Pakistan’s independent rights watchdog on Monday expressed “grave concern” over what it called a continued practice of arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances, including several recent cases involving Baloch women and girls.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said in a statement that two University of Peshawar students, Habib Wazir and Adnan Wazir, had been missing since 12 November after attending a government-convened jirga, adding that their alleged abduction showed how due process was “routinely bypassed”.
HRCP said it was also alarmed by the alleged disappearance of former lawmaker Nisar Panhwar and his son Mohsin Panhwar, who were reportedly taken by men in plain clothes in Karachi on 22 December.
The commission said the cases came alongside a rise in disappearances in Balochistan involving women and minors, including disabled student and activist Mahjabeen Baloch and “at least six others” in November and December.
HRCP said such actions violated constitutional guarantees and had caused “irreversible harm” to families waiting for information. “The state must ensure transparency, accountability for perpetrators and unconditional access to justice,” the group said.
Rising Disappearances of Baloch Women
On 20 December, two women from the same family, Hani Dilwash, who is eight months pregnant, and 17-year-old Hair Nisa, were allegedly detained during a late-night raid in Hub Chowki. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
On 18 December, a woman named Hazra and her two-year-old son were detained during a CTD-led operation in the same area. They were released several days later, according to the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).
Earlier, on 1 December, a woman identified as Farzana Zehri was allegedly taken while returning from a hospital in Khuzdar. Another woman, Rahima, was detained with her brother in Dalbandin and remains missing.
On 22 November, 15-year-old student Nasreen (Nasreena) Baloch was allegedly forcibly disappeared from her home during a midnight raid in Hub Chowki. CTD personnel detained student activist Mahjabeen Baloch from her hostel room in May; she also remains missing.
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VBMP Condemns ‘Unlawful’ Disappearances of Baloch Women, Calls for Immediate Recovery