The “enforced disappearance” of Abdul Hafeez Zehri from the United Arab Emirates has engendered an outcry on social media. Baloch activists have condemned his “abduction” and demanded that the UAE authorities investigate the incident and ensure his safe release.
VBMP Vice-Chairman Mama Qadeer Baloch said that Baloch activists are not safe anywhere in the world – the enforced disappearance of Abdul Hafeez Zehri and Rashid Hussain from Dubai and the murders of Sajid Hussain and Karima Baloch serve to prove that the Baloch are being hunted down even in the foreign land.
Abdul Hafeez Zehri was making a living from working at a firm – his sudden arrest-cum-abduction does not make any sense. Mama Qadeer appealed to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other international human rights groups to take notice of the disappearance and raise their voice for Abdul Hafeez Zehri and Rashid Hussain.
Baloch National Movement Chairman Khalil Baloch also condemned the disappearance of Abdul Hafeez Zehri and said that he was innocent and, therefore, he should be released immediately.
The BNM chief said that the Pakistani state has been cruel to Hafeez Zehri and his family – the security forces abducted, tortured and killed his younger brother Majeed Zehri in 2010; they killed his father, Haji Ramzan Zehri, in 2012 and now they have gone after him. He said that Hafeez’s cousin, Rashid Hussain, was also abducted by the Emirati forces in 2018 and then extradited to Pakistan. We are concerned that a similar fate might await Abdul Hafeez Zehri.
Khalil Baloch said that Pakistan has now started hunting down Baloch activists beyond its borders. It all began with the murder of Baloch journalist Sajid Hussain in Sweden in March 2020; Karima Baloch was killed in Canada in December 2021 and Abdul Hafeez Zehri has been abducted. He said that the UAE authorities must investigate the incident and bring the culprits to justice.