In a bold act of defiance, a Baloch family blocked the strategic China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) highway in Kech district’s Sahaki Balgatar on Monday, protesting the enforced disappearance of their 24-year-old son and farmer, Abideen. The young man was allegedly snatched by intelligence agencies from Kilkhour Road the previous evening, with no trace since.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) is leading the charge, framing the sit-in as part of a broader campaign to eradicate forced abductions and punish perpetrators of rights abuses plaguing Balochistan. Daily reports of vanishings and extrajudicial killings paint a grim picture of life in the resource-rich province.
Baloch Voice for Justice described these tactics as systematic oppression, stripping families of their loved ones and violating fundamental rights on a massive scale.
The crisis deepened with Paank’s report of a nighttime raid in Gwadar’s Panwan on April 19, where forces seized 19-year-old fisherman Sohail Karim, student Nadil Baloch (20), schoolboy Dilshad Dad (14), and Ali Fazal.
On April 18, 27-year-old student Ikram was taken from Kech, a move Paank decries as an assault on the province’s youth and future.
The abduction of singer Mohammad Taaj from Shapak in Kech on April 17 further highlights the clampdown on cultural voices, as his family searches in vain for answers.
With protests gaining momentum, activists call on global powers to intervene, demanding an end to these disappearances and the safe return of all those taken. Balochistan’s streets are becoming battlegrounds for human dignity.
