Pakistan's enforced disappearance regime intensifies as Baloch youths vanish

Balochistan [Pakistan], November 22: (ANI) Pakistan's long-standing human rights crisis in Balochistan has intensified once again, with three young Baloch men allegedly abducted in separate incidents in Lahore and Quetta, even as mutilated bodies of previously disappeared persons continue to surface across the province.
The latest disappearances highlight what activists describe as a deepening pattern of state repression, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
According to The Balochistan Post, local accounts report that Shozeb Saleem, son of Haji Saleem Buzdar and a resident of Model Town, Dera Ghazi Khan, vanished on 23rd October while on his way to FAST University in Lahore, where he is a seventh-semester civil engineering student.
Relatives stated that personnel affiliated with Pakistani intelligence agencies seized him, noting that "clear evidence" of the abduction exists.
In Quetta, two members of the Jatoi family were reportedly picked up in separate late-night raids. Family sources said Najeebullah, son of Duran Jatoi, was taken on 22 October, while Nadeem, son of Azad Khan Jatoi, was detained on 29 October near Eastern Bypass Link Road.
Both were allegedly whisked away from their homes by Pakistani security forces and transferred to undisclosed locations. Families fear they have joined the long list of Baloch missing persons whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The crisis escalated further on Thursday when two more bodies were recovered from different districts. Authorities said one corpse, bearing bullet wounds, was found in Khuzdar's Baghbana area and later identified as Muhammad Ismail of the Shahwani tribe.
Another unidentified body emerged from Panjgur's Shapatan area and was moved to the district's Teaching Hospital for identification. Meanwhile, outrage continues over the killing of schoolteacher Ayaz Baloch, who disappeared on 12 November. His decomposed body was found on 19 November in the Reko Dam area, as highlighted by The Balochistan Post.
According to his family, he had been abducted by Pakistani forces and a state-backed militia while returning from school. His remains were identified only through his clothing and shoes.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) condemned the killing, calling it part of a "systematic and ongoing campaign" involving enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, and the targeting of civilians. The group urged international bodies to intervene, as reported by The Balochistan Post. (ANI)