A resident of Balochistan’s Khuzdar district was reportedly forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces in Quetta earlier this week, while families of missing persons continued their protest outside the Quetta Press Club on Wednesday, marking its 6,225th day.
Asif, son of Mohammad and a resident of Khand in Khuzdar district, was taken into custody at around 5am on July 13 from the Emaan City area of Samungli Road in Quetta, his family said.
The family said Pakistani forces moved him to an undisclosed location, adding that “no verified information or trace of him” had emerged since the incident and that the family was facing “severe mental anguish and distress”.
Family members appealed to human rights organisations, political parties, journalists, social activists and civil society groups to raise their voices for his recovery.
Meanwhile, the protest camp organised by the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) continued under the leadership of its chairman, Nasrullah Baloch.
The mother and daughter of Jahanzeb Mohammad Hassani joined the camp and appealed for his safe recovery, saying Pakistani forces had taken him from his home in Killi Qambrani, Quetta, on May 3, 2016, in front of his family and forcibly disappeared him.
They said several years had passed without any information about his fate or whereabouts.
The family said it had “knocked on the doors of courts, the missing persons commission and various government institutions” in pursuit of justice, while also continuing peaceful protests for his recovery.
Despite these efforts, they said, their appeals had not been heard, leaving the family in “severe mental anguish, anxiety and distress”.
Nasrullah Baloch called on the authorities to ensure the safe recovery of Jahanzeb Mohammad Hassani and all other forcibly disappeared persons.
“If there are any allegations against them, they should be presented before a court in accordance with the constitution and the law,” he said.
He added that “practical and effective steps” were needed to bring enforced disappearances to a complete end and find a permanent solution to the issue.