Eight people, including two 14-year-old students, have been forcibly disappeared in separate raids in Karachi and Balochistan’s Quetta and Kech, while five Baloch students and three women who had previously gone missing have returned home, according to sources, families and a student organisation.
Three of the latest cases were reported from Tikri in Karachi’s Mauripur area.
Sources said Sabir, 28, son of Aziz and a labourer from Tikri, was taken away by Rangers personnel from a road near his home at around 8:30pm on August 6. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Abdul Aziz, 30, son of Noor Dad, was detained from his home by Rangers personnel at around 2:00am the following day, while Aamir, 28, son of Abdul Wahid and a local shopkeeper, was taken away by Rangers and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel at around 8:00pm on August 5.
Their families said no information about their whereabouts had been received since they were taken into custody.
The reports came as the Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) said five University of Karachi students who were forcibly disappeared from Gulshan-e-Iqbal on the night of August 5 had been recovered and safely returned home.
The organisation identified them as Azhar Baloch, Ghaus Bakhsh Baloch, Shehzad Baloch, Anees Baloch and Waseem Baloch, describing their return as a positive development.
Read More: Five University of Karachi Baloch Students Forcibly Disappeared: BSAC
BSAC said two other students, Khalil Baloch and Zubair Baloch, remain forcibly disappeared, adding that no information about their whereabouts had been received.
A protest rally was also held in Karachi against the enforced disappearance of Baloch students. Participants condemned the disappearance of students from educational institutions and demanded that Baloch students be provided a safe and peaceful environment to continue their education.
The student organisation called for an end to what it described as the harassment, intimidation and enforced disappearance of Baloch students and demanded the recovery of all students who remain missing.
Further cases were reported from Balochistan, where families said four people, including two 14-year-old students, had been detained by Pakistani forces, CTD and ISI personnel and moved to undisclosed locations.
Mansoor Anwar, a resident of Kaur-e-Pusht in Buleda, was called out of his home by Pakistani forces personnel at around 3:00am on August 4 and taken away, his family said.
The family said Mansoor had previously been forcibly disappeared in November 2023 and recovered nearly two months later in January 2024.
Two 14-year-old students, Safiullah Baloch, son of Mehrullah Baloch, and Mudassir Baloch, son of Sher Dil Baloch, were detained by CTD and ISI personnel from Sariab Road in Quetta at around 5:00am on July 24, according to family sources. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
Najeebullah Baloch, son of Sarwar Baloch, a 19-year-old labourer, was taken from his home in Quetta by CTD and ISI personnel at around 2:00am on July 7 and has remained missing since, his family said.
Another Quetta resident, Saddam Hussain, son of Bilal Ahmed, was detained near Quetta Shopping Mall at around 12:00pm on August 2 by plainclothes personnel of Pakistani intelligence agencies.
His family said no information about him had been provided since his detention, adding that if any allegation or case exists against him, he should be produced before a court. Otherwise, they demanded his immediate recovery.
Separately, three women who were forcibly disappeared from Quetta on July 30 were recovered on August 6 after remaining missing for one week.
Read More: Three Baloch Women From Same Family Forcibly Disappeared Near Quetta, Family Says
They were identified as Tania, daughter of Jumma Khan; Javeria, daughter of Khairullah; and Rafia, daughter of Saadullah.
Pakistani authorities had not issued statements on the latest reported disappearances at the time of publication.