Balochistan: Activist condemns growing pattern of enforced disappearances

Gwadar [Pakistan], January 27 (ANI): Balach and Ahsan Baloch, graduates of Federal Urdu University and Turbat University, were reportedly forcibly disappeared from Gwadar on January 22.
Since their disappearance, their families have received no information about their whereabouts or their condition. Taking to social media platform X, activist Sammi condemned the incident, describing it as part of a disturbing trend across Balochistan.
"Their disappearance is not an isolated incident. Enforced disappearances are increasing at an alarming rate, mostly affecting young, educated individuals," she wrote.
Sammi further criticised the actions of state security forces and intelligence agencies, stating they operate "with complete impunity, able to take anyone at any time without legal process or accountability". She added that this has created "a climate of terror in which every young person lives with the constant fear of becoming the next victim".
Highlighting the broader impact, Sammi wrote, "These enforced disappearances do not only target individuals; they punish an entire community. By treating a whole people as suspect, they push an entire nation to the wall and turn ordinary lives into lives of waiting, grief, and fear."
Human rights organisations have repeatedly raised concerns over the growing number of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, urging the authorities to provide information about the missing and ensure accountability for violations.
People across Balochistan and Baloch-populated regions observed January 25 with seminars, vigils and awareness campaigns to mark what the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) calls "Baloch Genocide Remembrance Day", The Balochistan Post reported.
According to the report, the day was dedicated to remembering victims of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other alleged human rights abuses.
Events were held in multiple cities and towns, reflecting, organisers said, growing concern over the human rights situation in the region.
In Quetta, the provincial capital, a seminar organised by the BYC focused on the 2014 discovery of mass graves in Tootak, Khuzdar, an incident activists regard as a defining symbol of the suffering faced by families of the forcibly disappeared, The Balochistan Post said. (ANI)