The series of enforced disappearances targeting Baloch youth has continued, with fifteen more people reportedly taken into custody by Pakistani forces in Karachi, Quetta and Gwadar and moved to undisclosed locations, families and rights groups said on Thursday.
In Karachi, Kashif Baloch, a resident of the Kalri area of Lyari, was taken into custody from his home at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday and subsequently disappeared.
Family members said Kashif had previously been detained and disappeared last July from his shop in Saddar. He was released after several months but was allegedly taken again during the latest raid.
In Karachi’s Lyari neighbourhood, residents said that police and Sindh Rangers carried out late-night raids across Chakiwara, Baghdadi and Kalri, detaining thirteen individuals and moving them to unknown locations. The names of those detained could not be immediately confirmed.
According to the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), three more individuals, Daniyal Nasir, son of Abdul Nasir, Muhammad Iqbal, son of Khaliq Dad, and Irshad Ali, a resident of Jafarabad, were detained on 16 February near NCCI Hospital in Karachi and forcibly disappeared.
VBMP said all three had travelled to Karachi for medical treatment, adding that when the families attempted to register an FIR at the relevant police station, police refused to file the complaint and instead harassed them.
VBMP Chairman Nasrullah Baloch strongly condemned the disappearance of the three youths and criticised the alleged harassment of their families by police personnel.
He said the Sindh government must “take immediate notice” of the disappearances and ensure the safe recovery of Daniyal Nasir, Muhammad Iqbal and Irshad Ali.
Meanwhile, in the Killi Qambarani area of Quetta, a young man identified as Junaid Ahmed, son of Shah Muhammad, was taken from his home late last night, family members said. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Family members said Junaid Ahmed had no involvement in any illegal activity and demanded his immediate recovery.
Separately, a seventeen-year-old student, Abdullah, son of Abdul Hameed, was detained by Pakistani forces from Jiwani in the Gwadar district and moved to an undisclosed location. No information has been provided to the family since his detention.