A sudden surge in cases of enforced disappearances has enveloped Balochistan, casting a shadow over the region’s youth as urgent pleas for their solution intensify.
Over the last three days, the region has witnessed the disappearances of 14 individuals from various cities, with youths emerging as the primary targets. During this period, six individuals were reported missing from Tump in Kech, three from Khuzdar, three from Gwadar (the list of disappeared individuals remains incomplete as their identities have yet to be confirmed), and two each from Quetta and Noshki.
Khuzdar:
In a midnight operation on Tuesday, Fazal Yaquob, a resident of Khuzdar Khand, was forcibly disappeared from his residence.
Family members recount that Pakistani forces, in a convoy of seven Vigo vehicles, stormed the household, subjecting women and children to physical abuse before detaining Fazal and moving him away to an undisclosed location. Subsequent efforts to obtain information about his whereabouts have proven fruitless, family sources told TBP.
The family’s outreach to the district administration yielded an unsympathetic response at the police station. Even a conversation with the deputy commissioner of Khuzdar resulted in the abrupt termination of the call upon hearing about the incident.
Fazal Yaquob, a Bahauddin Zakaria University graduate from Multan, was the founder of an educational organization “Save Students Future” and also served as its former chairperson.
In response to this enforced disappearance, a protest blocked the RCD Highway, highlighting the abduction of Fazal Yaquob Baloch.
Notably, just two days earlier, Fazal’s nephew, Shams Baloch, met a similar fate reportedly at the hands of Pakistani forces and intelligence agencies, his whereabouts remain unknown. Fazal had also tweeted about the incident, not knowing he would meet the same fate.
Shams Baloch, a student in the agricultural department at Sargodha, was forcibly disappeared during a raid on his residence in the Khand area of Khuzdar.
Likewise, Pakistani forces reportedly apprehended another man from the Khuzdar district on Monday night.
In another development, Pakistani forces allegedly forcibly disappeared a young man after the arrest from Khuzdar district on Sunday night, who was identified as Kamran s/o Soomro Khan.
The family of the victim said that Kamran’s whereabouts are still undisclosed for the family, they appealed to all concerned authorities and institutions to ensure Kamran’s release.
Quetta:
In Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan, Qambar Baloch, a student from the Kolwah area of Kech district, enrolled in the FSC program, was allegedly forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani law-enforcement forces at the Sharjah Hotel in Quetta at 1 am on Monday night and subsequently shifted him to an undisclosed location.
Kech:
Kech, a district in Balochistan, has witnessed a staggering upswing in enforced disappearances over the past three days.
During a house raid in the Dazin area of Tump, Murad, son of Abdul Karim, was reportedly taken into custody by Pakistani forces.
Meanwhile, Pakistani forces reportedly launched a search operation in the Tump area of the Kech district on Sunday night and detained five people, and shifted them to an undisclosed location. The abductees were identified as Arif, son of Pandok, Shahzeb son of Rehmandil, Bihar son of Jan Mohammad, Qadir Bakhsh, and Aziz son of Aslam.
Sources said that during the operation, the forces have also desecrated the grave of Kamran, who was killed in a clash with the forces in the last few days, while women and children have also been severely tortured during the operation.
Gwadar:
Following an assault on a convoy of Chinese engineers in Gwadar, Pakistani forces reportedly detained several individuals in the coastal city of Balochistan.
Local sources report a military lockdown in Gwadar city since the incident, with ongoing military operations and house-to-house raids.
As per sources, at 6 pm on Monday, the forces detained several people from Bakshi Colony, three of them have been identified as Naveed son of Yaqoob, Zaheer, and Jahanzeb. TBP could find the photos of the two of them only.
Meanwhile, as a result of road closures by Pakistani forces, Gwadar residents, including school students, are grappling with increased difficulties in their daily lives.
Noshki:
In Noshki, a young man was forcibly disappeared after being apprehended during a raid by Pakistani forces in Killi Jamaldini. The abductee has been identified as Atif son of Master Adil.
Kharan:
In a late-night operation at 2 o’clock, Pakistani intelligence agencies and military personnel reportedly conducted a raid on the residence of Hafiz Loraja, situated in the Kalan area of Kharan. Hafiz Loraja, the brother of prominent businessman Haji Juma, was apprehended during this operation and subsequently went missing.
Eyewitness accounts reveal that the Frontier Corps (FC) established a comprehensive blockade of the vicinity throughout the duration of the raid, accentuating the scale and intensity of the operation.
Growing Concerns and Calls for Action:
Various Baloch organizations, including the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC), and Baloch Students Organization (BSO), are sounding the alarm over the rising incidents of enforced disappearances, labeling them a direct violation of Baloch people’s human rights.
VBMP has announced a protest on August 16, aiming to confront state representatives over the escalating abduction rates.
The central spokesperson for BSAC has noted the psychological toll of enforced disappearances on students and the general populace, highlighting the breach of state laws and prevailing lawlessness.
BSO’s central spokesperson has termed enforced disappearances a severe violation of human rights, especially affecting Baloch youth. The spokesperson has demanded authorities address the crisis, which has led to a humanitarian emergency in the region.