Silence surrounds disappearance of Baloch activist as rights groups slam Pakistan

Balochistan [Pakistan], December 27 (ANI): Seven years after the enforced disappearance of Baloch activist Rashid Hussain, human rights organisations, families of the disappeared, and Baloch activists have renewed demands for accountability, accusing Pakistani authorities of continuing to conceal his fate, as reported by The Balochistan Post.
According to The Balochistan Post, Rashid Hussain, who had been living in exile in the United Arab Emirates, was detained by Emirati security officials near Sharjah on December 26, 2018.
According to his family, he was held incommunicado for several months before being transferred to Pakistan in June 2019 under unclear and allegedly illegal circumstances.
Despite media reports at the time and claims by Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department that he had been taken into custody, his current whereabouts remain unknown.
On the seventh anniversary of his disappearance, the Release Rashid Hussain Committee and Baloch Social Media Activists issued a joint statement calling the case a "continuing crime under international law".
They said the prolonged uncertainty has inflicted immense psychological suffering on his family, particularly his mother, sister and niece, who have spent years seeking answers from state institutions.
Prominent rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch stated that the case was never shrouded in mystery, pointing out that Rashid's detention and transfer were publicly reported.
"The authorities have had seven years to present evidence, file charges, or produce him before a court," she stated, adding that attempts to portray his family as suspicious were meant to silence demands for justice.
The Human Rights Council of Balochistan said that Rashid's secret detention in the UAE and subsequent disappearance in Pakistan constituted a serious breach of international human rights law.
It criticised both governments for failing to uphold due process and for denying the family any information about his fate, as highlighted by The Balochistan Post.
Meanwhile, Baloch Voice for Justice appealed directly to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to intervene, stressing that enforced disappearance, secret detention and denial of legal rights violate fundamental human freedoms.
Rights groups have urged the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to step in and press Pakistan to disclose Rashid's whereabouts, warning that silence only deepens impunity and injustice, as reported by The Balochistan Post. (ANI)