Family of Forcibly Disappeared Baloch man Denies Militancy Allegations
SHAAL (QUETTA): A Baloch truck driver, Farid Baloch, who returned from the United Arab Emirates after several years, was forcibly disappeared by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies on February 16, 2025, immediately after landing at Quetta Airport, his family claims.
According to a press conference held at the Quetta Press Club by Farid’s family along with Mama Qadeer Baloch, Vice Chairman of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), Farid had returned to Balochistan to mourn the death of his sister and console his mother.
However, he went missing shortly after informing his family of his safe arrival.
The family said that Farid was taken into custody by Pakistani intelligence agencies and has remained missing since.
They strongly refuted the April 29 statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), which accused Farid of being the mastermind behind the Noshki suicide attack and claimed he had links with the Majeed Brigade.
“These accusations are completely baseless and fabricated,” his family said adding that “Farid has no connections with any militant group. He came to Balochistan solely for family reasons and was abducted upon arrival.”
The family presented documentary evidence including Farid’s FlyDubai ticket, UAE visa, driving license, and social media posts to substantiate their claim that he had been living and working in the UAE until recently.
They expressed serious concern for his safety, citing a growing pattern where enforced disappearances are followed by staged accusations or even extrajudicial killings in staged encounters. “The state abducts innocent civilians, and then months later, accuses them of crimes they didn’t commit,” they said.
Farid’s mother, already devastated by the loss of her daughter to cancer, is said to be inconsolable following the sudden disappearance of her son.
The family has called on human rights organisations to take urgent notice of the case and demanded that Farid be produced in court for a fair trial if there are any genuine allegations.
The incident has added to mounting concerns about enforced disappearances and human rights violations in Balochistan, where families of missing persons frequently accuse Pakistani security forces of abducting individuals without due process.
