Baloch activists worldwide marked the eighth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Shabir Baloch, the Central Information Secretary of the Baloch Students Organization (BSO), with an online campaign demanding his recovery.
Shabir Baloch was reportedly forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani Frontier Corps in the Gorkop area of Kech on October 4, 2016. Since then, his sister Seema and his wife Zarina have led a sustained campaign for his recovery, organizing protests in Islamabad, Quetta, Hub Chowki, and Karachi. However, their efforts have yet to result in any response from Pakistan’s courts or human rights bodies.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch, organizer of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), took to social media platform X to emphasize the impact of enforced disappearances on families. Calling it a “curse on Balochistan,” she said, “It’s not just the victims who suffer, but thousands of families whose lives are shattered.”
Dr. Baloch also described the struggles faced by Shabir’s family, noting that Seema has continued to raise her two children, Meeras and Shari, while actively seeking her brother’s safe return. Meanwhile, Zarina, Shabir’s wife, lives in a state of uncertainty, not knowing whether she is a widow or a wife.
“What’s more heartbreaking is that Zarina witnessed his abduction and her mental health has been deeply affected,” Dr. Baloch added. “Once, she told me, ‘I always curse the moment they took Shabir in front of me. I wish they had taken me too, so I wouldn’t have to endure this endless wait.’”
Sammi Deen Baloch, General Secretary of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), spoke on the emotional toll on Shabir’s family. “After eight years, the sorrow on their faces is evident. This suffering is like a termite, slowly consuming the lives of families of the disappeared. Yet they continue to seek peaceful means, appealing to the state and its changing rulers for the return of their loved ones.”
Seema Baloch, recalling the day of her brother’s disappearance, reiterated her commitment to the struggle for his recovery. “On October 4, 2016, my brother was taken in front of his wife,” she said. “Even after eight years, none of us prefer to sit quietly. I will fight, I will fight until my last breath, I will fight until Shabir returns.”