A sit-in protest against the alleged enforced disappearance of four members of the same family, including two women, entered its second day on Wednesday, keeping a key stretch of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) highway closed for a second consecutive day.
The demonstration, taking place at Karki Tejaban and Heronk in Kech district, has suspended two-way traffic between Turbat, Quetta, Panjgur, Awaran, Kolwah and Hoshap, causing long queues of vehicles along the route.
Family members said the missing individuals include 27-year-old Hani Dilwash, who is eight months pregnant; 17-year-old Hairnisa, daughter of Abdul Wahid; 18-year-old Mujahid Dilwash; and 18-year-old Fareed Ijaz.
They said Hani and Hairnisa were forcibly disappeared during a pre-dawn raid in Hub Chowki earlier this week, while the remaining two were taken in Kech district.
Late Tuesday night, a negotiating team led by the Assistant Commissioner of Turbat arrived at the protest site to hold talks with the demonstrators. However, family members said no progress was made, and the blockade of the CPEC highway remains in place.
Protesters said they would continue their sit-in until all four are safely released.
The protest comes as the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) is holding a parallel five-day campaign across Balochistan against what it describes as a rise in enforced disappearances of Baloch women.
‘An Extremely Alarming Phase’
Baloch activist and BYC leader Sammi Deen Baloch said the disappearance of the four family members reflects what she described as a dangerous escalation in the targeting of women and girls.
“Enforced disappearances have now entered an extremely serious and alarming phase,” she said, warning that the continued non-recovery of Hani Dilwash and Hairnisa “has once again raised the question of whether women in Balochistan are now safe at all”.
She said the practice had left families in severe psychological distress and accused the state of using “the constitution and the law as tools for repression.”
“For these affected families, there is no path other than protest,” she added, urging people from all walks of life to stand with this family and raise their voice for them.