The Baloch students in the University of Balochistan organized a protest against the “enforced disappearance” of their fellow students from the varsity, allegedly at the hands of the Pakistani security forces. The students gathered in front of the main university gate and raised slogans, asking for a safe academic environment inside the institution and the safe release of their missing colleagues.
The protest was called for in the wake of the disappearance of four students from the premises of the University of Balochistan. Baloch rights groups and social activists have claimed that the four students were detained by the Pakistani forces for unjustified reasons. These claims were further corroborated by the testimonies of the eyewitnesses of the event. Their whereabouts and condition remain unknown.
The recent back-to-back “abductions” in the Balochistan university has raised the alarms – student organizations are organizing protests, social media campaigns and calling for the authorities to investigate the incident and bring missing students back. The authorities have not yet commented on these allegations.
On Monday, Baloch students held a demonstration in Quetta where they said that the insecure environment inside the academic institutions is discouraging the students from pursuing their education. They said that the education system of Balochistan is already abysmal – such wanton displays of forces and barbarity will only aggravate the situation. They said that a large body of the Pakistani forces are stationed at the university and numerous cameras dot the varsity walls and buildings. But despite such strict security measures, how is it that four students go missing without anyone noticing? This only implies one thing: the university administration is equally complicit in these disappearances, they said.
The students said that they had reached out to the university administration to inform them about the disappearance of Sohail and Fasih Baloch from the university hostels, but to no avail. The administration’s response was lukewarm – they evaded our questions and dodged our concerns, the students said.
The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, a rights group advocating for the safe release of the thousands of Baloch missing persons, announced on Tuesday that it will carry out a demonstration in front of the Karachi Press Club on Friday. The group said that enforced disappearances have seen a spike in the past few weeks, and it is imperative to take steps to put an end to them. VBMP said that the law and order in Balochistan are different from the rest of the country – the current situation reflects the “law of the jungle” where the strong are ruthlessly cracking down on any dissent from those below.
The group said that the incumbent premier – Imran Khan – had promised that the issue of enforced disappearances will be resolved, but the crisis has not lessened. If anything, it has worsened; Baloch students are not even safe in academic institutions. VBMP said that we appeal to the rights groups, student organizations and the general public to participate in the upcoming protest on Friday and make their voice heard.
In the past couple of days, four Baloch students went missing in Quetta, three in Hub Chowki and ten from Kech, Harnai, Noshki and Karachi combined. On Monday night, the Pakistani security forces reportedly detained another young student from Allahabad Town in Hub Chowki and moved him to an unknown location. The student was identified as Aslam Baloch, a teenager.