Quetta, Nov 18 At least twelve Baloch civilians, including four women and an elderly man, were forcibly disappeared by Pakistani security forces in Balochistan, amid a growing wave of enforced disappearance, a leading human rights organisation said on Tuesday.
The latest incident comes against the backdrop of a continuing cycle of persecution marked by a surge in enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture across the province.
Expressing concern, human rights organisation Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) stated that the twelve individuals were reportedly taken into custody by Pakistani security forces in Kech district and subsequently remain unaccounted for.
Citing local sources, the rights body noted that the individuals, including Lal Bakhsh, Farzana, Memal, Sher Bano and Shireen, were detained while travelling for a pilgrimage, and their current whereabouts remain unknown.
"If confirmed, the enforced disappearance of civilians, particularly women, constitutes a serious violation of Pakistan's obligations under international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Targeting women and elderly persons through arbitrary detention or extrajudicial actions is a deeply alarming trend that demands immediate and transparent investigation," BVJ stated.
The rights body called on the Pakistani authorities to immediately disclose the whereabouts of all individuals detained and ensure their safety, release all persons held without charge, and promptly bring them before a court in accordance with due process standards.
It further demanded an end to the practice of enforced disappearances and called on authorities to ensure that no person is subjected to arbitrary or incommunicado detention, while allowing independent human rights organisations to investigate allegations of abuse and monitor the situation in Balochistan without restriction.
"We urge national and international human rights bodies to closely monitor this case and to press for accountability and transparency. The recurring pattern of enforced disappearances in Balochistan must not continue with impunity. Every individual, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or political context, has the right to liberty, safety, and dignity," the BVJ mentioned.
Highlighting the ongoing atrocities in Balochistan, Paank, the Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department on Tuesday mentioned two Baloch civilians were subjected to enforced disappearance by the Pakistani security forces in the provincial capital Quetta.
According to the rights body on November 11, Jehanzaib Baloch, resident of Kachi Baig region in Quetta, and a shopkeeper by profession, was forcibly disappeared by the Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department and Military Intelligence personnel.
In a separate incident on November 12, CTD and military intelligence officials abducted another shopkeeper Haji Waheed Shahwani, from his shop on Popalzai Market Road in Quetta.
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