Baloch activist says Pakistan using enforced disappearances as "core strategy" as women, children targeted

London [UK] January 11 Baloch activist Hakeem Baloch has accused Pakistan's security establishment of continuing to rely on enforced disappearances as its "primary tool of control" in Balochistan, despite years of international scrutiny. He argued that these abductions, now increasingly involving women and children, reflect a deepening phase of state repression.

In an interview with ANI, Baloch said that more than eight to ten Baloch women and girls were abducted in the past year alone, including a 15-year-old and an eight-month pregnant woman.

He claimed that the targeting of women signals a deliberate escalation by Pakistani authorities intended to pressure families and deter participation in the Baloch movement. According to him, women leaders associated with the Baloch Yakjehti Committee have become central to mobilising protests, making them "direct targets" for intimidation.

He also alleged that the state has attempted to justify these arrests through "baseless propaganda," accusing the disappeared women of links to armed groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army's Majid Brigade. However, he noted that the authorities have "failed to produce a single piece of evidence," with many women not even being presented before courts or female police personnel.

Hakeem Baloch said Pakistan continues because the tactic creates both physical trauma for the victims and psychological trauma for their families. He added that the state is "failing to crush the Baloch national movement," and thus resorts to these methods as a means of suppression.

On expectations from the global community, he said the British government holds particular responsibility due to its historical role in partition-era decisions that shaped Balochistan's current political fate.

He stated that continued international silence is enabling Pakistan's security institutions to operate "without accountability," adding that each unaddressed case of disappearance deepens anger and instability across Balochistan.

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