Social Media Campaign Highlights Continued Disappearance of Changiz Sahir
BW News Web Desk: The Save Changiz Baloch Committee conducted an urgent social media campaign across platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), aiming to raise awareness about the ongoing disappearance of Changiz Sahir Baloch, a manager at Ilm-o-Adab Publishers, who has been missing for 145 days.
The campaign, which went live on Friday, aimed to bring attention to Balochistan’s continued climate of enforced disappearances and the suppression of free speech. Changiz Sahir Baloch was forcibly disappeared by personnel of Pakistani security forces on 21 July 2025, from his office in Karachi’s Urdu Bazaar. Despite several inquiries and efforts to locate him, his whereabouts remain unknown.
The publisher has been at the centre of a series of incidents tied to the suppression of literature in Balochistan.
Changiz Sahir’s disappearance follows a similar pattern to the earlier case of Lala Faheem Baloch, General Manager of the Publication, who was abducted from the publisher’s office in August 2022. Faheem Baloch was held incommunicado for 87 days before being released, raising fears of ongoing repression against those connected to publishing and literary activities in Balochistan.
Reports from various parts of Balochistan have also emerged about operations carried out by security forces and police at bookstores, book fairs, and literature stalls. These raids have led to the confiscation of books, closure of stalls and even the harassment and detention of students and organisers, fuelling concerns about the growing crackdown on freedom of expression in Balochistan.
The situation highlights a decades-long pattern of intimidation against those involved in publishing, journalism and cultural activities. Many believe these actions are part of an effort to control the dissemination of information and stifle the voices of dissent in Balochistan.
Activists and human rights groups have been calling for an urgent investigation into the disappearances and a halt to the escalating violations of free speech. The Save Changiz Sahir Baloch Committee has urged the public and families of the disappeared persons to participate in such online campaigns to amplify the demand for justice and accountability.
