The seventh anniversary of the disappearance of Baloch activist Rashid Hussain was marked on Friday by a global online campaign, with rights groups, families of the missing and Baloch activists urging Pakistan and the UAE to reveal his whereabouts, calling his secret detention in the UAE and subsequent enforced disappearance in Pakistan a violation of international law.
Rashid Hussain, who had been living in self-exile in the United Arab Emirates since 2017, was detained near Sharjah by UAE secret police on 26 December 2018. His family claims he was held in secret for six months before being extradited to Pakistan in June 2019 under questionable circumstances, allegedly without proper legal documentation.
Despite widespread media coverage in Pakistan at the time announcing his transfer as “breaking news”, and a statement from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Karachi claiming his arrest, Rashid’s whereabouts have remained unknown for seven years.
In a joint statement marking the anniversary, the Release Rashid Hussain Committee and Baloch Social Media Activists (BSMA) said the case represented “a grave human rights violation that continues without accountability”.
They said his prolonged disappearance “remains an ongoing crime under international law”, adding that his mother, sister and niece had “endured unimaginable suffering” while searching for answers.
Sammi Deen Baloch, a rights activist whose own father has been forcibly disappeared, said Rashid’s case was “not shrouded in mystery”, noting that the extradition was public and documented.
“Rashid was first detained by UAE authorities and then handed over to Pakistan… And yet, seven years on, Pakistani authorities have refused to disclose where he is, what charges he faces,” she said.
She added that attempts to discredit his family by branding Rashid a “terrorist” were part of a broader attempt to silence relatives of the disappeared.
“If that were true, the state has had seven years to prove it. Seven years to present him before a court. Seven years to issue a charge sheet,” she said. “Seven years to explain, at the very least, whether he is alive.”
Sammi said the message delivered through Rashid’s disappearance, and reinforced when his brother was briefly abducted last week, was that “we took him, and we can take anyone”.
The Human Rights Council of Balochistan (HRCB) said Rashid was detained in the UAE, held incommunicado for months and then transferred to Pakistan, where he “vanished without a trace”.
“His family endures relentless pain and uncertainty, while both countries have shirked their duty to uphold human rights and reveal his fate,” HRCB said, adding that “Rashid and his loved ones deserve truth, accountability and justice — now.”
Baloch Voice for Justice issued an urgent appeal to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is scheduled to visit Pakistan, urging him to intervene.
The group said Rashid’s incommunicado detention and transfer violated “fundamental rights, including liberty, security, and the right to a fair trial”. “Human rights must be respected above political and diplomatic interests,” the group said.
The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) said Rashid’s case reflected broader failures of state institutions to account for those taken into custody.
“If there is any charge against Rashid Hussain, he should be brought to light and presented before a court; and if he is innocent, efforts should be made to ensure his release,” VBMP said, urging authorities to “save his family from a lifetime of suffering”.
The Release Rashid Hussain Committee and BSMA said global campaigns under the hashtag #SaveRashidHussain would continue “louder, stronger and more determined than ever” until he is released.
They called on Pakistan to immediately disclose his whereabouts, urged the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to intervene, and appealed to human rights organizations and civil society to amplify the case.
“Silence will not erase this crime, and time will not absolve those responsible,” the statement said.
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