The Baloch National Movement’s (BNM) human rights group, Paank, released its monthly report for March, which outlines the various human rights abuses committed in Balochistan. The report includes incidents of enforced disappearances, protests by families of missing Baloch individuals for their safe return, and the staged killing of two Baloch individuals previously detained in Karachi.
Paank has raised concerns about the rise in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the region. According to the report, March saw 24 cases of enforced disappearances, with 21 fortunate individuals returning home from detention. However, two men picked up by security forces in Karachi were killed in a staged encounter, and their bodies were discarded.
Paank said that these enforced disappearances and staged encounters exacerbate the climate of fear and terror in Balochistan. Families have protested in Kech, Gwadar, Jhaoo, Surab, and Mastung for the safe release of their loved ones. Despite these protests and international condemnation from rights groups, the Pakistani state’s stance remains unchanged, Paank said.
Paank accused the Pakistani state of using enforced disappearances as a tool to suppress Baloch youth resistance. This practice has intensified over the past two decades, targeting educated Baloch youth, the report said.
Paank’s report also details various protests and demonstrations by families of missing persons. It recalls the case of Abdul Raziq Baloch from Surab, who was returned 16 hours after his disappearance when his family and the public blocked a highway in protest. However, Khudadad Siraj, a medical student, remains missing, despite his family and peers’ protests for his safe release. Protests have also occurred in Pasni for Abdul Raziq; in Daki Bazar, Kech, for Shoaib Ahmed and Balach; in Jhao, Awaran, for Tahir Baloch and Zafar Akbar; and in Mastung against the enforced disappearance of Ameer Hamza, where protestors blocked the Quetta-Karachi highway.
The report further states that Pakistani security forces abducted two men from Karachi’s Lyari area on August 15 and 17, 2023. Identified as Zaman Baloch and Shoaib Ali, they were later killed in a staged encounter near Manghopir’s Northern Bypass, falsely claimed as an armed confrontation.
Paank said its workers reached out to the families of the deceased, who were assured by the Sindh Police of their return before Eid. Tragically, the families only received their bodies riddled with bullets.
The report concludes that the figures on social media about Baloch missing persons and enforced disappearances only show a fraction of the reality. The unrepresented psychological and mental anguish of thousands of families affected by these disappearances remains untold.
Paank highlights the plight of Baloch missing persons, stating they are subjected to long-term confinement and torture. A few are eventually released, but they often suffer from mental trauma. Even after release, the Pakistani state continues to exert control over their thought processes. Consequently, these individuals are compelled to choose between self-exile or apathy towards the suffering inflicted on their people by Pakistani forces.