Rights groups and activists across Balochistan marked International Human Rights Day on Wednesday, warning that basic civil liberties in the region remain severely restricted amid continuing reports of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and limits on freedom of expression.
BYC Seminar in Quetta Highlights Ongoing Rights Violations
In Quetta, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) held a seminar attended by families of forcibly disappeared persons, human rights activists, students and local residents.
The programme included reports on human rights conditions, dramatic performances and testimonies from families whose relatives remain missing.
Speakers said the gathering represented a renewal of commitment to the struggle for justice for Baloch missing persons.
According to BYC leaders, “all basic human rights are suspended” in Balochistan and thousands of families continue to face uncertainty due to enforced disappearances.
They said the current situation reflects “the worst form of state repression” in the region.
HRCP Turbat Event Says Men and Women Held ‘Without Charges’
A separate event was held at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s regional office in Turbat, where activists, journalists and social workers participated.
HRCP regional coordinator Professor Ghani Parwaaz said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines the obligations of states to protect fundamental freedoms, but that civil liberties in Pakistan “remain under pressure”.
He said the situation in Balochistan was “even more alarming”, with security, expression and the right to life under constant threat.
HRCP worker Khan Muhammad Jan Gichki said people were “living in an environment of fear”, claiming that even graveyards were monitored and gravestones removed in some areas.
Other speakers alleged that many Baloch men and women were being held without charges and that families were not informed of their whereabouts.
Participants pledged to continue efforts for the protection and promotion of human rights in the region.
Sammi Deen Says 1,080 Enforced Disappearances Reported This Year
In a video message released for Human Rights Day, BYC central committee member Sammi Deen Baloch said Balochistan was facing “one of the gravest human rights crises of our time”.
Citing BYC Human Rights Department data, she said 1,080 cases of enforced disappearance had been reported this year, including 53 minors.
She said 12 girls were forcibly disappeared in 2025, three of whom remain missing, and 189 extrajudicial killings had been documented, including six women.
She alleged that Pakistani forces were conducting regular operations involving drones, mortar shelling, artillery fire and the evacuation of villages.
She said human rights defenders, students and teachers were being targeted in fabricated cases, while journalists continued to operate under what she described as a “media blackout”.
Pakistani authorities have not publicly responded to the allegations or figures presented during the Human Rights Day events.