Balochistan: Families of enforcedly disappeared Baloch continue peaceful protests amid ongoing human rights crisis
SHAAL (QUETTA): Families and human rights organisations in Balochistan have been holding sustained protests for the recovery of forcibly disappeared individuals, highlighting a long-standing human rights crisis in the region.
The protest movement led by the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) recently marked 5,977 days of continuous demonstrations in front of the Quetta Press Club under the leadership of Executive Committee member Niaz Muhammad.
Nasida Baloch, sister of Sagheer Ahmed and cousin of Iqrar Baloch, participated VBMP’s ongoing vigil, recording her statement that her relatives were taken into custody by state personnel from the Ormara checkpoint while travelling by bus from Awaran to Karachi.
She emphasised that their family has not received any information under the country’s laws, leaving them under severe mental distress.
VBMP has submitted the cases of Sagheer Ahmed and Iqrar Baloch to the provincial government and the human rights commission, which has initiated legal proceedings and directed state institutions to ensure their recovery.
In Khuzdar, reports indicate that Pakistani forces have conducted military aggressions over the past month, detaining multiple individuals and transferring them to unknown locations. Five days ago, forces raided the homes of relatives of Rashid Hussain, forcibly disappeared in 2018, near Gazan.
Several family members, including his cousin Manan Qadir son of Abdul Qadir Mirozai, were taken into custody. During the raids, homes were fired upon and women and children were subjected to violence. Most detainees were later released, but Manan Qadir remains in Pakistani forces’ custody.
In Kech district, Pakistani forces reportedly detained Haroon and Hamood sons of Muhammad Jan, and Fahad son of Haji Usman, during a raid at the home of Abdul Wahid in Balochabad around 3 a.m.
Human rights groups note that dozens of similar enforced disappearance cases have been reported across Balochistan in recent years.
On October 17, 2025, Wahab Baloch and Nazir Ahmed Baloch were forcibly taken from their home in Isa Nagri, Bururi, by Pakistani forces without legal justification. Their families held a peaceful protest in front of the Quetta Press Club, holding banners and placards demanding the students’ immediate recovery and an end to enforced disappearances. Despite interference from a heavy police presence, the families continued their demonstration, calling on the government, judiciary and human rights organisations to act.
In Karachi, Mir Yousuf Ali Qalandrani, who had been forcibly disappeared on August 17, 2025, was recently brought to light. He was arrested under the Three MPO (Maintenance of Public Order) and transferred to Central Jail Khuzdar. It is noted that two of his brothers have been missing since 2014, with no information about their whereabouts to date.
These incidents collectively highlight a persistent pattern of enforced disappearances across Balochistan, causing extreme distress to families while raising serious concerns among human rights organisations and the international community.
Despite prolonged peaceful protests, legal appeals, and involvement of human rights commissions, many disappeared individuals remain unaccounted for, underscoring the urgent need for accountability, transparency, and the immediate recovery of all forcibly disappeared persons.
