In the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons protest camp in Karachi, young Abdullah holds the portrait of his missing cousin Shoaib, appealing to the Pakistani authorities for his safe recovery.
Shoaib Baloch s/o Lal Mohd, a resident of Mand Gayad in district Kech, went missing in May 2013. Almost eight years after the disappearance, his conditions and whereabouts remain unknown. His family alleges that the Pakistani security forces are behind his “enforced disappearance.”
The young Abdullah says that Shoaib’s disappearance has pushed his entire family into depression and agony. Shoaib’s father waited for years to see his son’s face, but couldn’t – he took this unfulfilled wish to the grave.
It is pertinent to mention that another missing person from Kech, Nawaz Baloch s/o Dostain, returned home safely after a year of disappearance.
Nasrullah Baloch, Chairman of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, expressed satisfaction with Nawaz’s return, saying that the recovery of the missing persons is a positive step.
In a similar development, Ali Baksh, a resident of Besima, also returned home after a year-long disappearance.
Enforced disappearances are a major human rights violation in Balochistan. According to some estimates, thousands of people are missing in Balochistan and the numbers are only rising. Rights groups and families of the missing persons alleged that the Pakistani security forces are behind the disappearances. They say that the Pakistani state employs this heinous strategy to silent political dissidents, journalists and rights activists.