A social media campaign will be held on November 14 to demand justice for Salman Baloch and others allegedly subjected to enforced disappearance by Pakistani forces, organisers said.
Salman, a resident of Balochistan’s Khuzdar district, was reportedly taken into custody by Pakistani forces in Quetta on November 13, 2022. His whereabouts remain unknown.
His family said they were still seeking justice four years after his disappearance, adding that state courts and commissions had failed to provide it.
The organisers appealed to social media activists, affected families, human rights activists and lawyers to participate in the campaign and express solidarity with those whose relatives remain missing. They said the campaign would draw attention to Salman’s case and those of other victims, and urged participants to break the silence surrounding enforced disappearances.
Also Read | Sister of Missing Salman Baloch Slams Court for Dismissing Brother’s Case, Shielding ‘Oppression’
The appeal comes amid continuing protests by families of missing persons in Quetta, where Kamran Khan’s relatives joined the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) camp outside the press club on Thursday, its 6,417th day.
Khan’s family said personnel from state agencies detained him in Quetta’s Kashmirabad area on April 1 and took him to an undisclosed location. He had neither been brought before a court nor had the family received any information about his whereabouts, they said.
The relatives said the uncertainty had left the family in severe distress and appealed to senior officials to disclose his whereabouts and secure his return.
VBMP chairman Nasrullah Baloch said state agencies had a constitutional and legal duty to produce anyone they detained before a magistrate within 24 hours. If Khan faced allegations, the authorities should bring him before the relevant court and proceed in accordance with the law, he added.
Baloch said holding Khan unlawfully and withholding information from his family violated fundamental human rights and the Constitution. He called on the government and relevant authorities to secure Khan’s immediate return or produce him before a court, and ensure that his family was informed.