Baloch rights groups and activists have condemned the alleged enforced disappearance of Farzana Zehri in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district, describing her case as the latest in a series of enforced disappearances of Baloch women and calling for her immediate release.
Paank, the human rights department of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), said Farzana Zehri, daughter of Muhammad Bakhsh Zehri and a resident of Zehri, was forcibly taken by Pakistani forces on the night of 1 December 2025 while returning home from a hospital in Khuzdar.
In a statement, Paank said Farzana Zehri’s whereabouts have remained unknown since that night, adding that authorities have neither acknowledged her detention nor provided any legal basis for her arrest.
The group described the incident as a “clear case of enforced disappearance” and said it constituted a “grave violation of fundamental human rights and international law”.
Paank also noted that the disappearance occurred shortly after Farzana Zehri’s family had migrated from Zehri to Khuzdar due to security concerns, describing this as indicative of a continued pattern of targeting Baloch civilians even after displacement.
“Paank holds the state and its security institutions fully responsible for the safety and well-being of Farzana Zehri,” the statement said, demanding her immediate production before a court of law or her unconditional release.
The group further called on national and international human rights bodies to take “serious notice” of the case and pressure Pakistani authorities to end what it described as the longstanding practice of enforced disappearances in Balochistan.
In a separate statement, Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) said Farzana Zehri’s case was “not an isolated incident” but part of what it described as a broader pattern of state repression against the Baloch people.
The group said the systematic targeting of Baloch women reflected what it described as the state’s fear of their conscious, active and courageous role in the Baloch national movement.
Baloch Voice for Justice cited several other cases of forcibly disappeared Baloch women, including Mahjabeen Baloch, a 24-year-old BS Library Science student at the University of Balochistan who was abducted from Quetta Civil Hospital on 29 May 2025; Nasreena Baloch, a 15-year-old from Awaran who was disappeared on 22 November 2025; and Rahima Baloch, a 20-year-old from Dalbandin who was taken from her home on 9 December 2025.
“These cases point to a deliberate and organized policy of intimidation and silence,” the statement said.
The group demanded the immediate recovery and safe release of Farzana Zehri and all forcibly disappeared Baloch women. It also announced a coordinated social media campaign scheduled for 18 December on X to highlight the enforced disappearances of Baloch women and the prolonged “illegal detention” of leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).
‘Normalisation’ of Disappearances of Baloch women
The Baloch Women Forum (BWF), in a statement, said Farzana Zehri’s disappearance was part of what it called “a series of shameful state acts in Balochistan”.
The forum warned of what it described as a “gradual attempt to normalize the enforced disappearance of Baloch women”, claiming that at least eight Baloch women were reportedly disappeared during 2025 alone, while suggesting the actual number may be higher.
“These acts are intentional,” the statement said, alleging they aim to “reshape the indigenous psyche, escape public resistance, and expand gross human rights infringements in Balochistan”.
The Baloch Women Forum demanded Farzana Zehri’s “immediate, unconditional and safe recovery”, stating that enforced disappearances, particularly involving women and children, constitute among “the gravest crimes a state can commit”.
‘This is not law enforcement; this is terror’
Reacting to the disappearance, prominent activist and Baloch Yakjehti Committee leader Dr Sabiha Baloch described the enforced disappearance of Farzana Zehri as a “grave crime” and said it went beyond an individual case.
“This is not merely an act of violence against one individual, nor is it only a gendered crime,” she said. “It is a direct attack on the dignity of a nation, the sanctity of human existence, and the moral foundations of society.”
Dr Sabiha Baloch said enforced disappearances were designed “to erase not just a person, but hope itself”, adding that when women are forcibly disappeared, “the violence multiplies”, devastating families, traumatizing children and sending a “chilling message that even the most basic right to exist is no longer guaranteed”.
She said Farzana Zehri’s disappearance did not stand alone and linked it to the cases of Mahjabeen Baloch, Nasreena Baloch and Rahima Baloch, whose whereabouts also remain unknown.
“The continued targeting of Baloch women marks a deeply horrifying pattern, one that exposes a systematic attempt to break the collective will of a people through fear and erasure,” she said.
“This is not law enforcement; this is terror,” she added, saying no state or institution had the right to abduct citizens, deny due process or strip families of truth and justice.
Describing the enforced disappearance of women as a “red line”, Dr Sabiha Baloch warned that once crossed, it signalled the collapse of accountability and the normalisation of cruelty.
She demanded the immediate and safe recovery of Farzana Zehri and the return of the other missing women, and called on UN Women, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and international women’s rights and human rights organizations to intervene without delay.
“The disappearance of women is not a security policy; it is a crime against humanity,” she said.
Pakistani authorities have not issued any public statement regarding Farzana Zehri’s disappearance or the allegations raised by rights groups and activists.
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