BSA Condemns Enforced Disappearances, Demands Immediate Release of Missing Leaders

SHAAL (QUETTA): The Baloch Students Alliance (BSA) held a press conference on Wednesday, strongly condemning the recent wave of enforced disappearances targeting Baloch students and political activists, and calling on state institutions to immediately release the forcibly disappeared individuals.

Speaking to journalists, BSA representatives expressed their deep concern over the abduction of Javed Baloch, Chairman of the Baloch Students Front (BSF), who was taken by plainclothes personnel of intelligence agencies during a late-night raid on April 23.

According to the alliance, Javed Baloch was subjected to severe torture before being whisked away from his residence at Blaze Tower in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar. He remains missing to this day.

Just a day later, on April 24, Gahram Ishaq Baloch, General Secretary of the BSF’s Shaal Zone, was abducted by members of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in front of Civil Hospital Quetta. Both individuals, the alliance says, are peaceful political workers and students with no criminal charges against them.

The BSA denounced these abductions as unconstitutional and illegal, calling them part of a broader campaign of repression against the Baloch people. “Enforced disappearances of peaceful students and activists are a gross violation of fundamental rights and a stain on the rule of law in Pakistan,” the alliance stated.

The organisation also raised alarm over the worsening environment for Baloch students, who it said are being systematically harassed, profiled, and intimidated in educational institutions.

“Campuses have become zones of fear for Baloch students. They are no longer able to pursue their education in peace. The psychological pressure has severely affected their academic performance, and their families live in constant fear for their safety,” a BSA spokesperson said.

The alliance said the state agencies were using the CTD to stage fake encounters, killing previously disappeared individuals and presenting it as counter-terrorism operations. “This tactic is not only aimed at eliminating voices of dissent but also misguiding international human rights organisations,” the statement read.

Calling on the judiciary, media, and civil society to break their silence, the BSA urged an immediate end to “state-sponsored campaign of terror” against Baloch students. The alliance demanded the unconditional release of Javed Baloch and all other forcibly disappeared students, declaring the right to life as a non-negotiable constitutional and human right.

In closing, the BSA announced a series of Peaceful Walks, protest rallies, and a social media campaign to draw attention to the disappearances. “We are peaceful students demanding nothing more than justice, dignity, and the safe return of our missing peers. Our struggle will continue until every disappeared Baloch student is recovered,” the alliance affirmed.