Hundreds of Baloch students took to the streets in the federal capital Islamabad on Sunday to protest against “enforced disappearances” and for the safe recovery of Baloch missing persons. The students were joined by renowned academics and activists and members of other student political organizations. The protestors marched on the streets, carrying placards and chanting slogans for the safe recovery of their missing companion.
According to the details, the Baloch Students Council Islamabad, a student body comprising of Baloch students studying in different universities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, organized a protest in front of the National Press Club against “enforced disappearances” in Balochistan for the safe recovery of Baloch missing persons. The protest was primarily aimed for the safe release of missing Hafeez Baloch, a final-year MPhil student in the Quaid-e-Azad University, and extrajudicial abduction and killing of Ihtesham Baloch.
Hafeez Baloch was “forcibly disappeared”, allegedly at the hands of the Pakistani security forces, from Khuzdar on February 8. He was teaching at a science academy when the “abductors” cornered and picked him up. He was moved to an unknown location and his whereabouts and condition remain unknown. Ihtesham Baloch was allegedly killed by the Pakistani security forces in Panjgur. He was on his way to pick up a guest at the bus terminal when he was killed.
Sunday’s protests were primarily aimed for the safe release of Hafeez Baloch and against the extrajudicial killing of Ihtesham Baloch. The protestors carried placards featuring portraits of the missing and slain individuals and featured messages like: “Stop extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in Balochistan”, “Anti-student policies are not acceptable” and “The bright futures of Balochistan is in prison.” The protestors chanted the slogan “We have come out to save students – Join us!” as they marched on the roads.
The protestors settled in front of the National Press Club where the speakers spoke to the crowd. Addressing the culprits, the speakers said that the enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings of Baloch students show that you want to eliminate all the bright minds from Balochistan. They said that the constitution of Pakistan states that a person cannot be kept in custody without substantial evidence. By “abducting” people and imprisoning them indefinitely, the authorities are violating their own constitution, they said.
Parvez Hoodbhoy, an activist and an academic who once taught Hafeez Baloch at Quaid-e-Azad University, said that I and my colleagues are concerned that one of our brightest students has been abducted and being kept in custody. He said that the Pakistani state talks about human rights violations in Kashmir, but it is doing the same thing in Balochistan. The rampant abductions and killings of students and innocent civilians show that the Pakistani state is unstable – it is staggering, he said.
Other speakers said that these streets are normally bustling with people, but when the Baloch come here seeking their rights, the streets are empty – no one dares to join them in their pursuit of justice. They said that Hafeez Baloch was a brilliant student in every sense; his disappearance can never be justified. His fellow students said that from the time spent with Hafeez Baloch, we can safely say that there is no way that he is involved in any kind of anti-state agenda. He was busy with his course and lab work and not involved in any suspicious activity.
The Baloch Students Council Islamabad also released a media statement detailing the disappearance of Hafeez Baloch and the extrajudicial killing of Ihtesham Baloch. The student body demanded that the Pakistani officials deliver justice to Ihtesham and ensure the safe release of Hafeez Baloch. The culprits involved in these two incidents must be brought to justice, it said.