In a chilling escalation of tensions in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, rights organizations accuse security forces of abducting five individuals, sparking outrage among locals and activists alike. These enforced disappearances, coupled with reports of extrajudicial killings, paint a grim picture of the region’s human rights crisis.
According to Paank, the human rights arm of the Baloch National Movement, authorities snatched 33-year-old worker Ghulam Sarwar from his home in Hub’s Abdullah Bijarani Goth on February 21. Military intelligence was reportedly involved. Just days earlier, on February 19, 24-year-old Amir Baloch, a student from Chagai’s Killi Kasum Khan, was detained and has not been seen since.
The raids didn’t stop there. In Awaran district’s Kuhado Jahu, two siblings – Sadullah and Lal Jan – were hauled away during a February 18 house search by the army. These arbitrary detentions leave families in despair, with no information on the victims’ whereabouts or charges against them.
Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) highlighted another case: Daniyal Nasir, a young graduate from Karachi’s National University of Modern Languages, disappeared on February 16. BVJ argues this reflects a systematic effort to silence educated Baloch voices, eroding the community’s future.
Such acts, BVJ asserts, flout international law and basic human decency. Families deserve closure, and the state must ensure swift releases or fair trials. The organization’s call echoes across Balochistan, where enforced vanishings have become alarmingly routine.
Adding to the woes, a shooting incident near Ful Abad claimed the lives of two women and wounded three in a vehicle carrying Afghan travelers bound for Iran. Detentions followed, per eyewitness accounts. The wounded received medical attention, but the episode underscores the volatile security environment.
Human rights monitors decry the nonstop cycle of abductions, illegal holds, and killings. As Balochistan simmers, demands grow for independent probes and an end to impunity, with global observers pressing Pakistan for reforms.