QUETTA, Jan 27 – In a chilling escalation of human rights abuses, Pakistani security forces have forcibly disappeared at least three Baloch civilians in Balochistan province, a prominent rights group reported Tuesday. This incident unfolds amid a surging wave of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings across the restive region.
The Baloch National Movement’s human rights wing, Paank, condemned the abductions, spotlighting the case of 40-year-old teacher Ali Ahmad Reki from Sorab district. Reki was snatched by Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel from Ganj Chowk in provincial capital Quetta on January 24. His whereabouts remain unknown since the forceful pickup.
Adding to the horror, 25-year-old doctor Shahjain Ahmad, also from Sorab, was abducted from the same location on the same day by CTD operatives. The group further highlighted the kidnapping of 22-year-old student Junaid Ahmad from Sorab, who was taken from Quetta’s Children Hospital on Khwari Road on January 23.
These cases underscore a disturbing pattern of state-sponsored terror targeting Baloch professionals, students, and activists. Paank’s revelations come as Baloch Student Organization (Azad) penned urgent letters to global human rights bodies on Monday, coinciding with Baloch Genocide Day observed on January 25.
The letter paints a grim picture of decades-long oppression under Pakistan’s ‘colonial rule’ in Balochistan, commemorating thousands of Baloch men, women, and children subjected to systematic persecution, forced disappearances, kill-and-dump operations, custodial torture, and suppression of free speech.
‘Reports from defenders, activists, journalists, and victims’ families document a persistent pattern of grave violations,’ the BSO stated. ‘Enforced disappearances without legal recourse, mutilated bodies dumped after prolonged absences, torture in detention, and targeted silencing of students, journalists, and rights advocates.’
Women and children bear the brunt, with families of the disappeared enduring years of peaceful protests met with intimidation and retaliation. Educational institutions and livelihoods are crippled, pushing the Baloch population to the margins socially and economically. Despite repeated pleas, independent probes and accountability remain elusive.
BSO urged international organizations to back an independent UN-led investigation into Balochistan’s atrocities and raise the issue on global forums. As voices from the ground grow desperate, the world watches a humanitarian crisis unfold in silence.
