Reports have emerged of the alleged enforced disappearance of a student from Balochistan in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, while a separate military operation in the Daghari area of Quetta has reportedly resulted in the detention of three individuals.
According to fellow students, Nabeel Arman, a student from Balochistan studying in Islamabad, was taken into custody by unidentified individuals on Wednesday evening. They said he was detained from an office belonging to his friends in Sector G-7 of the capital and taken to an unknown location. Since then, his whereabouts remain unknown.
Students stated that Nabeel Arman is a graduate student at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML). Student organisations have alleged that Pakistani forces were responsible for his detention and that he was subsequently moved to an undisclosed location. There has been no official confirmation from authorities regarding the incident.
In a statement, fellow students said they would not allow Nabeel Arman to become “another number” in the long list of enforced disappearance cases. They appealed to human rights activists, lawyers, civil society groups and student organisations to raise their voices against the incident.
Student groups also claimed that actions against Baloch students in different parts of the country, including Punjab and the federal capital, have been reported over several years. They said several Baloch students studying outside Balochistan have previously gone missing, with some still unaccounted for.
Last year, protests were held at Quaid-e-Azam University following the reported enforced disappearance of student Saeed Baloch. Demonstrations continued for several days, though he has yet to reappear, according to student groups.
Student organisations have warned that if Nabeel Arman is not recovered immediately, they will launch a wider protest campaign.
In a separate development, local sources reported that Pakistani military forces conducted an operation in the Daghari area of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. According to regional sources, a large number of troops entered the area in several vehicles and surrounded parts of the locality before initiating the operation.
Sources said that during the operation, quadcopters were reportedly used to drop explosives at various locations. However, no casualties have been reported so far.
They further claimed that three individuals were detained during the operation and taken to an undisclosed location. Their identities have not yet been confirmed.
There has been no official statement from authorities regarding either the reported detention of the student in Islamabad or the operation in Daghari.