Quetta, Jan 27 (IANS) At least three more Baloch civilians have been forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani forces in Balochistan province, a leading human rights organisation said on Tuesday.
These latest incidents come against the backdrop of a growing wave of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings across the province.
Condemning the incidents, Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, mentioned that 40-year-old Ali Ahmed Reki, a teacher from Surab district in the province, was abducted on January 24 from Ganjh Chowk area in the provincial capital Quetta, by Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel. Since then, his whereabouts remain unknown.
The rights body further stated that a 25-year-old doctor Shahzain Ahmed from Surab was abducted on the same day and at the same location by CTD.
Highlighting the atrocities against civilians in Balochistan, Paank also brought to light the enforced disappearance of 22-year-old Junaid Ahmed, a student from Surab. He was abducted on January 23 at the Children’s Hospital, Quarry Road, in Quetta, by CTD.
On Monday, Baloch Students Organisation (BSO) Azad wrote to international human rights organisations and activists drawing attention to the grave and ongoing human rights violations being committed against the civilians across Balochistan, marking the Baloch Genocide Day.
According to the student body, observed on January 25, the Baloch Genocide day commemorates thousands of Baloch men, women, and children who have endured systematic oppression, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and collective punishment over several decades under Pakistan’s “colonial rule” in Balochistan.
“Numerous reports by human rights defenders, local and international activists, journalists, and families of victims document a persistent and consistent pattern of serious human rights violations. These include enforced disappearances involving detention without due process for prolonged and indefinite periods; extrajudicial “kill and dump” practices in which mutilated bodies are recovered after months or years of disappearance; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in custody; and the suppression of freedom of expression through the targetting of students, journalists, political workers, and human rights defenders,” the letter detailed.
“Women and children have been particularly affected. Families of forcibly disappeared persons have engaged in peaceful protests for years, frequently facing intimidation, harassment, and reprisals. Educational institutions and livelihoods have been disrupted, contributing to widespread social and economic marginalisation of the Baloch population. Despite repeated appeals, there remains a persistent absence of independent, impartial investigations and effective accountability mechanisms,” it added.
The BSO urged the global human rights organisations to support and conduct independent international investigations into human rights violations in Balochistan and to raise these concerns at relevant international forums, including the United Nations.
–IANS
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