A delegation from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), led by Chairman Asad Iqbal Butt, visited the protest camp of families of forcibly disappeared persons in Quetta on Friday.
The hunger strike camp, organized by the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), is among the longest-running protests in South Asia. Now entering its 17th year, the camp continues to host families demanding justice for thousands of Baloch men and youths allegedly abducted by Pakistani security forces.
During the visit, the HRCP delegation met with VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch and spoke to several family members of the missing, including relatives of Abdul Ghani and Mahmood Ali Langove.
The visiting delegation included HRCP Vice Chairperson Munizae Jahangir and members Saeeda Baloch, Habib Tahir, Kashif Panezai, Arifa Noor Malik, and Fareed Shahwani.
VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch briefed the HRCP delegation on what he described as a “sharp increase in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings across Balochistan.” He said the Pakistani state had intensified its campaign of targeting political activists and civilians, often without following legal procedures.
He also highlighted the case of Mahjabeen Baloch, a Library Science student at the University of Balochistan and a resident of Basima in Washuk district. She was allegedly detained in late May during a joint operation conducted by the police, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), and other security forces. Her whereabouts remain unknown.
Members of the HRCP delegation expressed “deep concern” over the continued non-recovery of missing persons, the alleged extrajudicial killings of the forcibly disappeared, and the rising number of such cases reported in Balochistan.
The HRCP assured the families that it would continue to raise the issue of enforced disappearances and related human rights violations at relevant forums, including both provincial and federal government levels.