Police in Hub on Thursday prevented a press conference by Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) activist Mahzaib Baloch over the alleged enforced disappearance of her father, after sealing the local press club and warning of detention under public order laws.
Mahzaib Baloch said police personnel were deployed outside the Hub Press Club and its gates were locked to stop her family from addressing journalists. She said officials warned that any attempt to hold a press conference on the street could lead to detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
She added that police had also refused to register a first information report (FIR) regarding her father’s disappearance.
Her father, Shafiq Zehri, a professor of political science at Degree College Hub, was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon from Hub Chowki and transferred to an undisclosed location, according to family members. The incident was reported earlier by this outlet.
Norway-based Baloch journalist Kiyya Baloch said in a post on X that press clubs had historically been regarded as protected spaces, where police interference was considered unacceptable.
“For the second time in two years, police have entered press clubs in Balochistan to block press conferences,” he said, adding that attempts to silence voices through force were ineffective in the era of social media.
Rights groups condemned the enforced disappearance of Shafiq Zehri and the restrictions placed on his family.
In a statement, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee said Shafiq Zehri, the elder brother of forcibly disappeared activist Rashid Hussain Baloch, was abducted on 17 December while carrying out his professional duties. The group noted that Zehri had previously been subjected to enforced disappearance in 2013.
The BYC said the case illustrated what it described as “collective punishment”, in which family members of political activists are targeted in response to peaceful human rights advocacy.
Paank and the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), also condemned the disappearance and held authorities responsible for Shafiq Zehri’s safety, calling for his immediate production before a court or release.