Baloch students at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) in Islamabad have been staging a sit-in protest for the past four days, demanding the safe recovery of their missing fellows and an end to what they describe as “systemic racial profiling and harassment” faced by Baloch students in universities across the Pakistani capital.
The protest, organized by the QAU chapter of the Baloch Students’ Council (BSC) Islamabad – a representative body of Baloch students in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar – began on Monday when students set up a camp on campus. On the first day, they halted university transport services, bringing administrative and teaching activities to a standstill, and boycotted their classes. They also carried out a peace walk and distributed banners and brochures to raise awareness among other students about their demands.
After Monday, the protesters chose to continue their sit-in without disrupting academic activity, saying their aim was to highlight their grievances rather than obstruct fellow students. Members of the Pashtun Students Council at QAU also joined the protest, expressing solidarity with the Baloch students.
The demonstrators are demanding the immediate recovery of two missing students: Saeed Baloch, a seventh-semester student at QAU’s Department of Strategic Studies, and Feroz Baloch, a student at Arid University in Rawalpindi.
The Disappearance of Saeed Baloch
According to the BSC, Saeed Baloch was forcibly disappeared on July 8, when he was reportedly taken away from the Toll Plaza near Chungi No. 26 Bus Stop while traveling to Quetta for his summer vacation. More than two and a half months later, his whereabouts remain unknown.
The BSC alleges that QAU administration officials, including hostel wardens and faculty members, were complicit in Saeed’s disappearance. They claim that Hostel Warden Rashid Malik sought information about Saeed Baloch on WhatsApp, while on July 3, Kamran, a clerk from the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, called Saeed Baloch for an “interview,” where he was confronted by two suspicious men in the presence of faculty members Naveed Qaiser and Sadiq. The BSC fears these two suspicious men were intelligence personnel who harrassed Saeed Baloch with a series of accuastory and provocative questions.
On July 4, the same suspicious individuals reportedly entered Room 43 of Boys Hostel No. 11, asking about Saeed’s whereabouts. “All these events show that Saeed’s disappearance was part of a premeditated plan,” the BSC stated.
The Disappearance of Feroz Baloch
The BSC has also demanded the recovery of Feroz Baloch, who was allegedly abducted on May 11, 2022, by intelligence personnel from Arid University Rawalpindi, where he was a student. He was reportedly on his way to the library when he was taken. Despite court cases and repeated demonstrations, there has been no trace of him.
Feroz’s classmate, Ahmed Khan Baloch, was also reportedly abducted earlier in Balochistan.
Pattern of Harassment and Enforced Disappearances
The protestors pointed out that such cases are not isolated. Baloch students across major cities of Pakistan have long reported racial profiling, harassment, and enforced disappearances. They cited instances from universities in Gujrat, Bahawalpur, NUML, the International Islamic University, Arid University, and QAU itself.
One notable case was that of Hafeez Baloch, an MPhil scholar at the QAU’s Physics Deprtment who was abducted from a tuition academy in Khuzdar in February 2022 while visiting his hometown. His disappearance sparked over a month of protests by Baloch students in Islamabad, eventually gaining national and international media coverage. Authorities were later forced to produce him in court, where he was falsely accused of carrying weapons. He was acquitted after proving his innocence. The BSC says Hafeez had previously been harassed by intelligence operatives posing as Higher Education Commission officials at his university.
University Administration’s Response
According to the protesting students, QAU’s administration has contacted them and asked for two days to look into the issue. However, no concrete steps have yet been taken, and the sit-in continues.
Protesters’ Demands
The Baloch Students’ Council has vowed to continue their protest until the following demands are met:
- The safe recovery of Saeed Baloch and Feroz Baloch.
- An end to the racial profiling, harassment, and enforced disappearances of Baloch students in federal universities.
- Accountability for QAU staff allegedly complicit in the disappearance of Saeed Baloch.
The BSC emphasized that the enforced disappearances, coupled with profiling and harassment, have created a climate of fear for Baloch students pursuing higher education in Islamabad and other cities.