Four people have been reported missing from Qillah Abdulla and Kharan districts of Balochistan, on Sunday.
According to details, two journalists affiliated with private media outlets were abducted from Chaman, a border town in Balochistan’s Qila Abdullah district.
As per the sources, the abducted journalists are affiliated with news channels broadcasting in Pashto and Urdu.
Saeed Ali Achakzai, former president of Chaman Press Club and senior reporter of Samaa News and Abdul Mateen Achakzai of Khyber News have been missing since last evening.
Journalists’ organizations have condemned their abduction and demanded immediate and unconditional release of both journalists.
Pakistan is one of the most dangerous countries for fair and transparent journalism. In the 2019 Reporters sans frontières (alias Reporters Without Borders) press freedom index, Pakistan ranked at 142 out of 180 countries.
Moreover, national and international journalists have been incapacitated, threatened, abducted and even killed. Human rights groups acknowledge that the media censorship in the region including Sindh and Balochistan is “abysmal”.
Owing to its “acute media restrictions” and “suppressed freedom of speech”, Balochistan, in particular, has earned the sobriquet of ‘Pakistan’s information black hole’ in the international media.
In another news, Pakistani forces allegedly raided a house in Lijje area of Kharan district, arrested two youths and transferred them to an undisclosed location.
The missing persons include Din Mohammad son of Kashmir Mohammad Hasani and Liaqat son of Wadera Mohammad Karim Sasoli.
The families of the missing have appealed to human rights organizations to play a role in securing the release of missing youth.
The issue of missing persons in Balochistan has become a serious problem. As per the reports, almost every day, Pakistani forces and intelligence agencies carry out raids and operations in different areas and disappear people after arrest.
Political and social circles in Balochistan are strongly condemning the resurgence of enforced disappearances.
On the other hand, peaceful protests have been going on in Quetta and Karachi for a decade for recovery of missing persons.