The week-long sit-in protest by Baloch students at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) in Islamabad ended on Sunday evening after the university administration assured protesters that Baloch students would not face harassment on campus and that the administration would support any legal action against those accused of facilitating the disappearance of Saeed Baloch, a student of the Department of Strategic Studies.
The protest, organized by the QAU chapter of the Baloch Students’ Council (BSC) Islamabad, began last Monday near the university’s bus stop, demanding the safe recovery of missing Saeed Baloch and Feroz Baloch, as well as an end to racial profiling and enforced disappearances of Baloch students in Pakistan’s federal universities.
On the first day, the protesting students briefly halted university transport services and boycotted classes to draw attention to their demands. They later continued the sit-in peacefully, emphasizing that their aim was to raise awareness, not disrupt academic activities. The Pashtun Students Council (PSC) also joined the protest in solidarity.
According to the BSC, Saeed Baloch was abducted on July 8 near Chungi No. 26 Toll Plaza in Islamabad while traveling to Quetta for summer vacation. Nearly three months later, he remains missing.
The council alleges that several QAU staff members were complicit in events leading up to his disappearance. They named Rashid Malik, the warden at Boys Hostel 11 where Saeed Baloch was lodged; Kamran, a clerk at Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, and DSS faculty members Naveed Qaiser and Sadiq, claiming they provided information about Saeed and facilitated contact with two unknown individuals believed to be intelligence operatives.
“These incidents make it clear that Saeed’s disappearance was premeditated,” the BSC said in a statement, calling for disciplinary and legal action against the officials involved.
On Sunday, the protesting students held a peace walk across campus that culminated at the QAU bus point, where they addressed a press conference announcing the end of their sit-in.
According to participants, university officials assured the Baloch Students’ Council that no further harassment would occur and that the administration would stand by them if they pursued legal action against those accused of supplying information about Saeed.
“We are ending our sit-in, not our struggle,” a BSC representative said during the press conference. “Until Saeed and all other missing Baloch students are safely recovered, we will continue our peaceful movement.”
The BSC also reiterated its demand for the safe return of Feroz Baloch, a student of Arid University Rawalpindi who was allegedly abducted in May 2022 and remains missing.