Balochistan: Families Protest Against Forced Disappearances and Police Inaction

QUETTA: Women from the families of Farooq Ishaq and Sherjan Ishaq, who were forcibly disappeared from Apsar Bande Bazaar on January 7, 2025, held a protest rally on Wednesday.

The protestors, raising slogans, marched to the Turbat Press Club, where they highlighted the enforced disappearances of Farooq, Sherjan, and Shams Baloch. They also criticized the police’s refusal to register an FIR following the raid on their home the previous night, during which Farooq and Sherjan were taken.

The protestors explained that on the morning of January 7, at 5:00 AM, security forces raided the home of the two brothers, Sherjan and Farooq, in Apsar Bande Bazaar. After detaining them, the brothers were forcibly disappeared.

Their family has not been provided with any information regarding their whereabouts, and the police have refused to file an FIR. The protestors expressed that this action violates their basic rights and the Constitution of Pakistan.

The women further revealed that Shams Ishaq, the brothers’ sibling, was forcibly disappeared on July 7, 2021, and his whereabouts remain unknown to this day. The family is still unaware of his condition.

The families of the victims announced that if the police continue to refuse to register an FIR, they will file a complaint against the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). They warned that if no action is taken, they would be forced to stage a sit-in protest in front of the Turbat Police Station.

In their statements, the women emphasised that both Sherjan and Farooq were hardworking individuals who earned their living through manual labor and had no connection to political or unlawful activities.

They urged the authorities to bring the brothers to court if they had committed a crime, so they could be tried and sentenced according to the law.

The families of two other forcibly disappeared individuals, Afzal Manzoor and Shahzeb Allahdad, who were forcibly disappeared on December 8, 2024, also attended the protest. They too called for the safe return of their loved ones.