Reports of enforced disappearances and continuing protests have emerged from across Balochistan and other parts of Pakistan, as families demand the recovery of missing persons and accountability from the authorities.
In Mastung, local sources said security personnel, accompanied by plain-clothed officers, raided a house in the city area on 6 August and detained a college student, identified as Maideen, son of Ghulam Qadir Dehwar. He was allegedly taken to an undisclosed location. The family expressed concern over his safety, saying they had received no information on his whereabouts. Security forces have not commented publicly on the matter.
In a separate development, Mohsin Shahwani, son of Deen Mohammad Shahwani, who had reportedly been taken into custody from Quetta’s Killi Qambrani area several days earlier, has been released, according to local media.
Meanwhile, protests against enforced disappearances and political detentions continued in Karachi and Islamabad. Families of missing persons, along with members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, have been staging sit-ins outside press clubs in both cities. The Islamabad protest entered its 23rd day on Friday, with participants demanding the release of missing individuals and the withdrawal of charges against detained activists.
At Karachi Press Club, relatives of Zahid Ali, a 25-year-old student of International Relations at Karachi University, continued their protest for a third consecutive day. According to his family, Ali was taken into custody by security forces on 17 July and has not been seen since. They said he also worked part-time as a rickshaw driver to support his family, including his father, who is a long-term hepatitis patient.
In Quetta, the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) continued its long-running symbolic protest camp for the 5,903rd consecutive day. Families at the camp renewed calls for the recovery of missing persons and the end of extrajudicial detentions. Among those present were relatives of Zakir Ismail, who they allege was detained by security forces in Karachi in February 2013 and has been missing for more than 12 years.
VBMP leaders reiterated their stance that enforced disappearances are a serious violation of human rights, urging the state to present detainees before courts and provide them with legal rights. They pledged to continue their protest until all missing persons are accounted for or the truth of their cases is made public.