A man and his son were “forcibly disappeared” in the Washuk district of Balochistan on Sunday, allegedly by unknown armed men.
According to the details, a Zamyad vehicle – a pickup truck used by oil smugglers – and a pickup vehicle laden with oil barrels were entering district Washuk when the unknown armed assailants opened fire on them near the Soornani stream. The Zamyad driver managed to escape, but the pickup truck was cornered. The attackers reportedly confiscated hundreds of thousands of rupees and “forcibly disappeared” the two individuals – Sikandar Ali and Abdul Raza, father and son.
The Zamyad drivers informed the Washuk Levies station and informed the authorities of the incident. The authorities have not yet commented on the issue.
In the Abdoi area of district Kech, a man identified as Sameer s/o Barkat was “forcibly disappeared” by the Pakistani security forces three weeks ago. He remains missing to this day.
According to sources, Sameer was involved in the oil smuggling business and frequently travelled to the border regions for trade purposes. He was on a similar trip when his journey was cut short by the Pakistani sources who allegedly detained and moved him to an unknown location.
Enforced disappearances continue to occur at a frequent pace throughout Balochistan. Tens of individuals go missing every month, allegedly at the hands of Pakistani security forces and “state-sponsored death squads.” Some of the detainees return home after a few weeks or months, but most of them are kept in confinement, subjected to physical torture eventually killed. The fortunate few who return alive suffer from all kinds of psychological problems, like PTSD, depression, stress and several types of phobias. Six individuals were released a few days ago after years of confinement, two of whom had lost their memory and were mentally impaired.
As “enforced disappearances” sweep across much of Balochistan, the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons – a rights group advocating for the safe return of Baloch missing persons – has continued its 12-year-long historical protest in front of Quetta Press Club. VBMP has been calling for an end to “enforced disappearances” in Balochistan and the recovery of the thousands of Baloch missing persons.
VBMP completed the 4389th day of protest in Quetta on Sunday. Social workers and rights activists visited the camp to express solidarity with the victims of “enforced disappearances” and their family members.
Addressing the gathering, VBMP Vice-Chairman Mama Qadeer Baloch said that the Pakistani state is using brute force to crush peaceful political movements. He said that military operations have continued in Balochistan for the past two decades, and tens of thousands of Baloch are detained and kept in confinement for years.
Mama Qadeer said that the “state-sponsored violence” has now engulfed every aspect of the Baloch society. Even women are not safe from it now. During a military operation in the Gomazi area of district Kech a few days ago, the Pakistani security forces tortured an elderly woman named Keegad Baloch to death. He said that such incidents continue to occur throughout Balochistan, and only a few of them reach social media.
He said that international rights groups must take notice of Pakistan’s human rights violations in Balochistan and world powers must intervene to put an end to it. He said that the Baloch must be given the right to live and breathe freely on their land.