The Baloch Women Forum (BWF) has strongly condemned the alleged enforced disappearance of Mahjabeen Baloch, a 24-year-old student from Basima, who was reportedly taken by security personnel from Civil Hospital Quetta in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
According to BWF, Mahjabeen — a student of Library Science at the University of Balochistan — was abducted around 3 a.m. by members of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Military Intelligence (MI). Her current whereabouts remain unknown.
The forum described the incident as part of a troubling trend in which Baloch women are increasingly being targeted by state institutions. “Baloch women, like men, are under constant threat from state agencies,” the BWF said in an official statement. “The forcible disappearance of Mahjabeen Baloch reflects an alarming escalation in the ongoing human rights violations in Balochistan.”
Enforced disappearances have long plagued the region, with men, children, and elderly individuals frequently reported missing under similar circumstances. However, the forum noted that the inclusion of women in such actions marks a deeply disturbing development that contravenes national cultural norms and traditions.
“This is not only an attack on individual rights but a direct affront to the honor and dignity of the Baloch people,” the BWF added, urging the state to refrain from what it called the “excessive use of force.”
The forum highlighted previous incidents where activists — particularly members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) — were allegedly detained without due process and later shown in police custody under preventive detention laws such as the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
Calling for national and international attention, the BWF demanded the immediate and safe release of Mahjabeen Baloch and accountability for those responsible for her disappearance. “We urge the international community to spotlight the ongoing human rights violations in Balochistan,” the statement read. “We appeal to the people to stand against this rising barbarism and ensure state institutions are held accountable.”
The spokesperson concluded by reaffirming the forum’s opposition to what it termed the illegal targeting of Baloch women in the state’s “unannounced crackdown.”