Pakistani state accused of waging war on Baloch civilians as enforced disappearances spark mass protests in Nushki

Balochistan [Pakistan], June 18 : The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has reported that families of five forcibly disappeared Baloch individuals staged a peaceful protest in Nushki on Monday, demanding the immediate release of their loved ones.

In a post shared by BYC on X, it was revealed that the demonstration began at Shopping Road near Police Station Chowk and ended in a sit-in outside the Deputy Commissioner's office.

The families of the disappeared, MPhil scholar Ghani Baloch, Naseebullah Baloch, Ghulam Rasool Baloch, Rasool Bakhsh Baloch, and Fareed Baloch, participated in the protest.

According to BYC's post, several of the individuals have been missing for months or even years, with their families left in anguish, uncertainty, and grief.

Despite repeated appeals to state institutions, protestors said they have received no answers. "Silence and indifference from the authorities have only deepened the families' suffering," BYC stated on X. The Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner briefly engaged with the protestors, initially claiming helplessness, but later requested written applications and vowed to contact "relevant departments" for further inquiry.

BYC condemned the disappearances as grave violations of international human rights law. "The targeting of scholars and civilians in Balochistan is an assault on dignity, justice, and the region's right to exist peacefully," BYC wrote.

BYC reiterated its call to the United Nations, UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch to take urgent notice of the worsening situation in Balochistan and to hold the Pakistani state accountable.

"Families continue to carry the burden of trauma while those responsible enjoy impunity," BYC emphasised in their post, calling for immediate international intervention.

Meanwhile, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has announced that Salam Haider has died while in the custody of Pakistani forces.

In a post shared by BYC on X, they reported that Salam Haider, a young man from Ghatti Dhoor in Gwadar, who originally hailed from Kumbail Dasht in Kech District, was tortured to death during illegal detention after being forcibly taken by the Pakistani military.

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