In the coastal city of Gwadar, Pakistani forces have allegedly detained four individuals who have gone missing since.
The missing individuals have been identified as Meraj, son of Noor Bakhsh, Ijaz, son of Hussain, Ayub, son of Hamza, and Doda Khalid. The young men, all close friends, are residents of the Dasht Maksar area in district Kech. They were reportedly taken into custody by the forces from Gwadar and have not been heard from since.
It is worth noting that this incident is yet another addition to the growing number of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, a region that has long been plagued reportedly by state-led abductions. Human rights organizations and activists have consistently raised concerns about the rising cases where individuals, often accused of separatist sympathies, are detained by security agencies and later disappear without any legal process or formal charges.
Balochistan has witnessed a significant increase in such cases, particularly since the early 2000s, as tensions between Baloch nationalist movements and the Pakistani state intensified. Families of the disappeared, including women and children, have organized protests and hunger strikes, demanding the release of their loved ones or at least information regarding their whereabouts. Despite these efforts, most cases remain unresolved, and the issue continues to be a source of unrest and grievance in the region.
Organizations such as the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) estimate thousands of cases of enforced disappearances, while the Pakistani government maintains silence or denies the scale of the issue. Many of the disappeared are intellectuals, students, activists, and ordinary civilians who are believed to have been targeted over suspicion of involvement in or support for the Baloch independence movements.