The National Democratic Party (NDP) on Tuesday demanded the immediate recovery of its senior activist Ghani Baloch, saying his enforced disappearance six months ago represents a serious violation of constitutional rights and democratic freedoms.
The party said Mr Baloch was taken into custody on 25 May while travelling from Khuzdar to Karachi in a private passenger coach. According to the NDP, Frontier Corps personnel stopped the vehicle near Khuzdar and detained him. Since then, the party says, no state institution has issued any statement regarding his arrest, location or legal status.
The NDP said the disappearance of a political worker outside the constitutional and legal framework was a “serious violation of basic human rights and democratic freedoms.”
“If any allegation existed against Ghani Baloch, he would have been produced before a court and given the right to a fair trial,” the spokesperson said. “His disappearance is not only an act of oppression against an individual but a form of collective punishment imposed on his family, friends and political colleagues.”
The spokesperson said the uncertainty surrounding Mr Baloch’s whereabouts, and the possibility of physical or psychological torture, had caused deep anguish for his family and comrades over the past six months.
He added that restrictions on political activities, enforced disappearances and the abduction of activists were obstructing the democratic process in Balochistan. The party said such actions by state institutions, carried out outside the Constitution, do not absolve them of legal responsibility and that they will “sooner or later have to answer for these unlawful practices.”
The NDP said several other members of its leadership and organisational structure remain missing. It noted that senior leader Sana Baloch Khetran was abducted from Multan Airport on 10 August while preparing to depart for Umrah. The party said Zahid Baloch from the Karachi Zone and Mir Baloch, the Zonal Deputy Organiser of Barkhan, were also missing, along with additional activists.
“These actions are evidence of political vengeance and a violation of democratic rights,” the party said. “They represent a deliberate attempt to obstruct peaceful political activities.”
The NDP demanded the immediate recovery of Ghani Baloch and all other disappeared political workers, insisting that anyone facing allegations must be produced before a court and granted a transparent legal process.
The statement said ending “undeclared restrictions” on political activity was essential for the continuation of democracy in Balochistan. It said the party would continue its struggle for national and democratic rights and human freedoms, and that it would not remain silent in the face of state repression.
To mark six months since Ghani Baloch’s disappearance, the NDP announced that a social media campaign and a webinar will be held on 26 November. Further details will be released later, the spokesperson said.