Pakistani forces have allegedly forcibly disappeared another activist of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) from Karachi, the capital city of Sindh, on the night between Thursday and Friday.
According to reports, Pakistani forces, along with intelligence agency personnel, conducted a house raid in the Malir area of Karachi at midnight and allegedly detained and forcibly disappeared a young BYC activist.
The missing activist has been identified as Meer Balach Baloch, and his whereabouts remain unknown following his arrest by Pakistani law enforcement officials.
In a statement, the BYC claimed that the crackdown against their members is part of a broader campaign against the ‘Baloch Raaji Muchi’ (Baloch National Gathering). This is the fifth reported case of enforced disappearance involving BYC activists in Karachi. The whereabouts of the missing individuals remain unknown. Previously, BYC activists in Khuzdar were detained but released after four hours, following public outcry.
Human rights organizations and activists have condemned the ongoing state crackdown on Baloch activists. In a video statement released on the social media platform ‘X’, human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Mazari criticized the state’s use of force to suppress Baloch activists.
Mazari stated that the state has learned nothing from the past and is intensifying its crackdown since the announcement of ‘Baloch Raaji Muchi’. According to Mazari, organizers and participants of the BYC are being threatened, prevented from collecting funds, and are facing incidents of detention and enforced disappearances. She highlighted that women in Awaran, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Khuzdar have been particularly targeted while campaigning for the national gathering.
Mazari urged Pakistan’s political and journalist communities to raise their voices against the state crackdown and condemn the enforced disappearances.