In a press release, the spokesperson for the Baloch Women Forum (BWF) highlighted the alarming surge in human rights violations across Balochistan. As always, parliamentary parties manipulate these events for personal and group interests while the population collectively suffers oppression. Despite repeated warnings about these occurrences, anti-Baloch policies continue to escalate to unprecedented levels, the BWF said.
The press release specifically mentioned an incident on January 4, 2025, where a young participant at a peaceful sit-in in Hoshap—protesting against the enforced disappearances of Abul Hassan and Zaman Baloch from Turbat—was run over by a truck. The victim was immediately transferred to Turbat and later to Karachi for further treatment but succumbed to injuries. “Aside from the state, whom can we hold accountable for such lethal actions against the constitutional right to peaceful assembly (Article 16) and habeas corpus (Article 199)?” the spokesperson asked.
Furthermore, the BWF statement condemned the extrajudicial killings of Afzal Manzoor from Turbat and Zakaria Baloch from Gwadar. On 8 December 2024, Afzal Baloch was forcibly disappeared from Aapsar (Turbat), followed by the abduction of his two brothers, Ihsan Manzoor and Hamid Manzoor. Although the other two brothers were released, Afzal’s safe recovery could not be secured. Witnesses claimed that security forces abducted him, but his body was later displayed in a fabricated explosion in Aapsar, with visible signs of torture. This incident is reminiscent of a similar case in Balgatar, Kech district, where three forcibly disappeared Baloch individuals were placed in a car rigged with explosives by security forces.
Zakaria Baloch’s case followed a similarly tragic trajectory. After being forcibly disappeared by security forces from the port city of Gwadar, he was eventually released. However, while trying to resume a normal life following the trauma of his disappearance, he was shot dead by so-called “unknown armed individuals.” The spokesperson noted that these “unknown” attackers, who are widely recognized as responsible for multiple assaults on previously disappeared Baloch individuals, remain unpunished.
The statement also highlighted the incident in the Zehri area of Khuzdar district, where more than ten Baloch individuals were forcibly disappeared. The mass abductions triggered protests from local residents, who blocked the Karachi-Quetta highway in response. Although some individuals have been released, several remain missing, awaiting safe recovery from the state’s illegal detention centres.
The BWF spokesperson criticized the silence of elected parliamentarians, who were quick to condemn attacks by insurgents but failed to stand with citizens abducted at gunpoint. This inaction reflects their nominal role as public representatives, the spokesperson stated.
Concluding the statement, the spokesperson remarked that such a stance fuels resentment among Baloch people towards the state and its institutions. Calling upon Pakistani and international human rights champions, the BWF urged to pressure the state and its institutions to cease their persistent violations of Baloch rights. The forum also appealed to the Baloch people to unite and resist such state oppression in an organised manner across all platforms. “Our collective resistance is our most crucial and effective remedy,” the spokesperson asserted.