Baloch students in Karachi have threatened to stage protests if Bahadur Bashir, a missing philosophy student from Karachi University, is not recovered soon. Bahadur was reportedly forcibly disappeared by security forces on June 23 while visiting his hometown of Pasni for the Eid holidays.
There has been a disturbing increase in enforced disappearances of Baloch youth across Pakistan, with Baloch students being the most frequent targets. Instances of Baloch students being forcibly disappeared from universities or hostels in broad daylight have become a daily occurrence.
The students emphasized that both the Pakistani constitution and international conventions, such as those of the United Nations, mandate the protection of citizens from enforced disappearances. They said that the Supreme Court and High Court of Pakistan have directed authorities to follow legal procedures for arrests. However, these directives are often ignored in Balochistan.
The psychological impact on those who are forcibly disappeared is profound, with some victims driven to suicide. Families of the disappeared live in constant fear and distress. An orphan youth, identified as Akhlaq Ahmed, who was allegedly disappeared twice by Pakistani security forces, committed suicide in Turbat city on June 20.
Related: Orphan Subjected to Enforced Disappearances Twice Commits Suicide
The students also said that the state uses enforced disappearances to suppress the Baloch struggle for rights. They accused institutions like the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of being involved in the extrajudicial killings of forcibly disappeared individuals through ‘fake encounters’ — staged confrontations falsely presented as genuine clashes — causing severe distress among their families.
Furthermore, the students argued that detaining young students and making them disappear without a fair trial destroys their futures. “Hardly a day goes by in Balochistan without students being harassed or forcibly disappeared,” they said, citing the ongoing disappearances of students Sohail and Faseeh from the University of Balochistan since 2021, despite months of protests.
They detailed other notable cases, including Feroz Baloch from Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, who was forcibly disappeared in 2022 and remains missing. Naeem Rahmat from Turbat University was also subjected to enforced disappearance in 2022 and remains in detention. Anees Baloch from Khuzdar, who graduated from Bahauddin Zakariya University, was forcibly disappeared on June 4 and has not been recovered. Anees was handed over to the CTD and falsely accused, raising fears among his family that he might be killed in a ‘fake encounter’ like many other Baloch individuals.
On June 24, Bahadur Bashir’s family protested at Pasni Zero Point and blocked the Makuran Coastal Highway for several hours. The administration promised Bahadur would be safely recovered the next day, but four days passed without his recovery. On June 26, Bahadur’s family staged a sit-in on the highway, during which security forces disrupted the protest, baton-charged the protesters, mainly women, and injured several.
Security forces reportedly tried to clear the highway under the pretext of needing to allow an ambulance carrying a critically ill patient to pass. However, when protesters requested to see the patient and ambulance, the security forces responded with baton charges and attempted to confiscate their phones. No ambulance or patient was present, the protesters claimed.
“We, the Baloch students in Karachi, stand in solidarity with Bahadur Bashir’s family and demand the safe return of Bahadur, son of Bashir Ahmed. If Bahadur is not safely recovered, we, the Baloch students of Karachi, will begin protests,” concluded the Baloch student community in Karachi.