Surge in Enforced Disappearances Across Balochistan and Beyond

QUETTA: A recent wave of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and Karachi has sparked outrage and concern among families and human rights activists. The incidents, which involve the abduction of multiple individuals by Pakistani forces and intelligence agencies, highlight the increase in enforced disappearances.

In Barkhan, Asif Jan Baloch, a senior member of the Barkhan Youth Alliance, was summoned by the Kohlu Commandant at 12 PM and taken into custody. Since then, his whereabouts have remained unknown, leaving his family and community in distress.

Similarly, in the Nasirabad area of Kech, Nadeem Bewas was detained two days ago and has not been seen since. The disappearance has added to the growing list of missing persons in the region.

Just before the evening of August 28, Pakistani forces forcibly disappeared two young brothers, Bakhtiar and Kamran sons of Muhammad Ghaus Yalanzei, from Chief Chowk in Kharan. The brothers’ family members have staged a sit-in at Red Zone Kharan, where intelligence agencies’ offices are located, demanding their immediate release.

In Karachi, Hasnain son of Khalid and Rehman son of Aslam, were detained by Karachi police and officials from Pakistani intelligence agencies from Lee Market Eight Chowk around 9:30 PM Thursday.

Hasnain is a resident of Mand, Balochistan and Rehman is originally from Pishin in Iranian Occupied Balochistan.

They were transferred to an undisclosed location. Family members who inquired at the local police station were met with ignorance, as the police suggested that the intelligence agencies might have taken them.

The relatives reported that both men’s phone numbers briefly connected before going silent.

In another incident in Turbat’s Satellite Town, Javed, son of Abdul Waheed, was taken into custody by Pakistani forces and has since disappeared. His mother, who condemned the illegal detention, revealed that her son, a laborer, had gone to the area for work.

She appealed for his immediate release, stressing that if there are any charges against him, he should be presented in court rather than subjecting the family to the agony of enforced disappearance.

Meanwhile, in Gwadar, another young man, Naseebullah son of Haji Nazir Ahmad, was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) from a grocery shop in front of Gwadar Grammar School.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) Khuzdar stated that Naseebullah, a poor shopkeeper, was a resident of Khuzdar and he was targeted for opening his shop during a recent Baloch Raaji Muchi in Gwadar.

The organisation and his family have demanded his immediate release, threatening severe protests if their demands are not met.

In Barkhan, prominent journalist Hayat Khan Khetran was summoned by FC Wing 86 Commandant Babar Khalil to the FC Cantonment in Kohlu and subsequently disappeared.

His family has condemned the action, stating that Hayat Khan has always been a voice for his region.

They have threatened to block the main highway connecting Balochistan and Punjab if he is not released soon.

Social media activists have also been called upon to raise their voices for his safe recovery and bring attention to the issue.

Notably, this isn’t the first time journalists have been targeted in the region.

Local journalist Nazar Baloch Qalandrani from Kohlu was previously detained by FC at a checkpoint.

Although he was eventually released after extensive interrogation, his social media accounts were deleted, and he was warned of severe consequences if he continued reporting the truth.

These incidents highlight the continuing human rights crisis in Balochistan, where enforced disappearances have become a troubling norm. Families and activists are calling for greater attention from national and international bodies to address these abuses and ensure justice for the victims.

It should be noted that the Free Balochistan Movement has announced protests in the UK, the USA, Germany and the Netherlands against enforced disappearances on August 30 and 31 on the occasion of International Day of the Disappeared to draw attention to the ongoing enforced disappearances in Balochistan.