A 17-year-old boy has reportedly been subjected to enforced disappearance in Balochistan’s Panjgur district, while protests against the practice continued for the 5,981st consecutive day on Monday in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
According to local sources, the incident took place on 21 October at around 2 p.m. near the NADRA office, in front of Janam Tailors, in Panjgur city.
Sources said unidentified armed men, allegedly members of a “death squad,” abducted the teenager, identified as Sajjad Baloch, son of Qadir Bakhsh, and took him away in a vehicle to an undisclosed location.
His family said Sajjad, who works as a shopkeeper, was abducted in broad daylight in the presence of bystanders. Six days after the incident, his whereabouts remain unknown, and authorities have not issued any statement regarding his disappearance.
Meanwhile, the protest camp of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) continued for the 5,981st day outside the Quetta Press Club, led by the organization’s chairman Nasrullah Baloch.
People from various walks of life visited the camp to express solidarity with families of the forcibly disappeared.
Among them was Shafi Muhammad, who submitted details of his brother’s disappearance to the VBMP. He said his brother, Jameel Ahmed, son of Ghulam Muhammad, was taken into custody by personnel of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) during a midnight raid on 18 October from their home in Killi Nabiabad, near Gobar Medani, Ghafoor Town, Quetta.
According to Shafi, CTD personnel wearing black uniforms entered the house around 3 a.m. in front of family members and took Jameel away without presenting any warrant. Despite approaching the Station House Officer (SHO) of Satellite Town Police Station to file a First Information Report (FIR), no case was registered.
He said he later lodged a complaint with the City Police Officer (CCPO) but has yet to receive any update on his brother’s condition or location.
VBMP chairman Nasrullah Baloch condemned the abductions and said his organization would present Jameel Ahmed’s case before the Commission on Missing Persons and the government.
He called the abduction “an extra-legal act and a serious violation of citizens’ fundamental rights,” and said that if there are any charges against Jameel Ahmed, “he should be produced before a court of law.”
“If he is innocent, the government must ensure his immediate release and relieve his family from this suffering,” he added.