 18-year-old driver, was reportedly detained by Frontier Corps personnel from the Jirak border in Parom on October 5. He has remained missing since then.
–IANS
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