Four individuals who had been missing after allegedly being forcibly disappeared by Pakistani armed forces in Balochistan have returned home, family members and local sources said on Tuesday.
Local sources said three young men identified as Sher Jan and Yahya, sons of Waheed Ahmed, and another man identified as Adan son of Ameer were released this week in Turbat.
Sher Jan and Yahya had allegedly been taken by Pakistani forces from the Gogdan area of Kech district around two months ago, while Adan had gone missing about a month earlier.
Meanwhile, Professor Shafiq Zehri, who was allegedly forcibly disappeared from Hub Chowki on 17 December, returned home late on Monday night in Khuzdar. His daughter, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) activist Mahzaib Baloch, confirmed his release.
Former senator Mushtaq Ahmed said the case of Professor Zehri underscored what he described as the continuing reality of enforced disappearances in Balochistan.
He said Zehri’s disappearance and return were “clear proof” that “thousands of people remain forcibly disappeared”, adding that the development also showed, in his view, that “Mahzaib Baloch’s father was innocent”.
“This case demonstrates that thousands of people are still being forcibly disappeared,” Senator Ahmed said. He described the practice as “state and governmental terrorism”.
He called for an immediate end to enforced disappearances and urged Pakistani authorities to produce all missing persons before the public “without delay”.